PROTESTORS stormed out of a Caerphilly council meeting this week as a waste recycling plant was granted planning permission.

More than 100 residents protested outside Penallta House council offices, voicing their dissent against a development that will transport up to 100,000 tonnes of waste a year through Cwmfelinfach and Wattsville.

Campaigners filled the council chambers holding signs on Wednesday, November 9, with the overspill gathering in the main lobby to watch the meeting via video broadcast.

Ynysddu ward councillors led a campaign against the Nine Mile Point development in October 2015, raising a petition of 1,580 signatures and highlighting concerns of air pollution and “3.4 an hour” HGV movements through the two villages.

Cllr Jan Jones, of Ynysddu ward, addressed the committee, outlining the “miscalculation” of the application being made without “sufficient” public consultation.

She said: “Officers tick boxes and look for policies to comply with but the people in this case were disregarded

“We are told because the application is on an industrial estate, we have to deal with it.

“I’m disappointed in the decision and it shows that the people don’t matter.”

The Lower Sirhowy Valley Residents Group had previously raised concerns of nitrogen oxide pollution that could be caused by the waste drying process.

Newbridge chemist Alan Sharpe claimed the application contradicted Welsh Government guideline Technical Advice Note (TAN) 21 (2014), which outlines the siting of factories that produce fuel from waste.

He said: “This proposal is in the wrong place, requires thousands of unnecessary lorry journeys and above all else fails essential requirements of TAN 21.”

He argued the plant’s processing of non-Caerphilly waste and its procedures of burning waste at a different site were reasons it should be refused.

The plant will recycle non-hazardous waste via a drying method releasing emissions from an 18-meter high chimney and transporting waste with 25-tonne HGVS.

Campaigners applauded and booed throughout the meeting and were threatened with exclusion after several warnings from planning committee heads.

Several councillors also registered objections, with Patricia Cook of Blackwood asking: “How can you even contemplate endangering the lives of people living in the area?”

Cllr Dave Rees of Risca West said: “This is not Russia, you might as well call this delegated powers, not a planning committee.”

Applicant Paul Goddard of Hazrem Environmental said there were no objections from authorities and the plant will create “jobs in an area which has high levels of unemployment.”

He added: “This is a waste recycling facility sorting and drying business and commercial waste from within the Caerphilly borough.

“Generally three to four HGV movements an hour only represents a traffic increase in one and a half percent.”

He closed his speech by saying “the committee should base its decision on facts, not hearsay.”

Officers confirmed that when operational the plant will receive inspections from National Resources Wales to monitor its impact on the environment.

Cllr Jan Jones said: “There have been two previous applications granted on this site, which we are told would have resulted in 400 vehicles on our roads every day.

“These planning applications never went ahead so it is easy to claim lots of things but there is one thing we do know – the previous applications did not have a chimney and would not have been pumping nitrogen dioxide into the air.”

The planning committee voted to approve the waste recycling plant at Nine Mile Point.

Wattsville resident Andrew Mellor added on facebook: “There are a lot of very disappointed people in the Sirhowy Valley tonight.”