Enviroparks will be mounting an appeal into the likely refusal of our application.
The controversial plan to double the height of a waste energy plant’s chimney stack in the Cynon Valley has been rejected by the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Planning Committee well they couldn’t do anything else if they wanted to be re-elected next year the committee refused against officer recommendations because of the visual impact it would have on the surrounding area, they were supported by Cynon Valley MS MP and leader of the council.
This is a path we have seen many times previously where publicly local councillors MS MP back residents in their fight to attempt to stop development after Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Planning Officers approve the development before it goes before the Planning Committee.
The development is then open to the Planning Appeals Procedure. As planning is devolved in Wales it up to the Labour-run Welsh Government whether the development should go ahead or not.
Many residents in Cynon Valley has seen the Welsh Government approve local developments they have objected to the Blaengwawr Comprehensive School site is a prime example of how the politicians work the system to obtain the development they wanted.
The politicians voted against the development but it went ahead with just a bit of a delay, the Highways Department did not object to the development even though Cardiff Road is a bottleneck at times the council wanted the development because they prepared the ground for the developer widening Club Street Removing asbestos and demolishing Blaengwawr Comprehensive School to name but two.
The Enviroparks development, local labour politicians again have backed the residents (well is there an election due) but what do the Welsh Labour government say about Enviroparks.
Labour Minister at the time Edwina Hart, who attended the ground-breaking ceremony, said the multi-phase project could bring hundreds of jobs to the region.
She said: “I am very pleased to see this project go ahead with Welsh Government support, as it will contribute to our objective for Wales to become a world leader in green energy.”
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/western-mail/20150722/282518657192112
A Welsh Government report says, The Energy Generation in Wales 2018 report sets out the current energy generation capacity of Wales and analyses how it has changed over time. The aim of the report is to support the Welsh Government with the development of energy policy, helping to evidence the economic, community and environmental benefits from the development of Welsh energy projects. In the report published by the Welsh Labour Government it says about Enviroparks;
Advanced Thermal Treatment plants use gasification or pyrolysis to generate energy from waste. In the UK, Advanced Thermal Treatment plants have tended to fail in the development phase due to technology issues, resulting in financial losses. If these issues can be overcome, Advanced Thermal Treatment plants could become more widespread, taking advantage of more localised commercial waste streams and gaps in municipal processing provision.
In Wales, several Advanced Thermal Treatment projects are publicly under development, including one, which won Contracts for Difference agreements: the 20 MW Enviroparks’ Hirwaun plant.
A Welsh Government report on Low Carbon Electricity where the report highlights Enviroparks.
South Wales’ non-recyclable waste. Enviroparks Hirwaun, currently under development, will process waste into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and use this for gasification. This plant will receive UK Government support, after being awarded a contract under the first allocation of Contracts for Difference.
So the company has the backing of the Welsh Government and the UK Government, received a grant from the Welsh Government, the development was a cross-boundary site between Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council (RCTCBC) and the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA) and was therefore considered as two separate planning applications. It should be noted that there was a £75,000 planning fee associated with this application, which was received by BBNPA only (no fee was received by RCTCBC).
The proposal received a high level of public interest and media attention, primarily objections from people living in the local communities of Hirwaun, Penderyn and Rhigos. The main concerns were in regard to the proximity of the proposed site to the reservoir, which serves the Cynon Valley, as well as the visual impact of the development on the landscape, particularly the national park. A number of consultees, including Dwr Cymru, Countryside Council for Wales and Environment Agency Wales withdrew their initial objections subject to certain conditions.
AberdareOnline has emailed Enviroparks asking the question of whether they will appeal the decision made by RCTC Development Committee:
Following on from Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Planning and Development Committee decision yesterday to reject your planning application for a 90 M chimney stack as the planning department at RCRC found no objection to your proposal, as did the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and others.
Will you challenge the decision taken by local councillors and taking your application to Planning Inspectorate to appeal the decision?
Yours sincerely
AberdareOnline
The response from Enviroparks director
Thank you for your interest.
In light of the Officers recommendation and the complete lack of objections from statutory consultees, we will be mounting an appeal into the likely refusal of our application.
Gasification-equipped Enviroparks EfW suffers stack-height setback
UK: Company Enviroparks tells ENDS it will appeal, as the snubbed changes would have improved the environmental credentials of the project
