CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans to build an incinerator in Llanwern, told of their delight as the plans were thrown out by Newport council yesterday.

Pippa Bartollotti, Welsh Green Party leader and from the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign, said the decision was a victory for local democracy.

Newport council planning committee voted to reject Veolia’s proposals for a non-recyclable waste incinerator at Llanwern Steelworks amid worries that it could turn a nearby major housing development into a ghost estate.

Developer St Modwen plans to build 4,000 homes at the Glan Llyn site at Llanwern over two decades.

It opposed the planning application to build the waste incinerator, claiming it could bring traffic and dust to the edge of the community.

The refusal came despite officers’ recommendations for approval.

Rob Hepworth, of the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign, said: “How could anyone have chosen such a site for a regional waste incinerator? Right next to one of the finest wildlife sites in Europe, and its endangered species.”

He said the presence of great crested newts, a protected species, in the area was crucial.

A report by planning officers had said the development had the “potential” to have an impact on the species but that could be managed.

St Modwen’s Tim Gent said: “This waste proposal is already having an effect... we need the council to send a clear signal that Glan Llyn is their priority.”

But Owen Dimond, on behalf of Veolia, said there was no evidence to substantiate St Modwen’s concerns.

Paul Hannon, deputy chairman of planning and Labour councillor for Beechwood, said there was a danger that the Glan Llyn could become a “ghost estate” of the sort seen around Dublin.

“It’s like putting a brothel next to a convent,” he said. But Cllr Miqdad Al-Nuaimi, who was the only councillor to vote for it, said he found little in officer reports to support the case for a refusal.

Officers had argued there had been no objection from expert consultees over the effect of emissions on health, the Welsh Government hadn’t objected over road impacts and there was “no evidence” that the proposal would affect the ability of the Glan Llyn site to be completed and marketed.

But the committee voted eight to one for Cllr Hannon’s motion to reject the application on grounds of ecology, transport and the affect on the Glan Llyn redevelopment scheme.

Despite yesterday’s planning refusal, the Veolia plan is still among one of two bids to build an incinerator to burn non-recyclable waste.

The company remains in the running for a 25-year-contract from Prosiect Gwyrdd – a consortium of five councils including Newport, Monmouthshire and Caerphilly looking for an alternative to landfill.

The Welsh Government aims to phase non-recyclable waste out of landfill by 2025.

If Newport pulled out, it could be left having to find another solution on its own and could also be levied with £3 million in financial penalties.

The council remains in the consortium, despite yesterday’s decision and the Labour group’s opposition to incineration.

 

Developer considers appeal

THE decision to throw out the application was a victory for local democracy, according a delighted campaigner – but it is unclear whether Veolia will appeal.

Around 50 people had gathered for a demonstration outside the council yesterday morning, packing the public galleries of Newport civic centre’s council chamber yesterday.

Pippa Bartollotti, Welsh Green Party leader and from the Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign, said the decision was a victory for local democracy.

Rob Hepworth, of Stop Newport Incinerator Campaign, said Prosiect Gwyrdd should look at other options.

The Newport Labour group had opposed incineration in its election manifesto.

Cllr Ray Truman, deputy leader of Newport council, said: “I’m pleased that the planning committee have taken a democratic decision.”

Labour council leader Bob Bright did not comment yesterday, but a statement from the council said an appeal must be lodged within six months of the application being rejected.

However a Veolia spokesman said it was “naturally dissapointed”

and said it is reserving its decision whether to appeal.

A spokesman said that the site would generate electricity expected to be used at the neighbouring Tata steelworks and provide 350 jobs duing construction, as well as 45 permanent posts.

COMMENT: A promise honoured

THE decision by Newport councillors to reject plans for a waste incinerator on the outskirts of the city will go some way to restore faith in politicians’ promises.

Labour opposed the incinerator proposal for Llanwern while it was in opposition, and that opposition formed part of the party’s manifesto at this year’s council elections.

Yesterday, with one exception, Labour councillors now in control of the city council stuck to their word and voted against the incinerator even though their own officers had recommended the plan be approved.

The planned incinerator would have burned non-recyclable waste from five council areas, including Newport. But there was massive public opposition to the proposal. Whether the planning committee’s decision will be allowed to stand is debatable.

Waste firm Veolia can appeal – and the decision will undoubtedly cause tension between Newport and its partners in the Prosiect Gwyrdd consortium.

There is, we suspect, a strong possibility the incinerator will be back on the agenda before too long.

Yesterday may well have been a battle won rather than a war, but there will be many who will be impressed that promises made during an election have been kept.

And it showed that people power still has a place in modern-day politics.