Last week councillors unanimously rejected plans by Bradford based firm Gascorp Delta Ltd to build an anaerobic digestion facility on farmland in Beeford. The decision was greeted with rapturous cheers and applause by local residents who attended the East Riding of Yorkshire Council planning committee meeting at County Hall in Beverley on Thursday.
The planning application was for a facility which would use farm and food waste to generate gas, which would then be fed into the national gas grid. The plant, which would have been located on land belonging to West Farm in Beeford, would process 82,000 tonnes of waste per year which would create enough renewable biogas to power around 5,400 homes. The remaining decomposed food would then be used to produce bio-fertiliser for farmland. More than 800 letters of objection were received by the council from local residents. Objectors said the scale of the operation was not suitable for a rural setting such as
More than 800 letters of objection were received by the council from local residents. Objectors said the scale of the operation was not suitable for a rural setting such as Beeford and they feared for pollution such as noise and smell and in particular traffic problems caused by lorries travelling to and from the site. They also questioned the environmental benefits of the plant when much of the waste was being transported to the site from the West Riding and they felt the plant would be better located on a brownfield site closer to the source of the waste materials to be recycled. Speaking at the meeting
They also questioned the environmental benefits of the plant when much of the waste was being transported to the site from the West Riding and they felt the plant would be better located on a brownfield site closer to the source of the waste materials to be recycled. Speaking at the meeting
Speaking at the meeting Beeford resident Angela McKie, who along with many other residents in the villages of Beeford, North Frodingham and Foston-on-the-Wolds has spent months researching the planning application, put forward her objections to the proposals. She told councillors that the plant would have a devastating effect on the local community. She said it was an industrial sized plant set in high value agricultural land with an unsuitable road network to cope with the heavy congestion. She said the plant would have a detrimental effect on the visual skyline of the area and was in the wrong setting. Ward councillors Jane Evison and Jonathan Owen also spoke against the application. They praised the efforts of the campaign group and raised concerns over traffic movements to and from the site, storage on the site and the visual impact and harm to local amenities. Cllr Owen said: “This development is the wrong scale, in the wrong place, processing the wrong products.” The applicant
Ward councillors Jane Evison and Jonathan Owen also spoke against the application. They praised the efforts of the campaign group and raised concerns over traffic movements to and from the site, storage on the site and the visual impact and harm to local amenities. Cllr Owen said: “This development is the wrong scale, in the wrong place, processing the wrong products.”
This development is the wrong scale, in the wrong place, processing the wrong products.”
The applicant Gascorp Delta Ltd said the scheme was in line with Government strategy to mitigate climate change and reduce over-reliance on fossil fuels and expensive energy imports. Their agent Stephen Locke told the meeting that the plant would contribute towards meeting local and national renewable energy targets and addressed other concerns by stating there would be a sympathetic landscaping scheme to mitigate the visual impact; it would be a completely sealed process to prevent odour issues and he said the report to the committee had found no highway safety concerns. Councillors at the meeting said they were not against anaerobic digestion as a renewable energy source; however they unanimously rejected this scheme on the grounds of visual impact and the adverse affect on local amenities. Speaking after the meeting a delighted Mrs McKie said: “We have had so much support from residents in all the three villages affected and everyone has put in so much hard work and time. This shows what can be achieved when a community pulls together.”
Councillors at the meeting said they were not against anaerobic digestion as a renewable energy source; however they unanimously rejected this scheme on the grounds of visual impact and the adverse affect on local amenities.
Speaking after the meeting a delighted Mrs McKie said: “We have had so much support from residents in all the three villages affected and everyone has put in so much hard work and time. This shows what can be achieved when a community pulls together.”[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”2032,2031,2030,2029,2026,2027,2025,2024″ img_size=”Large” onclick=””][/vc_column][/vc_row]
