PROTESTORS battling against plans for a waste plant in Sinfin say Derby City Council's decision to pay £25 million towards the building of the site was "an insult" to taxpayers.

The council's £25 million "capital contribution" to the plant will be matched by that from Derbyshire County Council.

But the campaigners say the county – a larger council – should pay the majority of the £50 million total, especially at a time of cuts.

The two authorities entered into an agreement with Resource Recovery Solutions in 2009 to deal with the county's waste for 27 years.

A waste treatment plant in Sinfin Lane was intended to be a central part of this work.

The county council agreed to cover the majority of the liability and cost of the contract – 70% compared to Derby's 30%.

Now Simon Bacon, chairman of anti-incinerator group SSAIN, has said he cannot understand why this had been substituted for a 50/50 split when it came to the council's contributions to the building. He said: "The city council are 30% partners in the scheme.

"We believe it should only be paying 30% of the £50 million. At a time when the council is making cuts, to pay half is an insult to the public of Derby."

In total, 200,000 tonnes of waste would be brought to the plant each year from all over Derbyshire.

Mr Bacon said: "Homes in Derby wouldn't be contributing to 50% of the waste. We don't have 100,000 tonnes of rubbish to send. We only create 70,000 tonnes a year."

RRS is now a wholly-owned subsidiary firm of another waste company, Shanks. A spokeswoman for the firm said it was investing £130 million in the waste plant, on top of the £50 million from the councils.

Mick McLachlan, head of waste management at the city council, said: "The councils' capital contribution to the plant is £50 million – £25 million from each council. This figure hasn't changed. It has always been £50 million and there are no proposals to change it."

The plant will heat waste, producing a gas which can then be burned to create energy.

Derby City Council leader Paul Bayliss said the plant will "definitely" be built as not doing so would bankrupt the authority in legal fees and damages.

But SSAIN and Friends of the Earth have announced they are launching a High Court legal challenge against the building of the plant, scheduled for March.

As things stand, work on the site could begin in September this year.

A GANG of three men broke into a shop in Spondon and stole cigarettes.

The group went to the Co-op, in Sitwell Street, at around 10.45pm last night, smashing through the glass front door.

Once inside, they broke open the roller shutters in front of the cigarette display and filled plastic bags with the cigarettes.

They ran out onto Poplar Avenue and got into a blue car, which drove off in the direction of Ilkeston.

The car was later found abandoned in a car park in Dale Road, Spondon.

All three men wore hooded tops with the hoods up.

Anyone with information should call police on 101

WITH far sharper styling, some fantastic equipment and a punchy 200PS 2.2-litre diesel engine, the latest Hyundai Santa Fe punches its way upmarket on merit. Customers choose between five and seven seats, manual or auto transmissions and front or four-wheel drive. It's hard not to be impressed.

The Santa Fe rides on a modified version of the Sonata chassis, with the same wheelbase as before and no great innovation in the basics. It's a specially UK-tuned MacPherson strut front end and a multilink rear suspension, but delve a little deeper and there are some interesting details. There's self-levelling suspension as standard on seven-seaters, a FLEX STEER System that delivers normal, sport and comfort steering modes, plus the drive system is interesting.

As expected, it's front-wheel drive most of the time, but when sensors detect slippage, up to 50% of drive can be diverted to the rear wheels. Those who expect a little more of their 4x4s will like the fact that in especially slippery conditions, such as muddy off-roading or driving on snow or ice, four-wheel drive can be selected with the push of the "lock" button, delivering a 50/50 power split at speeds up to 25mph. There's also an economy-oriented front-wheel-drive car offered.

Hyundai has unveiled one petrol and two diesel engines, but we're only scheduled to get the flagship motor, the 2.2-litre "R" all-aluminium diesel powerplant. This has actually had its peak torque output dialled back a little in the interests of emissions but it's nothing you'd notice, the variable geometry turbo contributing to a healthy 431Nm, down 6Nm on its predecessor. It makes 200PS of peak power so it's got some kick to it.

Customers get to choose between a six-speed manual or six-speed auto gearbox, both fitted with an extra tall cruising gear for economy. The automatic is innovative as it's fitted with a flat torque converter and its space-efficient layout means it's the most compact six-speed unit currently built.

The latest Santa Fe isn't quite the sort of car that will have pedestrians bumbling slack-jawed into pavement furniture but it's undoubtedly a good-looking thing. Most importantly, choose an upscale version and it looks – and there's not really a better word for it – expensive. That's exactly the desired result, as Hyundai is trying to push the Santa Fe upmarket. I love designer-speak and Hyundai reckons the Santa Fe's lines are influenced by its "Fluidic Sculpture" form language, with its own design concept called "storm Edge" which captures the strong and dynamic images created by nature during the formation of a storm. I'll have what they're having.

The Santa Fe started out as a bit of an oddity and then improved quickly. When a manufacturer improves that rapidly it often performs well objectively but takes a little longer to really find its confidence. Hyundai is certainly coming with a bit of a swagger with the third-generation Santa Fe, realising that if it's to break out of its budget niche, it needs something quite special. It looks to have done exactly that with this car. Well built and with a kit list many rivals can only shake their heads at, it makes the right numbers too.

