LOCAL people’s comments on the controversial plans for a waste incinerator in the town, are still not showing on Wiltshire Council’s planning portal. Over 1,400 letters of representation have been made by town and parish councils and members of the public so far, as the town awaits a decision, due to be made in November.
Earlier this month, Westbury Town Council said they had been assured by Wiltshire Council that a decision on the plans would not be made until all the representation letters have been uploaded on their website – even if this means delaying the decision.
Local people, councils and groups had criticised Wiltshire Council for delaying the processing and uploading of their comments.
On their website, the town council stated, “Westbury Town Council has been contacted by concerned residents about the truncation of comments and delays in publishing representations relating to planning application 20/06775/WCM – Amended energy from waste facility at the Northacre Energy Waste Facility. Wiltshire Council have identified an IT issue causing some comments to appear edited. They are working through these and will contact those people whose submission does not appear in full.
“We are aware of the delays and Wiltshire Council has revised a statement on its website informing of the delays which have been caused by an IT glitch as well as by the volume of comments received. Comments from Westbury Town Council were amongst those delayed but are now available online. We have been given assurances that no decision will be made on application 20/06775/WCM until Wiltshire Council is 100% confident that all representations have been uploaded and are correct, even if this means delaying the decision date. Thank you for your patience.”
Dan Gmaj of Westbury Gasification Action Group / No Westbury Incinerator said, “Many known submissions are still missing a whole month after close of consultation on 22/09). It is the job of the case officer to inspect and evaluate all supplied information and then ‘make recommendation’ to a body of unitary councillors called the ‘Strategic Planning Committee’ (SPC).
“The decision will then be made on a show of hands at a scheduled meeting that could be as early as Wednesday 11th November. All a little odd, as the target date for decision is still listed as Mon 30th Nov 2020 but only one SPC is scheduled before that date. The subsequent meeting is scheduled for Wed 3rd December 2020 and one week’s notice only will be given.”
He added that the members of Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee, who will make the decision are:
Cllr Fleur de Rhé-Philipe MBE (Chairman)
Email: fleur.derhephilipe@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Christopher Newbury (Vice-Chairman)
Email: christopher.newbury@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Andrew Bryant
Email: andrew.bryant@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Ernie Clark
Email: ernie.clark@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Andrew Davis
Email: andrew.davis@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Stewart Dobson
Email: Stewart.dobson@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Sarah Gibson
Email: sarah.gibson@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Ross Henning
Email: ross.henning@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Carole King
Email: carole.king@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Tony Trotman
Email: tony.trotman@wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Fred Westmoreland
Email: fred.westmoreland@wiltshire.gov.uk
