…But incinerator plans are to be reviewed by Wiltshire Council in light of new government consultation
There has been an outpouring of anger in the town following the decision to not ‘call in’ plans for a waste incinerator for further inspection, nine months after it was initially approved by Wiltshire Council. However, since the announcement was made, new developments have arisen.
The planning committee of Wiltshire Council is to reconvene next week, on 20th April, to consider new information from the government that is currently undergoing a consultation of new environmental targets.
Westbury Town Council is asking the committee to defer their decision until the government’s consultation on new environmental targets comes to an end on 11th May.
The town council is also holding an extraordinary meeting of the town council this Thursday (14th April) to consider their legal options if the decision remains the same. The meeting will go to a private session when the council discuss their options. The town council has been seeking advice from its legal representative, Leigh Day, and will discuss the outcome and recommendations at a further council meeting at a later date after Wiltshire Council’s final decision.
New hope
At the meeting of Wiltshire Council’s planning committee on 20th April, the information members are considering from the government would see the UK halving the waste that ends up at landfill or incineration by 2042. The planning committee must consider all planning considerations before determination is made giving new hope to opponents of the incinerator.
A black day for Westbury
When the announcement was made on 31st March that the Secretary of State, Michael Gove MP, would not be ‘calling in’ the incinerator application for further scrutiny, Westbury town councillor, Matt Dean said, “It is a black day for Westbury, it’s absolutely terrible. I am absolutely devastated; I cannot believe after thousands of people have objected and with all the public interest in this, that the Secretary of State hasn’t called the application in.
“It is so irresponsible that the Secretary of State has done this. It’s also incredibly concerning for Arla foods, a large local employer within the town who have said before they may have to close.”
In the decision letter, the minister of state for housing, Stuart Andrew MP, (on behalf of Michael Gove), said that the government trusts local authorities to make the best decision for their area. The statement reads, “The government is committed to give more power to councils and communities to make their own decisions on planning issues and believes planning decisions should be made at the local level whenever possible.”
Wiltshire and Westbury Town councillor, Gordon King said, “I am shocked and angry about this. So many people have written to the Secretary of State to ‘call in’ the application, and the response is a letter explaining that the Secretary of State believes in local people making local decisions, without really giving a reason why he won’t call it in. That seems very dismissive of people that have written in.
“I hear comments all the time about people losing faith in government and Wiltshire Council, and it is hard to rebuff them when we can’t have faith in a process where these bodies carry on regardless despite what the public ask for.”
The fight goes on!
“The fight goes on!” says town councillor, Jane Russ. “We are devastated to hear the news about the incinerator, but this is not the end of the story. It really is shocking that after all the opposition from local people and local groups, all the letters, that the incinerator has been given the green light. What do you have to do to stop these things?
“But if Michael Gove and Wiltshire Council think we are going to lie down and accept this without a fight, they can think again. I think the town council should now go to the solicitors to see what we can do next.
“Thank heavens we had the presence of mind to start a fighting fund to fight for a judicial review.
“We have all the right arguments, and countrywide there is a wave of opposition to incinerators. People realise we have too many of them already; they are not the answer and go completely against all the environmental and ecological arguments. If we are serious about climate change and getting to net zero, we have got to think again. And we should start right now to get this decision reversed. We’ve lost stage one, but this is not the end of the story.”
A statement from Westbury Town Council reads, “To allow this application to go through is in contravention of the Government’s Climate Emergency Policy and Wiltshire Council’s Climate Emergency Policy. Westbury and the surrounding villages and towns have come together in opposing this application and all our objections should be taken into consideration. This decision is also surprising as a number of Incinerators across the country are being closed due to being not cost effective or environmentally friendly.
“We are currently in communication with the Environment Agency regarding the application from Northacre Waste Facility for a permit to operate such an incinerator and we will now take advice from the appointed legal team as to what appropriate steps the town council can take.
“It should also be noted that our neighbours in Hampshire have recently successfully refused an application for an incinerator within their county.”
THERE’S STILL TIME TO HAVE YOUR SAY on whether environmental permit should be given for the incinerator
The Environment Agency (EA) said last month they are ‘minded’ to issue a draft environment permit to enable Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd to operate the incinerator – but there is still time to voice your opinion on whether this should be granted, as their online public consultation on the draft permit ends on the 22nd April.
The draft decision and draft permit, along with other previously available documents, are available by visiting https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/psc/ba13-4we-northacre-renewable-energy-limited-1/ or by searching for EPR/CP3803LV/A001 on the EA website. Paper copies can be obtained by contacting the Environment Agency’s customer contact centre on 03708 506 506. A charge may be made to cover copying costs.
