Gloucestershire incinerator plan at Javelin Park rejected

Gloucestershire County Council previously recommended that planning permission be granted

A planning application for a £500m waste incinerator in Gloucestershire has been rejected.

After an 11-hour planning meeting, 18 councillors voted unanimously to throw out the plans for the proposed energy-from-waste plant.

Gloucestershire County Council has already signed a contract to build the facility at Javelin Park, Haresfield.

The meeting heard that the authority had received some 4,000 letters of objection and only two in support.

'Disappointed'

Javier Peiro, a director of Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) - the company contracted to build the plant - said the decision was "very disappointing on many levels".

The proposed site of the waste incinerator is close to junction 12 of the M5

"We strongly believe there is a need. We believe this is the right solution, the right size, the right location, and supported by so many policies, fundamentally the waste core strategy," he said.

Councillor Stan Waddington, council champion for the waste project, said: "I am disappointed with today's decision. The county council is committed to delivering an alternative to landfill and we understand that UBB is reviewing the best way forward."

The proposed site of the plant is close to junction 12 of the M5.

Objectors are unhappy at its size, location, cost, environmental impact and potential health implications.

Impact

After many hours of questions and discussion, councillor Denis Andrewartha (Liberal Democrats) proposed a motion to reject the application which was seconded by councillor Sarah Lunnon (Green Party).

After two more hours of legal work, a vote was taken and all 18 councillors present voted in favour of the rejection.

Five reasons were given for the rejection, heavily focussing on the visual impact of the structure on the surrounding Severn Vale landscape.

Members of the authority's planning committee had previously been recommended to approve the proposal.

Those in favour of the development argue it is needed to deal with the thousands of tonnes of household waste generated in the county each year.

UBB was chosen by the county council to build the facility and a 25-year contract was signed last September.