Information for Northacre Renewable Energy Centre, Stephenson Road, Northacre Trading Estate, Westbury
Status: PotentialPlanning Region: South West
Planning Sub-Region: Wiltshire
Operator: Qair
Capacity: 243,000
Campaign Group(s): North Wiltshire FoE and Westbury Gasification Action Group (WGAG) / No Westbury Incinerator and South West Wiltshire Green Party
Notes: In July 2024 it was reported that, although Hills maintains a shareholding, Qair had brought the project from Evero and was expected to provide the majority of the feedstock - it was also reported that "Qair is now aiming for financial close on the Northacre project next year and “expects” the plant operational in 2028" [Source]. In July 2022 Hills appealed on the grounds of non-determination, and subsequently on 27th July 2022 Wiltshire Councillors voted that their position was that planning application should be refused [Source]. The planning inquiry closed in December 2022, and on 21 February 2023 the grant of approval was announced. In June 2022 the EA granted permit ref EPR/CP3803LV/A001. In August 2020 a planning application was made to change the technology to conventional incineration and the Council voted to approve this in June 2021 subject to a potential call-in by the Secretary of State [Source] (20/06775/WCM / AP-36551). Not to be confused with the Honda plant at the same industrial estate. In January 2021 it was reported that Northacre Renewable Energy Ltd and Bioenergy Infrastructure Group (now known as Evero) had applied to increase the capacity from 160ktpa to 243ktpa and to move from advanced thermal technology to moving grate combustion [Source]. ENDS reported in December 2024 that this project had yet to reach financial close [Source]. While it was reported in June 2025 that the project was "making progress", as of 9th December 2025 no financial had been announced [Source]. At the November 2025 Community Liaison Group for the Horsham incinerator QAIR stated that financial close had yet to be reached for the Horsham plant. (Entry updated 2025-12-09)
Plume Plotter entry for Westbury
This pollution prediction was produced by Plume Plotter. Click here for more details.
Tweets by @westburygag
R1 status of incinerators - 8 April 2026 (Environment Agency)
Uses data from R1 status of incinerators in England released by the Environment Agency. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved.
Permit: CP3803LV
| Operator | Installation name | Installation address | Permit status | Waste input (000s tonnes per annum) | Incinerator type | Calculated R1 value | Application R1 status granted | Source of data used in R1 calculations | Date R1 application status granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northacre Facility | Northacre Renewable Energy Limited | Northacre Facility, Northacre Industrial Estate, Stephenson Road, Forbury Court, Reading BA13 4WE | In determination | 243 | Municipal waste | 0.9 | Yes | Design | 11/10/2022 |
Waste management for England 2024: Pre-operational (Environment Agency)
Uses data from 2024 Waste Data Interrogator - Version 2 released by the Environment Agency under the Environment Agency Conditional Licence. © Environment Agency copyright
Permit: CP3803LV
| Operator Name | Site Name | Site Address | Former Planning Region | Former Planning Sub-Region | Type | Permitted Capacity (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northacre Renewable Energy Limited | Northacre Facility | Northacre Facility, Northacre Industrial Estate, Stephenson Road, BA13 4WE | South East | Wiltshire | Co-incineration of non hazardous waste | 270,500 |
Draft Permit files:
174-DraftPermit-2022.pdfDraft Permit Decision files:
174-DraftPermitDecision-2022.pdfObjection files:
174-Objection-from-UKWIN-February-2021.pdf174-Objection-from-UKWIN-January-2021.pdf
Permit Decision files:
174-PermitDecision-2017.pdfPermit Variation files:
174-PermitVariation-2017.pdf174-PermitVariation-2020.pdf
Permit Variation Decision files:
174-PermitVariationDecision-2020.pdfPlanning Consent files:
174-PlanningConsent-2023.pdfEnvironment Agency Compliance Assessment Reports
Click here to see the incinerator compliance documents for existing English incineratorsStandard notice:
UKWIN (and therefore the UKWIN map) focuses on Municipal Waste Incinerators, whereas our colleagues at Biofuelwatch focus on biomass projects. If you are interested in biomass incinerators (including waste wood plants) over 20MW then please see the Biofuelwatch map of UK Biomass Power Stations. Those concerned about biomass plants, including waste wood plants, should email Biofuelwatch at biofuelwatch[at]gmail.com.Please be aware: There is always room for improvement, so please send updates to coordinator@ukwin.org.uk. Existing Incinerator means a facility that is operational or under construction/commissioning. A Potential Incinerator is a facility where there is a proposal for an incinerator (e.g. planning application or planning consent) or other reason to believe an incinerator might be built/proposed in the future. A Prevented Incinerator is something which used to be a proposal or expected incinerator which we do not believe is currently being progressed (e.g. because the project was cancelled, planning permission refused, or years have gone by since the permission was granted without any progress) - in some cases a facility marked as prevented is being progressed without us being aware or is subsequently revived. Capacity is usually the permitted or maximum advertised capacity of the facility.