Responses can be made via the website or by email to pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk quoting application number EPR/CP3803LV/A001 in any correspondence. Comments must be received by 11.59pm on 22 April 2022. Please note only issues covered by the environmental permit can be considered in this consultation. All comments will be reviewed before a final decision is made on whether to grant a permit.
The EA has already stated it is ‘minded’ to issue a draft operating permit. ‘Minded’ means the agency is satisfied that the appropriate measures are in place to operate the incinerator without causing harm to the environment or human health and, after exploring the issues and concerns that have been raised, it cannot find any reason to refuse the application.
The EA is responsible for issuing an environmental permit, to enable the incinerator to operate if it is built. The EA will make their final decision once the consultation has closed on 22nd April.
Two documents have been produced which can be commented on as part of the consultation; the draft decision document and the draft permit. The draft decision document explains the agency’s thought process and how it has taken on board the comments received in the first consultation. The draft permit outlines the conditions the operator would have to meet.
“This is not the end” say incinerator protest group
Westbury’s anti-incinerator protest group, Westbury Gasification Action Group (WGAG), has said that the incinerator application must go back to Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee to be lawful.
Dan Gmaj from WGAG explained, “Wiltshire Council’s chair and vice chair of its strategic planning committee made a specific point to defer this decision to the Secretary of State last year, in apparent order to push through the planning decision while abdicating responsibility, rather than refusal outright, as the committee should have been guided by all available evidence and a mass of objection.
“This disappointing tactic has however produced the following outcomes right now. As ‘no decision’ had yet been made (in legal terms), the decision determination process now returns to Wiltshire Council.
“To add to the enormous weight of evidence already to refuse, there is now a growing dossier of new evidence that must be heard by the full planning committee if a decision to grant permission is to be lawful, or a judicial review (for which our united community is financially prepared) would be minded to overturn it.
“This new evidence, including ‘significant change’ to matters of the UK over-capacity of incineration and notification of a halving of environmental targets within the proposed lifetime of this proposed plant must now be reviewed as part of the continuing planning process and deliberated by the entire strategic planning committee in due course.
“Wiltshire Council should now either refuse permission outright, as they should have originally of course, and move on, or reconvene the planning process to take account of the significant changes and new information now available before going back to full committee.”
Arla looking at next steps following incinerator decision
Arla Foods will consider their next steps following the approval of the Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd (NREL) incinerator and the company says that they will actively engage with the on-going Environment Agency (EA) permitting process for the site.
The incinerator is to be built next to Arla’s factory on the West Wilts Trading Estate.
In its formal opposition to the proposal last year, Arla was concerned about the potential for emissions and odours which it says could force the dairy to periodically shut down its operations, costing £11,000 an hour to avoid any risk of tainting its products.
A statement from Arla Foods reads, “We are disappointed by the decision announced by the Secretary of State. We are holding urgent discussions within Arla and taking advice from a range of specialist professionals, and will take decisions about potential next steps in the coming days. We also continue to engage very actively with the on-going EA permitting process.”
There are approximately 250 people employed by Arla in production at the site in Westbury, in addition to those working in logistics. Arla say they will continue to engage with the EA permitting process to get the reassurances they need to stay 100% operational.
Each year Arla produces 60,000 tonnes of butter and spreads for the retail market, 20,000 tonnes of butter used by other food manufacturers and up to 55,000 tonnes of skimmed milk and buttermilk powders. Its intake amounts to around 5% of all the milk produced in the UK.
Arla’s factory operates 24/7 and utilises a process to skim whole milk, leaving cream for butter production and simultaneously to dry the skimmed milk into powder. This means that having constant access to very large volumes of clean air for their dryer is important; if the air quality is compromised in any way by emissions that contain noxious gases, bioaerosols or odours, Arla have previously said they would have to suspend production and be left with an unsaleable product.
Northacre welcomes incinerator decision saying it’s never been more important
Northacre Renewable Energy (NREL) has welcomed the decision by the Secretary of State to not ‘call in’ the incinerator application and say that the new facility will bring benefits such as 40 permanent jobs to the town.
NREL also say that the facility addresses the ‘pressing need for a long-term solution to non-recyclable residual waste in Wiltshire, by reducing landfill’s contribution to climate change.’
A spokesperson for the company said, “NREL is pleased that The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has decided that its proposal to change the technology for the already consented Energy from Waste (EfW) facility at Northacre Industrial Park, does not meet the selective requirements for a call in, and is satisfied that it can be suitably determined by Wiltshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee.
“The Northacre facility is strategically important to Wiltshire’s sustainable future. The facility will turn 243,000 tonnes of the region’s commercial and industrial residual waste into low carbon energy – enough to power 54,000 homes and improve the resilience and security of the local and national electricity supply network.
