Planning permission for the 269,000 tonne-a-year capacity facility at Great Blakenham near Ipswich was granted today (July 21) and earlier this month the Environment Agency issued the necessary draft permit for the site effectively giving SITA UK the green light to proceed. Building work is due to start later this year and the plant should be open by December 2014.
The plant is being built under SITA UKs 25-year, 1 billion PFI-funded waste management contract with Suffolk county council, which was signed in September 2010 (see letsrecycle.com story). The planning application for the facility was submitted to Suffolk county council in January 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Cliff Matthews, EfW Regional Manager at SITA UK, said: Todays decision is excellent news for Suffolk. The days of sending thousands of tonnes of household waste to landfill are coming to an end.
On a personal note, I would like to thank the people of Suffolk, particularly local residents in and around Great Blakenham, for the open way they have engaged with us since we began consulting on our planning application. We will continue to work closely with local residents as we move to the construction phase later this year.
“Delighted”
Mark Bee, leader of Suffolk county council, which has a 25-year contract with SITA UK to build and then run the site, said he was delighted that work could now start on the project.
He said: We are proud that Suffolk is one of the top recycling areas in the country with over half our household waste recycled. We want to do even better and aim to get to 60% by 2015.
But there will always be waste left over. Now, well be putting that waste to good use as a fuel to generate electricity. Over the life of the contract this will be around 350 million cheaper than continuing to landfill, and it will also be better for the environment.
The energy-from-waste facility is expected to create 43 jobs, plus around 250 jobs created at the peak of construction. A joint venture between French energy-from-waste specialist CNIM and civil engineering company Lagan has been appointed for the construction work. The facility will also create capacity for some business waste.
The energy-from-waste facility was designed by architectural firm Grimshaw which designed the Eden Project in Cornwall. The facility will feature a state-of the-art glazed visitor centre, landscaped wetland area and an on-site ash processing facility.
Cliff Matthews said: We have produced a high quality design for the facility, which we hope will complement its unique setting. We are really excited about getting this new development underway and look forward to helping Suffolk County Council to transform the way waste is managed in the county.
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