Town council set date for public meeting to discuss waste treatment plant

WESTBURY Town Council will host a public meeting on Monday 12th February to discuss the plans to build a new waste treatment plant on the Northacre Industrial Park.

The meeting will provide an opportunity for the council and community to ask questions and share their concerns and to hear more about what the gasification plant is, and what the health implications are.

The Environment Agency have confirmed that they will be attending, whilst Wiltshire Council Planning have declined the invite. “The planning team believe that as permission has already been given for the plant to be built, there is nothing that they can contribute to the discussion,” said town clerk Deborah Urch.

Representatives from Hills Group, Wiltshire Council Environmental Protection have also been invited, but have yet to confirm.

The meeting will be held at The Laverton from 6.30pm. An agenda will be available on the town council website closer to the time.

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.