Dorset could lose World Heritage Status over Portland incinerator
There are concerns the approval could impact the Jurassic Coast
Portland's planned incinerator could lead to Dorset losing UNESCO World Heritage status.
The qualified claim has been made at a meeting of the county’s Harbours Advisory Board.
Tim Day, from the Weymouth harbour consultative group, said the organisation World Heritage Watch, had said they might go to UNESCO if they believed the incinerator would have a detrimental effect on the world-standard status of the Dorset-Devon coastline.
Said Mr Day: “This would, if it did happen, have a negative impact on tourism throughout the Dorset area, not just Weymouth. This has happened in the past: Liverpool was stripped if its Heritage Site when they started to over-develop the harbour front there.
“It would be a great shame if the Government which has been in less than a hundred days unravels 250 million years of progress for a tourist attraction.”
Although the £100 million waste to energy incinerator, which Dorset Council rejected, has been approved by a Government Minister following an appeal lasting several weeks |newtab), the site still needs a permit to operate, which the Environment Agency says it is ‘minded to approve.’
The Environment Agency say they will only consider certain issues, relating only to:
- Environmental regulatory requirements and technical standards
- Information on local population and sensitive sites
- Whether the right process is being used for the activity, ie. whether the technology is the right one
- Pollution control
- Impact of noise and odour from traffic on site
Because of a technical problem collecting responses to the permit consultation, it's now been extended until October 20th.