Ministers have barred two councils from adopting a ten-year waste strategy for dealing with millions of tonnes of household waste.

The Government Office for the South East (GOSE) - which has a final say on the document - has told East Sussex and Brighton and Hove councils it wants time to look over the details before allowing them to approve the plan.

The blueprint is controversial because it contains proposals for an incinerator at Newhaven and a waste transfer and materials recovery site in Brighton.

Campaigners fighting the developments have hailed the setback as a partial victory although approval of the plan is not a requirement for planning permission.

Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas, who wrote to GOSE last week calling for the waste plan to be called in for a public inquiry, said: "I am glad it has been put on hold while local objections are considered.

"Campaigners say the councils largely ignored the results of the original public inquiry. It must be reopened to give the thousands, 8,000 people wrote to the city council alone, who have expressed objections to the incinerator proposal a chance to air their views.

"The waste plan as it stands is skewed towards meeting the terms of a 25-year £1 billion waste management contract with Onyx, not the needs, or wishes, of local residents.

"It will tie the councils into burning waste for the next quarter-century when they could be promoting waste reduction and improved recycling, in line with both public opinion and environmental necessity.

The plan should have been drawn up before, not after, a long-term contract to operate an incinerator was signed. But since it is signed, we must not miss this chance to make East Sussex and Brighton and Hove a beacon of best practice on recycling and waste reduction."

Dr Lucas is being backed by a number of residents who have written to John Prescott asking for the plan to be called in.

No decisions have yet been made on the planning applications for the burner and tip and the applications could still be approved even if the waste local plan is rejected.

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said: "The county council has been asked by GOSE to delay formal adoption of the waste local plan. We understand this is normal practice and allows ministers to have sufficient time in which to consider all the issues."

The incinerator plans project director, John Collis, of Onyx, told The Argus last year: "We are not going to stop producing waste and doing nothing about it is not an option.

"It is now a legal requirement that the amount of household waste going straight to landfill is reduced. Local authorities will be penalised for not meeting targets and this would push up costs for council tax payers."

Onyx, is holding a public exhibition for residents to find out more about its plans for the incinerator, which is designed to handle about 210,000 tonnes of household waste a year and will replace the current landfill method of disposal of non-recyclable waste.

Onyx staff will be at the Hillcrest Community Centre in Hillcrest Road, Newhaven, on Thursday, from 2.30pm to 7pm, and on Saturday, from 10.30am to 1.30pm, to answer questions.

A scale model and computergenerated images of the facility will be on display, along with copies of the planning application and information packs.