If approved, the facility will have the capacity of 100,000 tonnes of food waste annually and create gas to power 8,200 homes.
Construction is planned to begin in 2026/27 with the aim of the site being operational in 2027/28.
The site was formerly a quarry and is located just off Holloway Lane at Sipson, in West Drayton, UB7 0AE. It lies 1.2km to the north of Heathrow Airport and just south of the M4 motorway.
Community engagement phase
The waste management company has now begun its six-week pre-application engagement phase with the local community to gather feedback on the plans. The engagement period will end on 24 March 2025.
It will include the distribution of information leaflets to local households and businesses, inviting residents and local businesses to attend drop-in information sessions.
The community drop-in events will be held at St Mary’s Church in Harmondsworth on:
- Thursday 6 March 2025 – 12pm to 8pm
- Friday 7 March 2025 – 9am to 5pm
Once the pre-application engagement period is complete, Suez will use the feedback to inform its planning application to Hillingdon council.
More information is available here.
‘Need to start processing more food waste’
Yesterday (11 February 2025), Defra and WRAP published a report which showed that the introduction of separately collected food waste under Simpler Recycling will see the waste stream increase 100% to 4.8Mt by 2035.
Tim Hughes, project development manager at Suez, commented: “We are proposing to bring forward a planning application for an anaerobic digestion facility at our site on Holloway Lane and are currently in the very early stages of the process.
“We need alternative renewable energy sources to help respond to the climate emergency and rising energy costs. Anaerobic digestion is an excellent method of energy generation because it recycles food waste and generates reliable, renewable energy at the same time.
“Changes to government policy around food waste collection and processing also mean that the Greater London area, just like the rest of the UK, is going to have to start processing its food waste and will therefore need a network of treatment facilities.
“We believe this site is an ideal location as it already has permission to operate recycling and waste management operations and it is well located for the M4, so trucks wouldn’t need to travel through nearby residential areas in Sipson or Harmondsworth.
“Engaging with the local community is important to us and we’re looking forward to discussing the plans in more detail with people in the coming months and receiving their feedback.”
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