The ARUN district council has made it clear that a planned “waste-to-energy” incinerator for Ford would not be welcome.
West Sussex County Council has the final say on whether or not to approve plans for an Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) and Waste Sorting and Transfer Facility (WSTF) at the site of the current, much smaller waste transfer station.
But members of Arun’s planning committee unanimously agreed to raise a series of objections.
At a meeting on Wednesday, May 26, the committee also agreed that, if the county council ultimately approves the request, a request would be sent to the secretary of state to request that this decision be appealed.
The plans, from Grundon Waste Management and Viridor, replaced a previous app, which was retired in March, and a number of changes were made.
These included having two 85 m chimneys instead of one and reducing the height of the boiler room from 51.2 m to 38.5 m.
“Completely unacceptable”, “gigantic” and “prominent and intrusive” were among the descriptions launched during the meeting.
The impact on roads, the environment and the landscape was also high on the list of concerns, as well as the consequences for the 1,500 housing units planned for the region.
President Terry Chapman (Con, East Preston) said: “If you go up to Perry Hill at the back of Arundel and look towards the coast you can very clearly see the current plant at the old site of Ford Airfield.
“If you then visualize two 85m high piers and a monolithic building, it will totally destroy any view of one of the last breaches open along the coast.”
Hugh Coster (Ind, Aldwick East) laughed at the idea that an acoustic fence 2.4-5m high – designed to reduce site noise levels – would make ‘the slightest difference’ given the proposed size of the development.
The committee agreed to the request and agreed with Senior Planning Officer Raymond Cole that council would file an objection.
Mr. Cole presented a list of reasons, including:
If an installation of this size was even necessary, especially since a building permit has already been granted for an incinerator in Horsham;
The “significant negative visual impact” that a building of this scale and height would have on the landscape;
Concerns about traffic, noise and odor; and
The fact that the plans did not conform to the policies of the local waste plan and the local plan of Arun.
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-31 23:01:00
