A BITTER battle has blown-up between protestors and Keighley's MP over a controversial planned incinerator.

Furious campaigners have blasted Kris Hopkins for "washing his hands" of the Marley scheme.

Opponents of the multi-million pound waste-to-energy project, who claim it will send harmful fumes billowing across a wide area, have attacked the MP for failing to listen to their concerns.

But a defiant Mr Hopkins said this week he stood by his support of the development, which is earmarked for the former gas works site.

Angry Rachel Shimbles, of campaign group Aire Valley Against Incineration (AVAI), spoke out at a gathering in Keighley's Church Green on Saturday.

The rally was the culmination of a protest march, from East Morton to the town.

"Kris Hopkins does not want to know about this – he has washed his hands of it," she said.

“His position is that this will bring 500 new jobs, but we know it won’t.

“It’s about time he listened to us, came on board and supported the Aire Valley.”

Another campaigner, David Sturdy, said the MP was "conspicuous by his absence".

"He has in the recent past marched through Keighley in support of other community groups so it was disappointing to say the least that he could not be present on this occasion," he added.

"The 600-plus who marched are merely the tip of the iceberg."

Mr Hopkins told the Keighley News that he was entitled to his opinion based on the evidence presented to him.

"I support the building of the plant – as did my Labour opponent at the last General Election," he said.

"It represents a major inward investment for Keighley, bringing many new jobs in the short and long term.

"As the local MP, I'm not in the business of chasing investors away and, indeed, want to encourage even more investment in our people and economy.

"The councillors who gave the project the go-ahead did so on the basis of expert guidance from the Environment Agency and Public Health England, both of which made clear the plant will be safe.

"Had they said otherwise, there's no doubt the application would have been refused and I most certainly would have opposed it.

"I believe there's an obligation on the developer to stand up and reassure the public that it'll adhere to health and environmental standards laid out in the planning application, and also outline the local benefits the plant will deliver."

Although the application – by Endless Energy Ltd – has been approved, opponents are waiting to see if a Government minister will call the matter in to make his own ruling.

The Department for Communities and Local Government would not comment on how long it could take for Secretary of State Sajid Javid to make a decision.

But a department spokesman warned there would need to be "very significant grounds and concerns" for this to happen.

AVAI said campaigners were collecting a 'war fund' at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/airevalleyagainstincineration to finance their continued fight.

A spokesman said: "We've raised over £6,000 and have said we’d like to raise £10,000. In reality we'll need a lot more than that to fund legal representation.

"We're gathering information to present as evidence should the Secretary of State call it in.

"We are also working towards a judicial review and accumulating information to present to the Environment Agency to stop it issuing a licence to the applicant.

"We are absolutely sure people don't realise quite how close this site is to East Riddlesden Hall, sports fields, the canal, river and a nursery school.

"Many living further afield seem to think it won’t affect them. But we've seen from the virtual plume on plumeplotter.com that emissions will fall across a radius of more than 12 miles."

Endless Energy has previously declined to comment and had not responded to new requests as the Keighley News went to press.

* See letters, pages 12 and 13, and full report of march plus photos, pages 18 and 19