WATCH OUT WEYLANDS-SHEPPERTON ECHO PARK GETS APPROVAL An amended application for the controversial Shepperton eco-park has been approved, to the dismay of residents. The revised plans, first submitted in October last year, were passed by nine votes to three during Surrey County Council’s planning committee meeting on Monday (March 17). There were concerns from county councillors and members of the Spelthorne Against The Eco Park (SATEP) protest group about amendments to the increased height of anaerobic digesters and other tank areas, the heat process within the gasification technology, and the four-metre diameter of the 49m-tall chimney or ‘stack’. SATEP’s Adrian Corti said: “This project is wrong on so many levels and we have delayed it over three years – we aren’t giving up now. This is a long way off becoming reality.” A change to the site’s perimeter trees could prove a small consolation for many residents, as mature trees will now be planted rather than saplings. Cllr Michael Sydney said these older trees would allow the eco-park to blend into its surroundings sooner and his motion was seconded by Cllr Ian Beardsmore. Before the committee voted, there were speeches from Dr Phillip Cribb, Brian Catt, Julia Bachmann, Peter Crews and Peter Francis, who are all opposed to the scheme. SATEP member Julia Bachmann said: “This incinerator produces so little renewable energy, it is defined as disposal. “As such it will constitute inappropriate development in the green belt.” Mr Francis, a retired chemical engineer, said he believed the site was too small to accommodate an incinerator complex and would not allow or maintain a safe distance between each item and the general public. All public speakers referred to the park’s technology as an incinerator, but in response SITA’s Gareth Phillips emphasised that the technology was for a gasifier, not an incinerator, even though the site would use heat to dispose of waste. He did not, however, rule out the possibility that the site could be used as an incinerator at some point in the future. “The plant is, by design, a gasifier,” Mr Phillips said. “It is clearly demonstratively better than landfill and it is equally, clearly and demonstratively better than the currently consented gasifier. “It thermally treats less waste and produces more energy. “An incinerator is a possibility but at this time it is no more than that Just read this on the Hersham site.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 20:10:50 +0000
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