WESTBURY Town Council is holding a public meeting at The Laverton to discuss the planned advanced thermal treatment facility.
The meeting will be held on Monday 12th February at 6.30pm to inform residents of Westbury about the planned advanced thermal treatment facility. This meeting is being arranged to provide a greater understanding about the treatment facility, the process and operation. There will be a variety of speakers providing information in their specialist areas and also an opportunity for residents to ask questions at the end of the meeting.
The speakers include an introduction from Mayor cllr Gordon King, a presentation from Andy Hickman and Jim Wilkinson from the Environment Agency, a presentation from John Carter, head of public protection at Wiltshire Council, information from Ed Dodd from Hills Waste Solutions and Alex Young from Bioenergy Infrastructure Group.
The facility is a hot topic in the town and many residents are putting forward their strong objections.
Members of ‘Westbury Gasification Action Group’ started an online petition on Wiltshire Council’s e-petition website last Monday to ask the council to reconsider its approval of the proposed plans.
They will be at the public meeting to express their objections.
The planned facility, owned by Northacre Renewable Energy – a company owned by Hills Group – was given planning permission in 2015 to build a gasification plant on land between the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre and Arla Dairies on Stephenson Road, just over a mile from Westbury town centre.
Last month, the company announced plans to apply for permission to make amendments to their existing plans, which include increasing the size of their main chimney from 60m (200 foot) to 75m (246 foot) in anticipation of requirements set by the Environment Agency.
Maggy Daniell, a member of the action group, said, “I wanted to get the council to think about their policies as a whole, rather than have one for public health, another for planning and yet another for waste disposal, without any joined-up thinking between the three. At the moment, one directorate doesn’t seem to know what the other is doing, and this is resulting in some poor decisions.
“There is no need for more incinerators, the country already has enough capacity – in fact, one at Avonmouth is currently standing idle. And incinerators shouldn’t be built in population areas anyway. A lot of research has been done about the damaging effects of minute particulates – toxins you can’t see or smell – and these things are so small they not only affect your heart and lungs, but can get right into your cells.
“I don’t want my grandchildren – or anyone else’s – exposed to emissions like this. They can cause harm to anyone, but are especially dangerous to the most vulnerable – old people and the very young.
“Zero waste is also an aim of the government’s Environment Plan, so Wiltshire Council ought to be looking at ways to implement Conservative policy. That may mean re-negotiating waste contracts, to ensure more emphasis on recycling and less on creating extra tonnage to burn. Incinerators are going to be expensive white elephants soon, so it makes no economic sense to build another one.”
The e-petition runs until Monday 5th March. If you would like to sign, please visit the ‘Westbury Gasification Action Group’ Facebook page where a link to the petition is provided. Paper petitions are also available in the Westbury Heritage and Tourist Centre
