The council's Development Control Committee gave the Green Milton Keynes Centre the final piece of its planning permission on Wednesday night, with a Section 106 Agreement adding further minor changes.
The company has already had to drop an incineration component of the plant to gain planning permission (see letsrecycle.com story). After a series of delays, the council gave its final approval after Shanks agreed to new Section 106 conditions on operating hours and the contribution of 200,000 towards the enhancement of a neighbouring nature reserve.
The agreement will allow Shanks to build an initial four MBT facilities (also known as bio-MRFs) using technology from Italian firm Ecodeco. Residue from the MBT process will either be sent for incineration outside the Milton Keynes area, possibly as fuel for cement kilns, or it could be used as landfill cover.
Commenting on the council's approval, Shanks Waste Services director Andy Ryan said: “We listened to the concerns of local people, amended our original plans and agreed additional measures to address these concerns. It has been a long drawn-out process but we are delighted to have now reached agreement on the potential for a modern and environmentally sound way of managing our waste in this area.
Contracts
The Green MK Centre proposal is still subject to Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control permits and its timetable of development will be subject to Shanks gaining the necessary waste contracts to feed the plant.
It is thought that the company may build one or two of the bio-MRFs, each handling about 60,0000 tonnes of waste, over the next two or three years, with more commissioned as Shanks gains the waste contracts to fill them.
Mr Ryan said: “With local authorities under increasing pressure to reduce reliance on landfill and to meet increasing recycling targets, we are confident that the Green MK Centre will attract enough firm interest to become a reality.”
Restricted
Incoming household waste at the site has been restricted to an agreed list of neighbouring local authority areas in the agreement. Although a Shanks spokesman told letsrecycle.com the list of authorities was “extensive”, the council said it includes no authorities over 30 miles away from the site. The restriction does not relate to commercial or industrial waste, but the spokesman confirmed that waste would not be sent to Milton Keynes from the company's East London contract.
Alongside the MBT component, the new centre will also include two materials recycling facilities for separated household waste and for mixed wastes, as well as a green waste composting facility. Shanks will put 150,000 towards the development of a civic amenity site for recycling.
As well as limiting lorry movements at the site to 750 a day, the Section 106 Agreement now restricts operational hours to 7am – 6pm midweek and 7am – 1pm on Saturdays with slight changes around public holidays.
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