Although there's only one engine option, UK buyers can pick front- or four-wheel drive and five seats or seven. Plus there's auto or manual transmissions and a range of three trim levels, so Hyundai hope to have most customers covered. Keep your eye on this one. It's going places.

Visit the Beechdale Hyundai dealership in Mansfield Road, Derby (DE1 4SZ), click to www.beechdale.co.uk or call 01332 372555.

A6 London Road, Derby

A516 Uttoxeter Road, Derby

A6 Ashford in the Water

A515 Parsley Hay, Bakewell

A6135 Station Road, Main Road, Renishaw

A617 Bramley Vale

A6 Furness Vale to Newtown

A57 Snake Road, Glossop

B6057 Sheffield Road, Stonegravels, Chesterfield

B6179 Denby

A623 Stoney Middleton to Peak Forest

Boythorpe Road, Chesterfield

A511 Station Road, Hatton

A6175 North Wingfield

Wilmore Road, Sinfin, Derby

AS certain as the sun will rise tomorrow, petrol prices will continue to rise. So here are some useful tips to help reduce the cost of your motoring – and help the environment.

Modern automobile technology has made great strides in reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, but handling the car correctly is also one of the biggest and often insufficiently explored factors in saving fuel.

As far as the car itself is concerned, regular routine maintenance is essential. It is also important to check tyre pressures because low pressure increases fuel costs and tyre wear.

Another useful tip is not to carry unnecessary ballast around in the boot. A 100kg load can increase fuel consumption by more than 5mpg in town driving.

For further fuel-saving success, don't leave the roof rack on when you don't need it – everything that worsens the car's aerodynamics will use more fuel. Also turning off electrical accessories like air conditioning, rear window de-mister or additional lights also saves fuel.

While on the move, the golden rule is to look well ahead and maintain steady speeds. Unnecessary accelerating and braking not only costs fuel but frayed nerves as well. Shift up to top gear as soon as you can and drive in top gear from around 30mph and keep to low revs (between 2,000rpm and 3,000rpm) whenever possible. Using only 75% of the vehicle's top speed is also economical. It results in fuel savings of up to 50% with only a negligible loss of time.

In winter, don't warm the engine up with the car at a standstill. Instead, drive off immediately after starting the engine and let it warm up to operating temperature while driving within a medium rpm range.

Switch off the engine for stops of one minute or longer. Many modern cars have this stop/start facility as part of their engine management system. The engine burns fuel even while idling. The automatic fuel intake shutdown while coasting, driving down a hill or braking, provides another means of saving fuel. So don't use the accelerator while coasting and don't take the vehicle out of gear.

Use of the sports option and unnecessary manual shifting lead to increased fuel consumption in vehicles with automatic transmissions. The engine operates most frugally in the "D" gear, which can almost always be used. Gentle, even pressure on the accelerator pedal causes the transmission to shift earlier to an energy saving gear.

THE ADAM punts Vauxhall straight into the style-led city car sector. It's striking to look at, both inside and out, and includes some features yet to be seen in this segment. The big question will be whether urban hipsters will get past this most blue-collar of badges.

Talk to anyone who really knows about cars and they'll tell you how good the latest generation Corsa is. Trouble is, the man in the street still associates the Corsa with the old vehicles that replaced the Nova and weren't particularly great.

The ADAM rides on a cutdown version of the Corsa's chassis and that can only be good news. It's been extensively re-engineered to suit the demands of the shorter wheelbase. It's ostensibly quite a simple set-up, but Vauxhall has invested years of know-how into it. Up front are a set of MacPherson struts while the rear end utilises a torsion beam set-up. Ease of use on urban roads is enhanced by a CITY mode, which increases the electronic power steering system's assistance at lower speeds.

This is a car that's going to sell largely on whether the styling chimes with new car buyers and Vauxhall certainly can't be accused of going at it half-cocked. There's a lot going on, the design work attributed to Brit Mark Adams' team in Europe. The ADAM incorporates a 'floating' roof which is visually disconnected from the body, which works particularly well with two-tone colour schemes. It looks like no other Vauxhall but still incorporates a bunch of existing styling cues, such as the Astra's wing-shaped chrome grille bar and the blade shape in the lower doors. Like MINI, Vauxhall is looking to appeal to the customer's sense of individuality in the sheer amount of colour combinations and materials.

Wheels range from 16 inches for entry-level cars and there are 17- and 18-inch options further up the range, with a lowered sports chassis part of the deal.

Unlike many cars which offer striking exterior designs but an interior that betrays a sudden curtailment of development budget, the cabin of the ADAM is, if anything, even bolder than the exterior. There's extensive use of body-coloured trim inserts, not only on the dashboard but also reaching along the centre console and onto the steering wheel aimed at giving the interior a real riotous personality.

A seven-inch touch screen interface is the big point of interest from a technological perspective. It's both iPhone and Android compatible, and can access internet-downloaded apps in the same manner as the latest Renault Clio and Peugeot 208. Where specified, the navigation and infotainment controls are all marshalled by the touch screen. There's even a choice of headlining, including an LED-lit starlight roof trim.

