Dorset Council asks DEFRA to help stop Portland incinerator
Leader Cllr Nick Ireland has written to the Environment Secretary
The fight against a waste incinerator on Portland is continuing from Dorset Council.
After writing to the Deputy Prime Minister calling for the plans to be scrapped, the authority's now trying to curry favour with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Cllr Nick Ireland has written to the Environment Secretary, Steve Reed MP, calling for the project to 'temporarily paused' while a review into incinerators' permits to operate is underway.
In his letter he's said:
"We are very pleased to see your department pushing further on the nation’s environmental ambitions, and Dorset is very keen to support that. We are proud to be pushing down residual waste as England’s number one unitary authority for recycling; and to be taking the ambitious step to expedite our local net zero targets.
"We therefore feel deep disappointment at the decision by government to grant planning permission for the proposed incinerator in Portland. The strength of local opposition is striking, and there is a strong feeling that government has pushed this through without consideration of the consequences for the residents of Dorset.
"We welcome the Environment Agency’s decision to reopen the consultation on the proposed incinerators application for a permit to operate. We hope that it will now carefully consider our resident’s concerns about the impacts on the local community.
"However, we are concerned that any ensuing decision on whether to grant a permit may be premature in view of Defra’s ongoing work to consider and consult on its forthcoming Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note. In providing important evidence on the role of waste incineration in the management of residual wastes, this note should crucially inform decision-making on any outstanding permits.
"I therefore call upon you to issue a Ministerial Direction of the Environment Agency to temporarily pause the determination of environmental permits for this facility. Such a pause can be made without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse the permit; but it would avoid the risk that a decision is made in haste and in ignorance of the evidence gathered by Defra’s own review.
"A similar such decision was taken in April by the previous Secretary of State. Similarly, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has twice delayed planning decisions on a proposal in North Lincolnshire to enable time for consideration and consultation on the note.
"We look forward to Defra’s work on residual waste with great anticipation, and hope that your work to gather evidence will be fully considered in future permitting decisions."
Portland and Weymouth Town Council response from Govt
The latest letter to Parliament follows a Government response sent to the Town Councils for Portland and Weymouth.
They'd also written to the Deputy Prime Minister asking for a rethink on the proposed incinerator.
In a statement, Chair of Portland Town Council, Cllr Sue Cocking; The Mayor of Weymouth, Cllr Jon Orrell; Cllr David Harris, Council Leader; and Cllr Matt Bell, Chair of Environment and Services Committee, said:
“Portland and Weymouth Town Councils have received a reply from Rushanara Ali MP – Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Homelessness and Democracy, responding to the letter sent to Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP expressing their concerns regarding the decision by the Government to grant planning permission for the incinerator at Portland.
“The Councils are disappointed with the response. It disregards the Councils’ request that the decision to grant planning permission is revisited after the Government have determined their national policy position on incinerators and the call on the Government to impose a moratorium on the building of waste incinerators. The correspondence also ignores the Councils’ and community’s views opposing the incinerator plans for environmental, economic, aesthetic, and health reasons.
“The two Councils continue to object to the proposal and remain vehemently opposed to any suggestion of the waste incinerator development proceeding.”
The company Powerfuel Portland says the latest technology will be used to capture emissions.