SITA UKs plan to develop an anaerobic digestion facility and materials recycling facility in Mitcham, South West London, has been approved by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
Mr Johnsons decision to approve the proposal last night (October 12) overturns Labour-run Merton councils decision to reject the plans in October 2010. As such, it represents the first time the Conservative Mayor has used powers gained in 2008 to determine a waste facility planning application deemed to be of strategic importance to the capital.
Following Merton councils rejection of its proposals for the project (see letsrecycle.com story), SITA UK made a number of changes to its plans for the site, with the combined impact of reducing its size and footprint by more than half.
These include:
Reducing the capacity of the proposed anaerobic digestion facility from 100,000 tonnes-a-year to 40,000 tonnes-a-year;
Removing entirely plans to develop an in-vessel composting facility as part of the project;
Reducing the height of the AD stack from 37 metres to 32 metres;
Reducing the height of the AD tanks from 24.5 metres to 15 metres.
Together, SITA UK claims that these changes will lead to a 20% reduction in the amount of traffic during the second phase of the development than originally proposed.
The site is already home to a waste transfer station, and this operation would continue on a smaller scale under the new project, handling 40,000 tonnes of material a year. It would also be home to an 80,000 tonne-a-year capacity materials recycling facility, extending a current sorting operation on site.
The proposals were made on the basis of feedstock for the AD facility coming from commercial sources. The current operations on site deal with commercial waste from South West London and household recyclables from the London borough of Sutton.
Delighted
SITA UKs chief executive, David Palmer-Jones said the company was delighted to have secured the Mayors approval for the project.
This is a first for London and an exciting step towards a more sustainable means of waste management for the area. While we see this is as a positive step forward, we remain committed to working with Merton council and local residents to address the concerns of the community.
We fully intend to remain engaged with local residents throughout the planning and construction process and will work with them and their elected officials in the coming months to ensure a successful outcome.
He added: London desperately needs a greener, more sophisticated approach to handling waste, so we are delighted our plans for an anaerobic digestion facility have met with approval from the London Mayor. The site will help to significantly reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill and help ensure London meets its environmental targets.
SITA UK expects the development of the site to commence once all planning conditions have been met. The site also has the technological potential to export heat to local users.
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