WESTBURY Town Council will present evidence on air quality and public opinion/democracy at the upcoming planning inquiry for the proposed waste incinerator which is planned for Westbury.
It was also confirmed that the inquiry will take place on Tuesday 22nd November at The Laverton. The schedule is Tuesday to Thursday 25th, then a week off, with the inquiry returning on Monday 5th December.
Westbury Town Council need to present evidence to the inquiry of why the waste incineration should not be built in the town. The town’s plan was discussed at a meeting of the town council earlier this week, where it was also revealed that Arla Foods, the national dairy production company which is next to the incinerator site, will only be an ‘interested party’ at the inquiry – to the dismay of councillors.
Air Quality and Public Opinion/Democracy
At the town council meeting, cllr Mark Bailey explained that the task and finish group of the town council have presented councillors with two subjects to explore as evidence; air quality and public opinion/democracy.
Cllr Bailey said, “We have an air quality expert ready to act for us. Also, democracy is the area where the task and finish group feel we have a very strong argument as it is stated that public opinion is a material consideration in planning appeals.”
The task and finish group recommended that the council attends the upcoming site visit on 5th December to put forward any objections on visual grounds, that they engage with the air quality consultant on air quality to help make a report for the inquiry, and that they present a strong case for local democracy and encourage any local people or groups to attend the inquiry as interested parties.
It was also recommended that the town council should hire a barrister for the inquiry process to show how serious they consider this issue, to both the planning inspector and the public. This was agreed following a vote, with an amendment added that the air quality expert should speak at the inquiry and not just provide evidence, to add further weight.
Cllr Gordon King said, “Those of us that have experienced this long sorry saga, from gasification through to incineration, have always known that no reasonable reason for refusal has ever existed; if it did exist, we would have had it turned down years ago.
“But we stuck to the task and argued it to where we are today and I think we are right in that. It was more eloquence and oratory that won people over, rather than details and facts and it was unusually that the planning committee, who were stoic for a long period, found themselves moved. This is all part of the shifting sands of national debate; government is changing its mind about climate change legislation and there is hope on the horizon.”
Has Arla retreated from the incinerator debate?
At the meeting it was revealed that the dairy company, Arla Foods, will be an interested party and not a Rule 6 party, meaning they will not be able to cross examine witnesses – a move that cllr Francis Morland says shows that Arla is retreating.
Speaking at a meeting of the town council earlier in the week, cllr Francis Morland said, “I had the indication that Arla would be a Rule 6 party and clearly, they have retreated quite substantially. It also does no favours to Andrew Murrison whose presentation to the strategic planning committee earlier in the year relied heavily on what he thought was Arla’s position, which was that their presence in Westbury was at risk if this application was permitted.
“As I understand it, that is not their current position, which now seems to be one of assurances that if emissions from the incinerator forced them to close their plant, then there would be a provision to compensate them for any down-time. This goes against their position that has been repeated in the press in the past.”
Cllr Mike Sutton added, “I was disappointed to hear about Arla – even more so now that they will not be present at the inquiry and will submit a letter instead. When you hear that a big multi-national company thinks the costs would be disproportionate, it says a lot about what they think of our chances.”
