THE company behind plans to build a waste-to-energy incinerator near Andover has announced it will “no longer proceed” with the project.

US firm Wheelabrator had proposed building the massive facility on land just north of the A303, near Barton Stacey.

The plans were met with widespread opposition, as campaigners branded the proposed facility a "monstrosity" and a "blight" on the Test Valley countryside.

And now organisers say they will be pulling out of the controversial scheme after conducting a "strategic review".

Commenting on the decision, Wheelabrator Technologies vice president for business development, Paul Green, said: “The UK waste-to-energy market is extremely buoyant with significant capacity gaps remaining in the residual waste management infrastructure.

"Wheelabrator is well-placed to address this capacity gap and provide sustainable waste management solutions with a number of live projects across the UK.

"Having undertaken a strategic review of the wide range of opportunities in our current pipeline, we have decided to focus our efforts on further advanced waste-to-energy projects, and as such, will no longer continue to invest in the development of the Wheelabrator Harewood waste-to-energy facility.

“Wheelabrator would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide feedback as part of our recent community consultations.”

Updates as we have them.