26 join first Buttington incinerator webinar
Residents are being encouraged to ask questions and share their views about the proposed Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at Buttington Quarry, and they have until October 26 to submit their views on the project, which is being proposed by Broad Energy.
Once operational, Broad Energy claims that the facility will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill while generating low-carbon energy at the same time.
But protesters have formed a group called the Buttington incinerator Impact Group (BiIG) who said last week that they are “deeply concerned” that the six-week consultation is happening at a time when the Welsh Government has introduced new restrictions on social contact due to Covid-19. That full story is here .
They have called for a pause until a time when proper public meetings can be held.
However, that is unlikely and despite more than 1,000 booklets being posted to homes and businesses in the area, what seems like a low number of 26 people participated in the first webinar last week.
Nevertheless, Alistair Hilditch-Brown, Chief Executive of Broad Energy, said he wanted to engage with as many local residents as possible during the consultation process.
“It was positive to see 26 members of the public take the time to participate in the first webinar sessions last week,” said Mr Hilitch-Brown.
“We hope that even more people will sign up for the second live webinar session being held in a couple of weeks. We appreciate that under normal circumstances the consultation would include more opportunities for people to attend face-to-face sessions at public venues, but due to the ongoing pandemic this is simply not possible.
“We’re still offering the chance for meaningful dialogue and engagement with local residents via our website, webinars, freephone line, and through the post. We really want to hear from as many people as possible so we can take everyone’s views into account before we submit our full application.”
Mr Hilditch-Brown added that they were keeping a close eye on the ongoing Covid-19 situation ahead of their planned face-to-face event in October.
The drop-in consultation event is being held for those members of the community who can’t engage with the consultation in any other way. The session will be strictly appointment only and tight social distancing measures will be in place.
“While the face-to-face session is an important part of the consultation, we will be keeping a close eye on the ever-evolving situation to ensure we are able to comply with the advice and guidance in place at the time,” he said.
Last week’s live event saw a panel of experts explain the development and answer questions from the public around topics including the creation of jobs, the technology behind the facility, traffic movements to the site and emission levels from the energy recovery process.
The second webinar will be held on Saturday, October 10, from 10-11am, while the face-to-face appointment-only consultation event is being held on Thursday, October 15.
People can also share their views via a form on the project’s website (broadenergywales.co.uk), or by calling the consultation freephone number - 0800 130 3353 - weekdays between 9am and 5.30pm.
Broad Energy promote that the proposed ERF will use state-of-the-art technology, provided by Hitachi Zosen Inova, which has a significant track record in building such facilities. It will be capable of processing non-hazardous, non-recyclable waste and transforming it into 13-megawatts of low-carbon electricity annually, which will be exported to the National Grid.
The scheme is said to create 300 jobs during its construction phase and will employ 30 members of permanent staff once fully operational.
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