The plant, which is being proposed to treat residual household waste on behalf of Cornwall council for the next 25 years, was granted planning permission by Mr Pickles in May 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).
But,this was overturned in Londons High Court last month (see letsrecycle.com story) in a move which Cornwall council said could cost it 6 million in additional landfill and haulage costs. The legal challenge was brought by the Cornwall Waste Forum St Dennis Branch campaign group which claimed that Mr Pickles had failed to consider the projects impact on local conservation areas in the way it had expected when he was considering SITAs appeal against an earlier refusal for the plans.
And, the saga continued today as Mr Pickles department, DCLG, confirmed he would be appealing the decision.
The spokesman said: We can confirm that the secretary of state is today lodging an appeal.
Welcome
The news was welcomed by Cornwall council and SITA UK. While Cornwall council has previously considered scrapping its PFI-funded contract with SITA UK (see letsrecycle.com story), it estimates the cost of pursuing an alternative would be 322 million.
In a statement, it said: The council welcomes the decision of the Secretary of State to appeal the High Court judgment which will enable the legal situation to be clarified and hopefully will end the uncertainty for everyone involved. The council is not a party to the legal proceedings however, in view of the importance of this case to the people of Cornwall and the finances of the council, Members and officers will clearly be following any developments very closely.
The council added that SITA was taking an active part in the proceedings and the council would liaise closely with it to ensure that Cornwalls interests were safeguarded.
SITA UK also welcomed the judgement. “We hope that the appeal will be heard as quickly as possible, as the people of Cornwall need clarity over the way their waste problem will be managed”, the company said in a statement.
“We remain convinced that the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre (CERC) is the best financial, technical and environmental solution for Cornwall. If the Secretary of States appeal is upheld, in due course, then it will bring us all a step closer to putting Cornwalls residual waste to good use, with the production of enough energy to power around 21,000 homes and the ability to provide heat to local industry.”
Travesty
However, Julian Kirby, resource use campaigner at Friends of the Earth, claimed that Mr Pickles’ actions were completely at odds with claims by his government to be the greenest ever.
He said: This makes a travesty of any commitment by Eric Pickles to localism. There is massive local opposition to the Cornwall project. It is totally the wrong solution for Cornwall and will be hugely expensive to build, at a time when budgets are being cut.
Register for free to comment