Viridor and Oxfordshire county council have welcomed the High Courts rejection of a campaign groups legal challenge over the decision to approve plans for the 205 million Ardley energy-from-waste facility.
Todays (July 13) ruling removes the latest barrier to the project, which would involve Viridor building a 300,000 tonne-a-year capacity EfW facility to treat Oxfordshire county councils residual household waste. Viridor and the council signed a 25-year contract to develop the facility in March 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story ).
The legal action was launched in March 2011 by the group Ardley Against Incinerator to challenge Communities Secretary Eric Pickles decision, a month earlier, to allow Viridors appeal against an earlier planning refusal for the project (see letsrecycle.com story).
Welcoming the High Courts decision to dismiss this challenge, Oxfordshire county council described the project as a much-needed facility in terms of both its landfill diversion and energy benefits. The company also highlighted the cost to the council of continuing to landfill its residual waste.
‘Common sense’
The county council’s Cabinet Member for Growth and Infrastructure, Lorraine Lindsay-Gale said: “We wholeheartedly welcome the court’s common sense decision to reject this legal challenge. We hope that Ardley Against Incineration will now accept this decision and not cause any further unnecessary delay and expense.
“It was a matter of strong public interest that this issue was resolved as soon as possible and this positive outcome will now enable the Ardley facility to be delivered, bringing real environmental and financial benefits to Oxfordshire.”
Speaking on behalf of Viridor, project manager Robert Ryan said: We are pleased with the judgement and look forward to progressing the project.
Viridor has said it expects the plant to be up-and-running in 2014.
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