“In addition, the project represents a £200million investment in the local economy and a new source of employment including many highly-skilled permanent roles – forming part of the Government’s drive to “build back better” in a post Covid-19 economy.
“We are also pleased with progress on the Environmental Permit (EP) determination process. The Environment Agency issued a draft approval document for the permit, which is required to operate the Northacre Energy from Waste facility, on 10 March 2022. This is now in a period of further consultation, which closes on 22 April 2022, before the EA make their final decision.”
NREL say that the Northacre facility will support 40 permanent, skilled jobs and that during the peak construction phase (at peak activity), there will be near 450 construction workers employed.
A spokesperson for NREL added, “The primary focal point for the source of the waste will be commercial and industrial waste within Wiltshire. Waste will also be sourced from neighbouring authority areas and surrounding region. This catchment is consistent with the application site’s strategic allocation in the waste plan, noting that the plan expects that: strategic facilities will serve either large areas within, or the entire plan area.
“The Northacre facility has never been more important to Wiltshire’s sustainable future. In addition, the facility addresses the pressing need for a sustainable long-term solution, to non-recyclable residual waste in Wiltshire, by reducing landfill’s contribution to climate change. NREL is ready and committed to play its part in the transition to a low carbon economy.
“The suitability of this location arises from the fact that in 2013, Wiltshire Council allocated the whole of the Northacre Industrial Estate as suitable for strategic scale waste management facilities. This allocation, along with the presence of the existing waste treatment facility on the adjacent plot producing fuel for energy from waste plants, means it offers the opportunity to reduce the road transport of this fuel and its unnecessary export to Europe.”
Secretary of State ‘Sorry’ for decision but insists decision must be made locally
The reason the incinerator planning decision was not ‘called in’ for further review by the Secretary of State Michael Gove MP (right) is because decisions are ‘best determined locally’, says his department.
In a letter addressed to the local MP, Dr Andrew Murrison, a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) said, “The general approach of the Secretary of State is not to interfere with the decision-making process of local councils on planning matters. The Government’s position is that these matters are generally best determined locally, by local councils that know their own area best, rather than by central Government.
“The Secretary of State’s power to call in a case will be used very selectively, and in general only if planning issues of more than local importance are involved.
“I note both yours and constituents’ concerns relating to the environmental impact of the scheme in terms of the operations of the neighbouring Arla Foods Factory. The relevant pollution control authority in this case is the Environment Agency and the relevant pollution regime is an Environmental Permit (EP) which the proposed Energy from Waste (EfW) Facility requires in order to operate.
“The role of the EP is to provide the required level of protection for the environment from the operation Ef\N facility, and will define operational conditions, technical requirements, continuous monitoring, and reporting requirements as well setting emission limit values in accordance with the Emissions Directive and other relevant legislation. Should any of the requirements of the EP not be complied with, or there is an unacceptable risk, the EA has the power to suspend the permit. If you or your constituents have any concerns relating to this process these should made known to the Environment Agency.
“I am sorry that this is not the outcome that you or your constituents may have hoped for, and I realise the decision will come as a disappointment. However, it is now for Wiltshire Council to determine the application.”
White Horse News contacted the DLUHC for further explanation of their decision to not ‘call in’ the incinerator application.
We asked if the Secretary of State, Michael Gove MP, had himself visited the site or spoke to any of the parties involved (Arla, Northacre, Wiltshire Council or the Environment Agency), if he had received communication from aggrieved residents about the application, and if he has a response to those that are strongly opposed to the incinerator.
In response, the communications team said, “The Secretary of State has decided not to call in this application. This is for Wiltshire Council to consider. It would not be appropriate to comment on the matter further.”
Plans to be reviewed and next steps for the town council
There is still some hope for anti-incinerator campaigners, as Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee are to reconvene to discuss the incinerator application on 20th April. The committee are meeting in light of a new consultation by the government that is looking to half the amount of waste that ends up at landfill or incineration by 2042, and must consider all planning considerations before making a decision.
Westbury Town Council will also write to the planning committee of Wiltshire Council, asking them to defer their decision until the government’s ongoing consultation on future incineration comes to an end on 11th May.
Westbury Town Council will also meet to consider their legal options at an extraordinary meeting of the town council this Thursday (14th April), with the possibility of launching a judicial review in a bid to stop construction of the incinerator.
On the agenda document of the extraordinary town meeting, the town council have noted that the town clerk will also “write to the monitoring office at Wiltshire Council to raise concerns about the conduct of some Wiltshire councillors at the Strategic Planning Committee meeting in June 2021, where the decision to approve this planning application was taken, which was felt to be predetermined and prejudicial.”
