Croydon Council’s decision on a project which could see an incinerator built on the borough's border has been delayed.

Labour councillors, desperate to hold talks on the proposal for a large waste disposal facility in public, have called it before the Scrutiny and Overview Committee on Tuesday December 6.

The decision was made behind closed doors at Croydon Council cabinet meeting on November 14.

The facility would take waste from the London boroughs of Sutton, Croydon, Kingston and Merton, making up the South London Waste Partnership (SWLP).

Leader of the Labour group Coun Tony Newman, said: “We think it is absolutely fundamental the plan to dispose of around 100,000 tonnes of waste must be discussed in open.

“Where you place any waste plant, allegedly an incinerator, should be subject of a serious public consultation and debate.

“There is a growing suspicion this is being done under cover in secret and without transparency.

“I will be demanding that meeting is held in public.

“Financial details can be in secret but how the waste is disposed of and how it is processed and the reported location of Beddington Lane, one of the most populated areas in the borough.

"That this could be discussed in secret is completely unacceptable.”

Coun Newman said his party members would be pushing for a public debate on the issue in the full council meeting on December 5, the day before the Scrutiny Committee.

The decision to call the decision in will delay the proposal, which was set to be announced this week.

Should the accepted plan be for Beddington Lane, the plan would have to be discussed before a Sutton Council planning committee.

A spokesman for the South London Waste Partnership said: “Any facility that may be required as a result of the Partnership’s procurement work would be subjected to an entirely separate - and very public - planning application process, in which the views of residents would play an integral role.”