Brecon Beacons: Plans for 300ft chimney at Hirwaun rejected

Enviroparks Wales already have permission for a 150ft (45m) stack but wish to double its height

Plans for a chimney almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty near a national park have been rejected.

It would have been part of a proposed waste incineration plant in Hirwaun on the edge of the Brecon Beacons.

Enviroparks Wales already has planning permission for a 45m stack but wanted to double its height. The company said it would improve the environmental performance of the plant.

The decision was made against the recommendation of planning officers.

It will return to Rhondda Cynon Taf's planning committee for ratification at a future date.

Speaking for Enviroparks, Karl Cradick said a taller stack would reduce nutrient nitrogen deposits and improve emission dispersion.

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He said the chimney at the foot of Rhigos mountain would be "slender and finished in seamless cladding, and it would be designed to blend into the background".

But speakers against it said the chimney would be an "unacceptable intrusion" and a "blight on the landscape".

Senedd member Vicky Howells said the proposals would have an "unacceptable negative impact on residents and would devastate the economy of the area".

She said the area was on the cusp of a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for strategic redevelopment" which she said would be "stifled" by the plans.

Cynon Valley MP Beth Winter told the meeting Welsh Government strategy published on Tuesday said there would be a moratorium on future large-scale energy from waste developments.

The proposed site of the chimney was on the edge of the Brecon Beacons

Biology lecturer, Cari Rees, of Hirwaun, told the committee she believed her health would be affected by emissions from the stack and that she would have to move away from the area.

"I would be forced out of my home as a result of this development," she said.

If built, the site would use high temperatures on waste products to create a synthetic gas, which the company said would be used to drive a steam turbine to generate electricity.

Enviroparks wanted to double the stack size to provide "superior operational and environmental performance."

If constructed it would be just shorter than the tower that houses Big Ben, which is 315ft (96m) tall, or the Statue of Liberty and its pedestal, which together are 305ft (93m) tall.

A petition in opposition to the proposal with more than 4,000 signatures had been submitted to councillors by the Enviroparks Action Group.

Teacher Clare Rees said she was concerned about the long-term effects for young people

Clare Rees, a teacher who lives nearby in Hirwaun, said she was "relieved" and "thrilled" by the decision.

She said: "We really feel this was the right decision, we presented a good case, the speakers spoke well and the councillors acknowledged that.

"We're really happy they refused this application and we feel that if things come to appeal we have got more than enough evidence to back our case."

Previously, she said they had objected because a 90m chimney would "dominate our local area".

"We're concerned that it's going to put off the future development of tourism," she said.

The mother-of-two said she was also concerned about "the potential for pollution in the future, the effects on the water, the effects on local residents, the list is endless really".

And she said she had concerns about the long-term effects on young people.

"The reason I got involved in this in the beginning was because of my little girls. I'm very concerned about the effects on their future health and their well-being in this area - and also the children I teach as well because I'm a secondary school teacher and so I'm concerned for their health as well and also for the opportunities in the area.

"We want to develop tourism and jobs, well-paid jobs.

"We don't want this area to be known for the heavy industry of the past."

The site is in a previously heavily industrialised area and is close to the former Tower Colliery.

Attempts have been made in recent years to draw tourist facilities and visitors to the area with the new zip wire due to open later this year on Rhigos mountain.

There are also long-term proposals for a planetarium to take advantage of the "dark skies" status of the Brecon Beacons.

Karen Morgan said the stack would be a "horrific marker in our landscape"

Hirwaun councillor Karen Morgan, a member of the action group, said the stack would be out of place and a "horrific marker in our landscape."

"There's a lot of plans in place," she said.

"People were enthused, there was a real buzz about the place but since the Enviropark application came forward last July, what I'm getting is a sense of dismay that this doesn't make sense.

"This doesn't fit in with what we want for our valley.

"Our residents are saying, 'We don't want to be living under the shadow of such a monstrosity' - they're the words they are using."

Rhondda Cynon Taf planning officials said the changes related to "a minor relocation and increase (doubling) in height of the stack and some ducting associated with the revised location. All other aspects of the development remain unchanged and are not under consideration".

Natural Resources Wales had told councillors it had "significant concerns" regarding the potential impact of emissions on nearby special areas of conservation and sensitive habitats.

Such a chimney could only become operational with permission from NRW under Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR).