Group formed to challenge incinerator

A group of concerned local residents are gathering evidence that they say will highlight the implications of building a waste incinerator in Buttington.

Developers, Broad Energy, claim the £114 million incinerator, earmarked for Buttington Quarry, could power more than 20,000 homes and create 35 permanent jobs.

The fuel would be made up mainly of residual waste from industrial and commercial sources in Powys and neighbouring counties.

But there is strong local opposition to the plans with the Buttington Incinerator Impact Group (BiIG) formed by a number of concerned residents from the Trewern community to research its implications.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Our leaflet outlining the potential health and environmental implications has been delivered to all properties in the community as well as to a number in Welshpool that we believe would be adversely impacted. We have provided copies of our leaflet to all Welshpool councillors and made them available at key points in the town.

“In particular, we are concerned that our local primary school in Trewern would be directly affected by emissions. Local weather conditions frequently trap cold air and fog in the valley as a result of “temperature inversion” and this would cause emissions to be driven down into the valley of the A458.

“As well as the likely adverse health impact of incinerator emissions, there is the issue of the visual intrusion on what is essentially a rural landscape with a distinctive ecology, wildlife and natural beauty.

“The proposed incinerator and its emissions stack of around 85 metres in height would be seen not only from Trewern, Pool Quay and the Rhallt but would also be clearly visible from Powis Castle and the northern end of Welshpool itself. In addition, we anticipate the need for pylons to export power generated to the national grid plus a red light on the chimney visible for miles around to alert aircraft at night.

“This is not about providing cheap electricity to local residents – that is most unlikely in practice. More to the point, the proposed incinerator is about creating a huge blot on our rural landscape.”

The group is also concerned that the plans, when submitted, will go in front of the Welsh Government due to its size, bypassing Powys County Council who would merely be a consultee in the process.

It is supposed to be 11.5MW (MegaWatts) and anything over 10MW is categorised as a development of infrastructure of national significance.

“The current proposal for an annual incineration capacity of 150,000 tonnes is some 50% higher than the previous Broad Energy proposal floated back in 2016,” the spokesperson told us.

“Our research shows that, even allowing for a quantity of industrial and commercial waste, only a small proportion could realistically be sourced within Powys itself. This must mean waste being transported by road from elsewhere, most probably across the border from the West Midlands over a significant distance, so not exactly green. It is immediately clear that there is no local need.

“There is also the question of disposal of the residual ash and other toxic residues involving additional lorry traffic.

“Whilst we appreciate that we need to diversify sources of energy, burning other people’s rubbish in our rural villages cannot be seen as a sensible option, not least when the health of our children could be jeopardised. We believe very simply that this is the wrong thing in the wrong place.”

Following a recent public meeting, Broad Energy Group chief executive Alistair Hilditch-Brown, said: “It was good to be able to listen to the views being given and I will take them back to the team.”