Green waste biochar plant gets go-ahead

The council will turn a former anaerobic digestion plant into a unit producing a form of charcoal

A plant to produce biochar - a form of charcoal - from green waste has been given the go-ahead.

The proposal for Ludlow Business Park, off Coder Road, was unanimously approved by a Shropshire Council planning committee on Tuesday.

The local authority, which is behind the plans, intends to repurpose Ludlow's former anaerobic digester site, which used bacteria to break down waste.

Ludlow Town Council objected to the biochar scheme, saying the sulphur dioxide produced would result in unpleasant smells - a point disputed in evidence presented to the committee.

Councillor Andy Boddington, on the planning committee, said modelling suggested maximum concentrations of 20 micrograms per cubic metre of sulphur dioxide.

"The human nose cannot smell sulphur dioxide below 300mcg per cubic metre. So, I don't think there will be any issues of smell," he said.

The proposal is part of a £2m investment by Shropshire Council in locally manufactured biochar-producing plants.

Biochar is created through a process called pyrolysis, where biomass is heated in a low-oxygen environment, preventing it from burning completely.

It will be created from green waste, wood and materials left over after composting.

In objecting to the scheme, town councillor Stuart Waite argued that the business model suggested there was insufficient feedstock available locally.

"This will not only need to be purchased but transported from outside the county," he said.

However, Tony Higgins, from EnviroConsult, which is working alongside the council on the scheme, said "there are loads of materials available" in Shropshire, including from schools and parks.

"We've also got other organisations who will supply us with the right materials to pyrolise, in the event we need it," he added.

Addressing concerns about air quality, he said models were based on maximum possible emissions, and in reality they would be "much lower than that".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.