Grundon Waste Management is expected to learn whether it will receive planning permission for its proposed 200,000 tonne-per-year capacity incinerator in West Sussex by January 6 next year.
The facility will form part of Grundons Circular Technology Park, at Ford near Arundel, a site which will also house a 60,000 tonnes-per-year capacity MRF for commercial and industrial waste. The site is expected to create around 200 construction and 60 direct jobs.
It will be located close to Viridors 15 million materials recycling facility (MRF), built in 2009 as part of a 25-year PFI contract between the waste contractor and West Sussex county council to recycle material from the household waste stream.
Grundons West Sussex site forms part of the former Ford Airfield which has over recent years been developed for industrial use. A former aerated block factory located on the airfield will house the Parks reception, pre-treatment and MRF facilities.
Waste arriving at the Park will be sorted via a front end screening process, before being directed to the MRF, the residual waste treatment facility, or transferred off-site.
The Grundon EfW facility, which would operate 24 hours a day, has been designed to generate up to 14MW of electricity, 2MW of which would be used to power the plant itself and provide the opportunity for combined heat and power (CHP) for neighbouring land users.
A consultation has been launched on the suitability of Grundons EfW plant, which is due to end on December 19. The council received the application on November 14 this year and will decide whether to grant planning permission by January 6 2014.
Consultation
The Technology Park has already faced opposition from the local community due to concerns of traffic congestion, noise and emissions from the site, but a spokesman for Grundon said extensive engagement with the community via a consultation had seen 62% of respondents come out in support of the proposals in June.
He added: We are moving from a throwaway society to one of a circular economy where all wastes are viewed as resources and our new site at Ford will make a significant contribution in assisting West Sussex achieve its zero waste to landfill target.
The proposal would make good use of a redundant, brownfield industrial site maximising the recycling and recovery of up to 200,000 tonnes of waste resources per year. Furthermore it would prevent the equivalent of 28,5000 tonnes of CO2 being generated each year by diverting this waste from landfill.
Related Links
The application is currently in the early stages of the planning process and is available to view through West Sussex county council as part of the councils formal consultation on the application.
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