In a report to North Yorkshire Council’s Planning and Regulatory Functions Committee, in advance of their 15th December 2009 meeting, the Corporate Director for Business and Environmental Services, Richard Flinton, cites deficiencies in the application to support his call for the incinerator application to be refused planning permission.
Whilst the merits of the proposal to generate electricity and provide district heating are acknowledged, it is considered that insufficient information has been provided by the applicant to justify the proposal being able to be assessed upon its sustainability credentials. Thereby, in the absence of a technical feasibility assessment and an assessment of the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the whole development (including the connection to the National Grid) it is arguable that the proposed development should be assessed not against the policies concerning sustainable development, but rather against the policies relating solely to waste disposal.
The report concludes:
In failing to adequately demonstrate how the facility will provide the ‘energy from waste’ upon which the proposal is sought to be justified, the proposal is wholly inconsistent with the general thrust of sustainable development principles and the drive to move waste up the hierarchy.
The report recommends that planning permission be refused for the following reasons:
1. In the opinion of the County Planning Authority, in the absence of any technical feasibility study and socio-economic and environmental
impact assessment, it has not been adequately demonstrated whether
or how the proposed development for an Energy from Waste facility is
capable of connecting to the National Grid and supplying district
heating to ensure that the development is compliant with planning
policies concerning sustainable development, namely Policies ENV5,
ENV12, ENV13 and YH2 of the Regional Spatial Strategy for Yorkshire
and the Humber;
2. In the opinion of the County Planning Authority, the proposed
development for an Energy from Waste facility at this location has not
been sufficiently supported by waste input data which would
demonstrate compliance with Policy 4/1 of the adopted North Yorkshire
Waste Local Plan;
3. On the basis of the first reason given above, in the opinion of the
County Planning Authority, in the absence of supporting evidence to
indicate otherwise, the proposed development forms the least favoured
means of the management of waste by way of gasification as opposed
to those methods further up the hierarchy, namely recycling, re-use,
reduction or recovery of waste and is therefore not compliant with the
national, regional and municipal waste strategies and planning policy
outlined in PPS10 and in addition Policy 4/1 of the adopted North
Yorkshire Waste Local Plan.
Last week’s Yorkshire Post covered the story of the residents of Tockwith who protested at Marston Business Park, the site of the proposed incinerator.
Paddy Gastrell, chairman of the Tockwith Residents’ Association is quoted as saying:
We are concerned about the potential impact on health and having such a process going on so close to the village plus there will be a large chimney which will impact the landscape for miles around…The village and its primary school were all downwind of the proposed incinerator. We wanted to show the councillors that everybody in the village from adults to children is totally opposed to the application.
An article in the Yorkshire Evening Post provides further background to the application and the protest:
BCB originally applied to build a waste incinerator and power station on the business park next to the village. The plans drew massive opposition from residents.
The plans were later withdrawn following objections from the Environment Agency – but another proposal for a waste incinerator is now being considered.
The protest was organised by Tockwith Residents Association, which says no incinerator should be operated so close to homes or businesses.
