Plans for £200m waste plant spark anger

• May. 19 by Natalie Eccleshall (1)

The proposed erection of a £200m waste management plant has ignited an uproar from local officials, following the plan’s grand unveiling this week.

Chairman of Bridgtown Parish Council, Eddie Smith dubbed Cannock a “dumping ground” after seeing Biffa‘s plans to build the 400,000 tonne  plant on the outskirts of the town, at the near-by Lakeside Industrial Park, Norton Canes.

He Said: “I am totally opposed to these plans – they can’t keep shoving stuff in Cannock for us to get rid of. We intend to look at the plans closely, then get in contact with Environmental Health. We are concerned by what is being filtered into the air for people to breathe in.”

Residents speak out

The town already sports a large industrial landfill site along Orbital Way, by waste giants Biffa Waste Services Ltd, and many regular users of the road and visitors to nearby Sainsbury’s Supermarket have strong opinions on it:

Edith Brittle, 70, from Hednesford, Cannock can’t understand why the town needs another plant:

“I can’t understand why they fell the need to stick up yet another waste plant in the town, the site we’ve got already has been sufficient enough for donkey’s years! Why do we need another one now? They’ve got more money than sense! The council should be putting money into other things.”

Sarah Evans, 40, from Pye Green, Hednesford feels the smells from the two plants will put people off going shopping:

“In the summer you can’t drive down the Orbital with your windows down the smell is that bad. Sainsbury’s is lucky it’s downwind so their customers don’t get put off. But from where it seems this new plant is going, I think it will affect the Orbital Business Park. Who wants to do their food shopping in an area that stinks of waste?”

Biffa speaks out

The new plant would entail the construction of a state-of-the-art energy plant in the Kingswood Lakeside Industrial Park, revised vehicle access, and increased capacity of the existing anaerobic digestion facility.

It will deal only with the area’s ‘non-hazardous commercial and idustrial waste’ – waste remaining after recycling and composting, in turn, generating 34 megawatts of electricity – which is enough to power around 68,000 homes.

Biffa remain positive for their plans to go ahead, and due to apply to Staffordshire County Council in June later this year

Jeff Rhodes, Biffa’s Head of Panning looks forward:

“We have formalised a plan to bring a number of proposed, linked actions under one comprehensive scheme

However, Cllr Smith does not see the ‘bright side’ to this proposal, even noting that other districts are revelling in their supposed ‘green credentials’, when all of their waste was being brought into Cannock.

The exhibition

The exhibition of the plans will be held, this Thursday (May 21), from 2pm-8pm and on Friday (May 22) 10am-4pm.

If the plans get the ‘green light’, it could be up and running by 2014.

View £200m Proposed Waste Plant in a larger map