THE company behind controversial plans for a new £117 million incinerator in Cornwall has appealed the council's decision to refuse it planning permission.

French-owned Sita UK yesterday confirmed its plans to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate after the then-Cornwall County Council refused the company planning permission to build in St Dennis, Mid-Cornwall, in March this year.

Campaigners against the incinerator said they feared massive health risks arising from the plant, which would process 240,000 tonnes of municipal waste a year and see 90 lorries visiting the site every day. It would be capable of handling all Cornwall's domestic waste and converting it into electricity and heat to power 21,000 homes.

David Buckle, project director at Sita UK, said: "There is an urgent need for this facility to avoid a waste management crisis and to provide a modern waste management solution for the whole county in which we produce energy from non-recycled waste, rather than landfill it."

Cornwall Council executive member for the environment, Julian German, said: "The council will watch with interest to see how Sita addresses the points cited by Cornwall Council's planning committee in March, when refusing the application."

The possibility of an appeal by Sita was revealed last week by the Western Morning News.

Pat Blanchard, chairman of protesters St Dennis Anti Incinerator Group (Stig), last night said the group would continue to fight the plans.

She said: "We are appalled at the attitude Sita has taken against a decision made on solid planing grounds. We won the battle, we will now win the war, we won't let Sita destroy Cornwall."

A public inquiry is expected in 2010.