Objectors in silent protest over plans for incinerator

Aug 1 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

CAMPAIGNERS opposed to the building of a giant incinerator on the banks of the Mersey were holding a silent protest last night as councillors met to consider the plan.

Chemical manufacturer Ineos Chlor say their plant at Weston Point in Runcorn uses as much electricity as the city of Liverpool, and their plan for a combined heat and power plant would reduce their dependence on gas.

But those opposed to the £330m “energy from waste” scheme say it will increase pollution and be a threat to the health of local people.

The plant would have a chimney stack 344 feet high (105 metres) to burn pre-treated household waste from Merseyside, Manchester and Cheshire.

It would cover an area comparable to 20 football pitches, a few hundred yards from another incinerator that was closed 18 years ago after a campaign by angry home owners.

Before the meeting last night Jeff Meehan, of the Halton Action Group Against the Incinerator, said: “More than 1,000 people have signed letters of objection, and we have consistently used the democratic process to express the feelings of ordinary people.”

A spokesman for Ineos Chlor said the company has invested more than £400m at Runcorn in the past five years, most of which has been spent on environmental improvements and upgrading plant. The new plant would cbring their total investment at the site to nearly £800m.

The meeting of the development control committee last night was intended to advise the government on the scheme.

The final decision on the planning application rests with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

liammurphy