LOCAL MP Andrew Murrison has called for the temporary pause to grant incinerator permits across the country to apply retrospectively to the planned Westbury incinerator.
The government has temporarily banned permits for new incinerator plants in England, pending a review of overcapacity. However, this would not have changed the situation for the planned Westbury waste incinerator as it has already been granted an operating permit. The temporary order to ban permits for incinerators is set to expire on 24th May, but could be withdrawn earlier.
Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) was granted planning permission to build an incinerator in Westbury in February of last year despite a long, hard-fought battle by local campaigners and protest groups, including Westbury Town Council and 17 other local councils. NREL has been granted a permit by the Environment Agency to operate the waste incinerator in the town.
Andrew Murrison has now asked the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) minister, Sir Mark Spencer, to go one step further and revoke permits already granted, such as in the case of the Westbury incinerator.
The MP said, “I’m pleased my colleagues at DEFRA are listening to concerns on this. Plainly there has been a shift in sentiment and incinerator operators must really be feeling the heat, so to speak. The current moratorium on incinerators in Scotland began with a similar pause and I look forward to the same in England.”
In his letter to Sir Mark Spencer, Andrew Murrison also asked the minister to review the eligibility of incinerators for the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
He said, “It is hardly surprising, given the generous concessions the scheme offers, that waste operators are still building old-style waste burners. Far better to invest any public subsidy going into genuinely green schemes. We should be ensuring that organic waste in particular is channelled appropriately, rather than sustaining so-called Energy from Waste plants that, in reality, generate very little energy.
“It is time to stop using the atmosphere as an alternative landfill site. West Wiltshire has a proud tradition of campaigning for air quality, notably in connection to the old cement works. I’m determined Hills/NREL will never build their unwanted incinerator in Westbury and the minister’s sensible intervention is one step closer to that end.”
The local MP has previously asked for incinerators to be included in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) before the planned inclusion date of 2028 as he says incineration, a polluting industry which produces seven million tonnes of carbon per annum, disincentives recycling. He says if incinerators are included in the ETS, this would impact the finances of the Westbury incinerator.
He also previously wrote to Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to encourage the Treasury to disincentive waste incinerators.
In his reply to Andrew Murrison, Jeremy Hunt said, “Your letter refers to energy from waste’s introduction into the UK ETS. The UK ETS has confirmed its intention to expand the scope of the UK ETS to include waste incineration and energy from waste facilities.
“The authority intends to commence a monitoring, reporting and verification-only period from 2026 to 2028, before full implementation in 2028. This follows the government’s commitment in the Net Zero Strategy to explore expanding the UK ETS to uncovered emissions and the climate change committee’s recommendation that the authority include energy from waste and waste incineration in the UK ETS “as soon as possible” and to implement this decade.”
Andrew Murrison said, “I hope the highlighted ETS from 2028 will undercut the viability of waste incineration and help to ensure the burner at Westbury never happens.”
