WASTE giant Veolia has reacted with “delight” to getting the nod from the county council to build a massive new incinerator in Hatfield.

The firm plans to build the energy-from-waste plant at the New Barnfield site, in the face of fierce opposition from campaigners.

But Veolia aimed to allay fears over emissions and traffic concerns about the access to the site.

A spokesman said: “We are delighted to have been selected as preferred bidder by Hertfordshire County Council for our proposal which combines recycling and energy recovery to provide urgently needed new waste infrastructure.

“An extensive public consultation and engagement process will be undertaken as a basis for the community to share in the design concept and development proposals ahead of the submission of a planning application towards the end of 2011.”

He added: “We are committed to and have a strong track record of meeting the highest environmental and technical standards.

“Our planning application will contain very detailed analysis of a range of environmental issues.

“In particular we will be looking closely at the factors associated with vehicles accessing the facility, ensuring emissions are kept well within permitted limits and monitored closely and how the impact on local residents of operations at the facility will be minimised.”

The spokesman added: “We recognise these issues are of particular interest to people who live and work in South Hatfield. We look forward to discussing these aspects of our proposals over the coming weeks and months.”