A judicial review in December 2002 said that a recently approved extension to a Biffa landfill at Patteson Court had affected the need for an EfW facility in Surrey. But the fact that Grundon's planned incinerator near Heathrow could be used for some of Surrey's waste may also have been a factor in the judge's decision.
Delay
Surrey County Council decided not to appeal the High Court decision, but the judge gave SITA, owner of waste disposal contractor Surrey Waste Services, leave to resubmit an application to the planning committee. If a new submission is made and an EfW plant approved, it will set the process back by around three years, meaning the start of building work could be delayed to at least 2005.
SITA will meet with council waste management officers in January 2003 to discuss whether to resubmit the application. If so, they must decide how to change it to reflect the Biffa and Grundon sites. The decision on whether to reapply will rest ultimately with the council.
Donation
Following Surrey County Council's granting of planning permission to the Capel site, protestors formed the Capel Action Group, which challenged the decision through a judicial review helped by an 8,000 donation from Mole Valley Council. Eventually the planning permission was overturned in the High Court.
The main factor in the judge's decision was the fact that planning officers did not advise the planning committee that the Biffa application had been successful – even though this significantly altered the disposal facilities available in the county. The SITA EfW plant would have taken 110,000 tonnes a year, while Biffa's landfill will now expand its current 1,200 tonnes per day capacity.
The Action Group also said the proximity principle had been misapplied because Capel was at the far South of the county and the council had not followed its own plans to use a site with previous waste use.
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