A COMMUNITY action group has been launched in protest of the plans to build a waste treatment plant on the Northacre Industrial Park.
Following a meeting hosted by the Green Party at the Laverton on Saturday 6th January, which was attended by nearly 40 residents, local woman Zoe Mann created a Facebook group called ‘Westbury Gasification Action Group’, which already has 500 members.
Zoe said, “This page will prove vital to the people of Westbury to gain knowledge on this situation and inform them of upcoming meetings.”
The group believes that because the technology intended to be used at the gasification plant has changed since planning permission was granted in 2015, the decision should be reconsidered.
Margaret Cavanna, who was one of the organisers of the meeting said, “The meeting largely dealt with concerns raised about the new gasification plant planned for Northacre. The site was given planning permission in 2015, but the technology approved then has since been abandoned, following an explosion and death at a similar plant.
“The meeting was informal, with useful contributions from attendees, as well as Friends of the Earth and others with specialist knowledge. The consensus was that as the new technology would be different from that previously proposed, and in the light of more recent research on the health effects of tiny toxic particulates, the permissions should be revisited and subject to public scrutiny.
“Residents of Westbury were concerned about the effects of noxious plume deposits in certain weather conditions, which make waste treatment sites unsuitable next to population centres. The existing MBT plant already creates nuisance to local families in the form of flies and smell. Many more houses are planned for nearby and would be exposed to these same problems, as well as the toxic plume effect.
“One newcomer from Surrey wanted to know why there was so little recycling compared to other counties. Everyone thought that Wiltshire Council should look again at recycling options, including that of food, and more closely adhere to the legal requirements of the ‘hierarchy of waste’, rather than going for the worst and most costly options of incineration and landfill.”