If you can get past the rather unusual naming culture, it's easy to see why Vauxhall are so bullish about the ADAM range. It cherrypicks from some tried and tested chassis and engine technology and builds on that with extrovert styling and promises decent build quality. The interior moves the city car game on in several regards, including the option of a wonderful starlight roof and the intelligence of its iPhone and Android-compatible touchscreen infotainment system.

It all adds up to a very interesting choice if you're looking for a style-conscious little runabout. So don't sign the cheque for that Fiat 500 just yet. Call Pentagon Vauxhall in Derby on 01332 644213 or drop in at its showroom at Pentagon Island (DE21 6HB).

THE Mondeo has built a decent reputation for reliability so you'll be very unlucky to find a car with any serious faults. There have been glitches reported with the keyless entry and start system so check that it's working correctly.

The Mondeo seems generally well built and the engines have been used across the Ford range with no serious problems. Test drive when the engine is cold, walk round the car and smell for diesel. Also listen for a rattle from the engine. If you can smell diesel it could be that the injector pipe is leaking. If the engine rattles, the flywheel almost certainly needs replacing. If you do find either of these problems, have the car examined by a specialist. Take a good look around the car and inspect the bodywork and alloy wheels for signs of scuffing.

This Mondeo is a big vehicle with extremities that aren't always easy to place so parking incidents are not uncommon. When I first drove this car back in 2007, it's fair to say that, like some other journalists, I was a tiny bit disappointed.

The previous second-generation version was so sharp in its responses, so pointy in its steering, that this one, good though it was, felt a little laid-back and languid by comparison. A few years and a few thousand miles later, though, I've no such reservations. I've come to realise that where the old model reacted, this one flows. It's sophisticated enough to be involving only when you want it to be. Other cars require adaptive or sports suspension to feel this good and though the Mondeo offers these options too, the difference is that it doesn't really need them.

The ride's absorbent, yet you're in touch with what the car's doing. Refinement is excellent and at the wheel, all the controls work with beautiful precision. Even if you aren't any kind of driving enthusiast, the impression offered up over the first 100 yards is that it just feels right.

Keen drivers will seek out the punchier engines and the 162bhp diesel is a peach of a motor, enabling the Mondeo to sprint to 60 in well under nine seconds and top out at comfortably over 130mph. On paper the 2.0-litre SCTi petrol looks a good deal quicker, with figures of 7.9 seconds and 144mph, but in everyday driving the diesel feels virtually as quick and its 53.3mpg figure knocks the SCTi's admittedly respectable 36.6mpg out of the park.

The Mondeo is a very canny used buy indeed. It can stomach big miles, especially in 2.0-litre diesel guise, so don't be put off a car that's got a bit of leg on it. If pressed, I'd be looking for a 2.0-litre TDI diesel hatchback in 140 or 163bhp guises, although if a clean 2.0 SCTi came along at the right price I'd be tempted.

RELIEVED hedgehog carers have reported spikes in food stocks thanks to generous Derby Telegraph readers.

Members of the Hogs Haven Trust in Mickleover had said they were worried the baby creatures might not have the fat reserves to make it through the winter.

They appealed in the pages of the Telegraph for people to donate tins of dog food to help fatten up the little guys.

And now the prickly fellows have been taking it in turns to hog the food bowl after people handed in cans of meat for them to feed on.

Hilary and Stewart McDonald run the trust from their home in Lark Hill, Mickleover and each year take in tiny hedgehogs which are underweight and which would not otherwise survive the winter.

They keep them in heated rabbit hutches and feed them to get them up to weight.

Then, the following spring, they release them back into the wild.

Hilary said the critters got through more than a dozen tins of dog food a week.

The 64-year-old said: "This year we have 28 hedgehogs, which is quite a few.

"And they are hungry little hogs and we just don't have enough food. It is quite expensive and this is purely a voluntary thing, it's not for profit."

After the appeal was featured in the Derby Telegraph, the couple had donations of food from six readers, along with more donations from people who contacted them by e-mail.

Hilary said: "It is absolutely brilliant and has really helped us. The thing is, the hedgehogs are quite picky.

"We can't use the dog food which is in gravy or jelly because they won't eat it.

"Pedigree Chum do a meatloaf which is perfect, so if you want to donate, please make it that."

She said that each year, they would inevitably lose one or two of the babies over the course of the winter.

"It is so hard. It is a really satisfying thing to do in the home but it is also heartbreaking," she said.

"Stewart used to give them all names but he can't anymore – he gets too upset if they die.

"But we love helping them, even if they take over the house."

If you can help with vital supplies of food, contact hogs.haven@yahoo.co.uk.

A GANG left an attack victim needing hospital treatment after he confronted them about throwing snowballs at his car.

The incident happened at 1am last Saturday when the 24-year-old victim challenged the group in Market Street, South Normanton.

The confrontation led to the assault which left him with facial injuries.

He was taken to King's Mill Hospital, Sutton in Ashfield, for treatment and the group also damaged his car.

Officers investigating the assault are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101.