Newport planners could hold special meeting for incinerator (From South Wales Argus)

Newport planners could hold special meeting for incinerator

3:50pm Thursday 5th July 2012 in Gwent news By David Deans, Reporter

PROPOSAL: How the incinerator at Llanwern may look

PLANS for a controversial £200 million waste burner could be considered at a Newport council hearing in three weeks time.

An application from waste-giant Veolia to apply for permission to build an incinerator at Llanwern Steelworks is to be considered at a special Newport council planning meeting.

Deputy chairman of the planning committee Paul Hannon told the committee, when it met earlier this week, that the special hearing may be held on July 25.

Newport council planning committee decided to allow more than one person to speak at the meeting and future such meetings for major applications when it met earlier this week.

Cllr Hannon said there is widespread public interest in the application, but currently the only person who can speak is whoever submits their name first.

He said it seemed unnecessary to exclude any voices.

It is understood the move means that someone from the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign will be able to raise its objections.

The Veolia application forms the company's bid for the Prosiect Gwyrdd contract, looking for an alternative to burying non-recyclable waste at landfill.

The initiative - backed by five councils including Monmouthshire, Newport and Caerphilly - comes in light of a Welsh Government push to phase non-recyclable waste out of landfill by 2025.

It would need both planning and the contract from Prosiect Gwyrdd - said to be worth £1.1 billion - to get the go ahead.

If built the incinerator could process 256,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste every year.