Leave was granted by a High Court judge last week (23 February) and “the judicial review hearing will take place later this year, with a date to be agreed”, Indaver outlined.
The company explained that it is challenging the refusal of planning permission for the plant together with arc21, the umbrella waste management group for six local authorities in the east of Northern Ireland.
The granting of leave means that Indaver will now be able to appeal the decision taken by the former minister for infrastructure Nichola Mallon, who turned the planning application down in March last year on the grounds that it discourages recycling (see letsrecycle.com story).
Ms Mallon said the 300,000 tonne facility could result in “an increased market for waste disposal and to maintain a facility such as this, in addition to the other approved waste facilities, could discourage recycling”.
The proposed £240 million plant would provide a solution for residual waste arising in the six councils that are part of the arc21 group. The final decision was with the infrastructure minister due to the facility’s scale.
We welcome the news that the judicial review process will proceed later this year
- Jackie Keaney, Indaver
Different opinions
However, Indaver will now take this decision to the courts after being granted permission to launch a judicial review.
Welcoming the decision last week, Jackie Keaney, commercial director, for Indaver and Becon Consortium said: “We welcome the news that the judicial review process will proceed later this year and hope that it will assist in the delivery of this critical piece of public infrastructure.
“Our proposals represent a quarter of a billion pounds investment in much needed public infrastructure, resulting in a council owned asset that provides a local, resilient solution for arc21’s black bin waste. The project will directly contribute to Northern Ireland’s ambitious recycling and landfill diversion targets while also recovering energy from our non-recyclable waste locally. This reduces the need to import expensive fossil fuels.”
A spokesperson for the Northern Irish infrastructure department said it would be inappropriate to comment while the legal challenge is ongoing.
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