Campaigners had hoped to overturn the original planning consent granted by East Sussex County Council because a pollution permit issued by the Environment Agency, which formed part of the planning application was overturned three weeks after it was issued.

However, the Judge - Justice Sullivan – dismissed the case against the consent at yesterday’s judicial review hearing.

Waste management group Veolia will operate the incinerator, which will generate 16.5 MW of electricity as well as deal with hundreds of thousands of tons of rubbish that would have been destined for a landfill.