Incinerator opposition group renews call for public meetings

A group formed to challenge the proposed Buttington Incinerator has renewed its calls that public meetings should be held to discuss the multi-million-pound project earmarked close to Welshpool.

Buttington incinerator Impact Group (BiIG) says it is “deeply concerned” that the developers, Broad Energy, have launched a six-week consultation on their project at the same time that the Welsh Government has introduced new restrictions on social contact due to Covid-19.

They are also angry that the full planning application is expected to be submitted in November “just as we enter a Christmas period in which Covid will be at the forefront of people’s minds”.

Broad Energy said that the project would use state-of-the-art technology, provided by Hitachi Zosen Inova, which has a “significant track record in building such facilities”.

It claims that it will be capable of processing non-hazardous, non-recyclable waste and transforming it into 12.8-megawatts of low-carbon electricity annually, which will be exported to the National Grid.

The scheme is expected to create up to 300 jobs during its construction phase and will employ 30 members of permanent staff once fully operational.

But BiIG accussed the firm of being “completely insensitive to the views of local people” and has urged residents to make their voices known before the deadline of October 26.

“This huge project will have a major impact on the villages around Buttington and also, of course, on Welshpool itself,” said a spokesperson. “It could also have far reaching implications for health and for the environment and these will be of concern to everyone.
“The consultation is based on a planning application that is only available on Broad Energy’s website. This application is more than 3,000 pages long. It is very complex and is full of technical data.

“It is absolutely essential that people should be given the opportunity to discuss it at public meetings so that they can share understanding and make up their own minds on the arguments for and against the incinerator.

“This is even more the case for the more vulnerable members of the community, the elderly, the disabled and those who do not have the means to access the Internet. Unfortunately, none of this will happen and so there is no way that it should be taking place at the present time.
“Unfortunately, however, this consultation cannot now be stopped. BiIG will of course respond to it but make clear their view that it is fundamentally flawed. This is an extremely important consultation, for everyone and it is still vital that as many people as possible do send their comments to Broad Energy.”

The group added that updates will provided on their Facebook page and web site.

The previous story announcing the consultation can be read here: Consultation to begin on controversial energy project