Surrey County Council is currently considering two planning applications for Energy From Waste plants by Surrey Waste Management Ltd, a subsidiary of SITA, which has the waste disposal contract with Surrey County Council as well as an application by Thames Waste Management.
But yesterday, planning officers recommended that permission be refused for both Surrey Waste Management's Redhill Energy from Waste plant and ash recycling facility and Thames Waste's Guildford plant which would include an Energy from Waste plant, a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and a civic amenity site.
If an application is turned down then both Surrey Waste Management and Thames Waste have six months in which to consider an appeal.
Surrey Waste Management has also submitted an application for the construction of an energy from waste plant and an ash recycling facility at Capel which the council recommended to permit subject to certain conditions.
There has been a large amount of opposition to the Guildford plant with the Guildford Anti-Incinerator Network (GAIN) carrying out an extensive lobbying campaign. And the issue has received such a large amount of attention that the council has said it will publish live updates of the proceedings on its website on December 6 and 7.
Recently, GAIN delivered 76 bottles to County Hall each containing an SOS from a residents to a Surrey County Councillor asking for help to stop the Guildford incinerator.
Colin Matthews, chairman of GAIN said: “These messages from residents are a call for help from those who represent us. Surrey's County Councillors can save Guildford and the rest of Surrey by abandoning incineration, embracing recycling and throwing out Thames Water's monstrous scheme. There is an alternative route open to Surrey if only our County Councillors would adopt waste reduction, re-use and recycling on a large scale.”
Register for free to comment