Plans for a 190,000 tonne a year capacity energy-from-waste incinerator at Javelin Park, near Gloucester have been turned down by Gloucestershire county councils planning committee.
The facility was proposed to treat waste under a 500 million contract between the council and a consortium involving Spanish-owned waste management firm Urbaser and civil engineers Balfour Beatty, which was awarded in September 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Earlier this month, the county council had recommended that the application be approved, stating that the facility was needed to help Gloucestershire divert waste from landfill, but councillors voted unanimously against the plans at the meeting yesterday (March 21).
But, opponents felt that the facility would damage views across the surrounding area, with one resident commenting that the chimney stack would be taller than Gloucester Cathedral. Others questioned whether building an incinerator would be economically sound compared to other available technology.
And, after discussing the plans at yesterdays meeting, a motion was proposed to reject the application, which was backed by all 18 councillors present. UBB is considering launching an appeal into the decision.
Councillor Stan Waddington, Gloucestershires cabinet project champion for waste, said: This is now out of our hands. UBB is considering a planning appeal, meaning that the final decision is now likely to be taken by an independent planning inspector.
The Planning Committee has made a decision based on several concerns with the proposed incinerators prominence as a building. This is only one part of a detailed proposal, which has been supported by the full council on five separate occasions, where all 63 councillors have had the opportunity to have their say.
Landfill
He added: We cant go on putting our rubbish in holes in the ground. Its neither environmentally friendly nor fair on the people who have to live next to landfill. We also cannot rely on shipping our waste to other places to deal with. We must have a safe, clean and environmentally friendly way to dispose of our rubbish that cant readily be recycled which is exactly what this facility at Javelin Park would provide.
The Javelin Park site had been considered as a suitable location for the development due to its proximity to the major road network and to the main sources of waste within the county. A bottom ash processing facility and visitor centre had also been proposed for the site.
But, the plans attracted significant opposition from the local community, with residents setting up the Gloucestershire Against Incineration campaign group to fight the application. The plans also faced opposition from Stroud district council and the Stroud District and Gloucestershire Green Party.
Reaction
UBB has commented that it is disappointed by the decision to reject the proposals for the facility, which it said would have saved the council around 190 million over the life of the 25-year contract.
Javier Peiro, project director for UBB, said: UBB is disappointed by the decision made by Gloucestershires Planning Committee. UBB remains contracted to dispose of Gloucestershires residual waste and in light of this decision we are considering our options.
The proposals for an energy-from-waste facility at Javelin Park were developed in order to assist the county in taking responsibility for its own waste. Moreover, the proposed development is entirely consistent with the councils own recently adopted Waste Core Strategy.
While Gloucestershire continues to send its residual waste to landfill there is an unavoidable environmental and economic cost.
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