Actor Robert Hardy backs Shrewsbury incinerator protests

Veteran actor Robert Hardy has criticised the proposed £60 million incinerator in Shropshire as a "blasted chimney" and threatened to resign from his role with English Heritage over the burner.

Mr Hardy, who is known for roles including Siegfried Farnon in TV's All Creatures Great and Small, is furious with bosses of the organisation after they changed their stance to back the controversial burner in Battlefield, Shrewsbury.

The 85-year-old, who plays Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, in the Harry Potter films, is a member of English Heritage's own panel which advises on how to preserve battlefields. But he has threatened to resign if the organisation continues to back the scheme by waste firm Veolia.

The plans to build the incinerator were rejected by Shropshire Council's strategic planning committee last year but an appeal will take place by way of a public inquiry in September.

A statement from English Heritage said: "This is a finely balanced case. English Heritage accepts that the plant will affect the setting of the registered battlefield, but it is also true that the archaeology and understanding of the battlefield itself are not threatened."

A spokesman for Veolia said: "The proposed site is on an industrial estate which is an existing employment area. A detailed environmental impact assessment was provided as part of our planning application which was recommended for approval by Shropshire Council's planning department."