The order, which was issued on Wednesday (April 22), follows the High Court upholding a complaint made by rival glass manufacturer Ardagh Glass that Irish-owned Quinn Glass did not have proper planning permission for the facility when it was built in 2005 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The plant can manufacture 320,000 tonnes of material a year and was intended to reprocess two million tonnes of recycled glass cullet from Nottingham-based recycling firm Recresco over ten years, under a deal agreed in August 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The High Court had heard how planning consent had previously been obtained for a smaller plant on the site at Elton and Quinn was fighting for retrospective planning permission for the larger factory.
However, Judge Mole QC, who presided over the High Court case, told the council to issue the Enforcement Order within 14 days of his decision, which Cheshire West and Chester has done, although Quinn Glass is yet to actually receive – or 'be served' – the notice.
Speaking this week, councillor Mike Jones, leader of Cheshire West and Chester council, said: “We anticipate that the notice will be served at the company's headquarters in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, within the next few days. Its full requirements – including stipulated time – scales – will only become a matter of public record once the notice has been served.”
Quinn Glass has the right to appeal to Communities Secretary Hazel Blears against the enforcement notice and the council can still grant retrospective planning permission for the plant. However, Judge Mole QC claimed that retrospective planning permission for the plant could only be granted under “exceptional circumstances”.
Planning
A planning application to regulate the existing development, submitted by Quinn Glass to the former Chester City Council, remains to be determined by the new Cheshire West and Chester authority.
Cllr Jones added: “At present we are waiting on further relevant information from the company. Until this has been received, we are unable to say when this matter will go to committee.”
A spokesman for Ardagh Glass said: “We are surprised that the council leader, Mike Jones, has indicated that the council intends to determine a planning application for retention of the unlawful structure when the applicant, Quinn Glass, is in a position to provide sufficient information to the planners.”
“The council must be aware of the letters of June 3 2008 and October 2 2008 to the councils from the Secretary of State prohibiting them from granting planning permission for the plant without special authorisation from the Secretary of State,” he added.
A spokesperson for Quinn Glass told letsrecycle.com: “There is no statement from Quinn Glass at the moment until they have received and read the enforcement notice.”
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