And, today (20 June) the Environment Agency issued a consultation on a full permit with the revised chimney height for the facility. The site, near Kelvedon, is to be developed by Gent Fairhead on land at the former Rivenhall Airfield.
Gent Fairhead said the draft environmental permit relates to a revised chimney stack height of 58 metres above surrounding ground level which ‘addresses’ the concerns raised during the original consultation by local councillors and members of the public regarding the height of the stack.
Original
In December 2016 the Environment Agency refused an environmental permit for the facility. The original proposal was to incorporate a chimney stack of around 35-metres. However, the Environment Agency said the plant should incorporate a higher chimney stack measuring a minimum of 70-metres – equivalent to those of similar facilities of its size.
The 595,000 tonnes per year capacity CHP incinerator is designed to burn RDF and SRF and also incorporates a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant, materials recycling facility, an anaerobic digestion plant and a recovered paper pulping plant. Planning permission for the development has already been secured via Essex county council but will need varying for the higher chimney.
Planning
The company said a planning application will now be submitted to the council to vary condition 56 of the existing planning permission to increase the height of the IWMF stack to 58 metres above surrounding ground level. The details of this planning application, it noted, will be consistent with the draft environmental permit.
According to a spokesman for Gent Fairhead: “updated Landscape and Visual Assessment and photomontages have been prepared” and a detailed review has been carried out to consider the change in stack height on local heritage assets. Air Quality information will also be considered by the Environment Agency in its determination of the Environmental Permit.
The spokesman noted: “By raising the height of the stack the emissions from the facility disperse better than before into the atmosphere and therefore their potential effects at ground level are reduced even more.
“This was a key objective of the Environment Agency in assessing whether or not our proposals incorporate best available techniques, and in addressing public concerns about the stack height.”
The company said that preliminary construction works have started at the site including road widening to create access, and high voltage and water mains diversion.
Related links
Environment Agency Rivenhall consultation
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