The question was posed on 26 October during Prime Minister’s Questions by Dr Andrew Murrison, MP for South West Wiltshire, referring to the proposed Westbury plant.
Dr Murrison said that the proposed waste incinerator is “one of the burning issues in his constituency”. He then asked the PM whether he will “signal his intent to continue promoting public health, net zero and the environment by placing a moratorium on anymore unwanted, unnecessary toxic waste burners”.
The PM answered that, having visited the constituency in the summer, he knew Dr Murrison to be “a vociferous campaigner” on the issue. He explained that these issues are determined by local authorities but reassured Dr Murrison that “all large incinerators in England must comply with strict emission limits and only receive permits if plants don’t cause any damage to human health”.
Background
The company behind the EfW facility is Northacre Renewable Energy Limited (NREL), which is a joint venture between Hills and the Bioenergy Infrastructure Group.
The plant was originally granted planning permission from Wiltshire council in 2015 for an advanced thermal treatment facility using gasification technology. It then applied to move to moving grate combustion. The plans were turned down in 2018 before being accepted last year (see letsrecycle.com story).
In April, The Wiltshire’s council planning committee adjourned its decision on whether to permit the facility until July, while it was awaiting the outcome of government consultation (see letsrecycle.com story).
In June, the Environment Agency issued a permit to the company, following a public consultation over the draft permit issued in March (see letsrecycle.com story)
The council rejected the company’s planning application for the EfW plant in July despite a report that went before the council recommending the application be approved. The decision was based on the grounds that it doesn’t represent a “sustainable development” (see letsrecycle.com story).
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