THE children of Hatfield have had their say on plans to build an incinerator in their town.

Year six students at Oak View Primary School have written to bosses at Veolia Environmental Services, the company proposing to build a �220m waste-burning facility at New Barnfield, to express their concerns over the proposals.

The children learned about the possible impact of incineration as part of their RE lessons, which includes a module on the environment.

After gathering information through newspapers, documentaries and PowerPoint presentations, the students were asked to draw their own conclusions about what a 380,000 tonne furnace would mean for the town.

And like many of their parents and teachers, the children were united in their opposition to the plans.

The 38 students, all aged 10 and 11, wrote letters addressed to Andrew Milsted, Veolia’s senior project manager, outlining why they thought an incinerator should not be built.

Concerns centred around the effects the incinerator would have on residents’ health, the �220m cost, and the plans to move special needs students at Southfield School into temporary accommodation while building work is carried out.

“If the incinerator was built, we’d suffer and so would people around Hatfield,” said Sophia Poli, 11.

“We’d have to keep our windows and doors shut because of the smell and the fumes.”

Billie Stevens, also 11, added: “If the incinerator was built, then nobody would want to move here and house prices would go down.”

“We would have loads of trucks driving down the street, blocking off roads and making it difficult for parents to pick up their children from school,” said 11-year-old Jack McCarthy.

The class’s teacher, Carole Nash, a higher level teaching assistant, said: “We were looking at environmental issues, and decided to look at the incinerator and its effects.

“We looked at the facts objectively, and then they decided to write the letters.”