Public inquiry to be held for Aycliffe incinerator appeal

The inquiry will be held into the plan for a "high temperature thermal treatment facility for clinical and hazardous wastes" which attracted hundreds of objections from residents.

Government-appointed inspector John Woolcock will decide the appeal after the inquiry, which opens on June 28.

Further comments on the plans must be sent to the Planning Inspectorate by March 30.

Read more: Newton Aycliffe incinerator plan rejected after stack of objections

Fornax Environmental Solutions Ltd requested the inquiry as it appealed against Durham County Council's decision.

The council's planning committee voted to refuse planning permission for the waste treatment plant last December.

The scheme, costing more than £20m, sparked concerns that it would blight the area with “plumes of pollutants” from a 30m stack, harming health and the environment.

It attracted 290 objections from residents, groups, businesses and councillors, and a petition with 497 signatures, expressing concerns including air quality, emissions, health and noise.

Fornax applied for permission to build a “high temperature thermal treatment facility” at the Merchant Park estate near Heighington, Aycliffe and Newton Aycliffe.

The plant would incinerate up to 10,500 tonnes of clinical and hazardous waste per year, running 24 hours a day seven days a week, from land north of Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd, Millennium Way.

The firm has submitted a "statement of common ground" for the appeal.

They say it is agreed there is a "proven need" for hazardous and clinical waste treatment and the proposals would make a "meaningful contribution" to the region tackling its own waste, dealing with a local and regional shortage where specialist waste currently has to be transported outside the area.

The statement adds: "It is agreed that there are no unacceptable environmental or amenity impacts associated with the proposed development."

Read more: Blog of planning meeting where council made its decision on Aycliffe hazardous waste facility

At the planning commitee meeting last December, Christine Walton, representing Great Aycliffe Town Council, said: “The local community is overwhelmingly against the proposal.”

She said it would do long-term harm and bring no real benefit to the community, posing “a very real risk and health concerns for a large number of people”.

Cllr Jim Atkinson said residents made a “clear statement of discontent" and the plant would produce 2,000 tonnes of ash and “pepper-spray thousands of residents with whatever cocktail remains”.

Cllr Michael Stead said 27 promised jobs was a “pathetic misuse of two hectares of prime employment land”.

Newton Aycliffe resident Penny Jackson said: "Businesses have stated they will relocate if the incinerator is approved."

Resident Hilda Longley said: “If the incinerator is built, the air will not be fresh. The right to breathe clean air will be gone.”

Read more: Expansion plans for 'chocka' NETPark in Sedgefield approved

Fornax said it would be a “showpiece in a network of facilities across the UK”.

They argued the facility would cut the carbon footprint of the county’s waste, destroying materials safely with constant monitoring and no offensive noise or smells, with no objection from the Environment Agency or public health officers.

Council officers had recommended approval of the plan, saying the environmental impacts were “not unacceptable”, the plant could operate safely and the public concerns were “not sufficient to outweigh the planning judgment”.

However councillors went against their officers' recommendations and voted overwhelmingly to reject the plan, prompting appaluse and thanks in County Hall.

Cllr Craig Martin. Picture: Durham County Council.

Cllr Craig Martin recommended refusal, not on environmental grounds but because it was not suitable for this particular industrial estate and could negatively affect business.

He pointed to objection from Hitachi, “one of the jewels in the crown of employment that we’ve had in the last 10 years” that it could harm their work.

Cllr Patricia Jopling said: “We have to take into account what residents think. They’ve got to live with this. We haven’t. To me this is not the right place.”