'Gloucestershire incinerator plans should be approved', say planners

by Mike Wilkinson

'Yes' to the incinerator is the message coming from planners.

Gloucestershire County Council planning officers have just announced that they are recommending approval of the controversial plans for a waste burner at Javelin Park, near Haresfield.

The announcement comes just days before the council's own planning committee decides the fate of the application by waste firm Urbaser Balfour Beatty.

Hundreds of people could witness councillors make their decision on March 21 at Kingsholm Stadium.

If given the go-ahead, as looks set to be the case, the £500 million burner will deal with 92 per cent of the county's residual waste and will run for the next 25 years.

And Urbaser Balfour Beatty bosses are buoyant.

Project director Javier Peiro said: "The facility has been developed to support the county council's aspirations of recycling or composting 70 per cent of its municipal waste.

"Anything left after that still accounts for many thousands of tonnes of waste which needs to be dealt with.

"The council is doing the right thing in taking responsibility, rather than transporting it out of the county at much higher environmental and economic cost."

Cllr Stan Waddington, cabinet champion for waste, said: "Unlike incinerators proposed elsewhere, which depend on importing rubbish, Gloucestershire's residual waste plant has only ever been sized to deal with Gloucestershire's residual waste.

"Even then, if Gloucestershire doesn't recycle 70 per cent of its rubbish, which would give us some of the highest levels of recycling in Europe, the plant risks being too small. 

"Gloucestershire's waste projections, on which the plant is based, were independently and publicly scrutinised by a government inspector who found them to be sound.

"As a result, whilst national overcapacity may or may not be an issue for councils elsewhere, it's not a problem in Gloucestershire."

* You can view the council's agenda document about the incinerator here (link opens in new window).