£120 million Wolverhampton incinerator plans to be submitted

Controversial plans for a £120 million new incinerator in Wolverhampton – including a 328ft chimney stack – will be submitted in the autumn, it was announced today.

And developers today revealed they have drawn up a "community plan" to be included alongside the application, which will detail training and employment opportunities and how they will be working with companies from the region.

If approved, the Greenpower 54 project will create 70 new jobs and will provide power for 47,500 houses.

Residents living near the proposed site in Wobaston Road, Fordhouses, have raised fears the plant would create a lot of noise and traffic. Project planning director Paul Zanin, from Birmingham-based developers Express Power Ltd, said the finishing touches – including a detailed legal review – were just being put together.

A public consultation was held at the start of the year and Mr Zanin admitted the feedback had been "mixed".

"There is a genuine recognition that we need facilities which produce clean electricity," he said.

"Understandably, people had a lot of questions about emissions and traffic, but we believe these have been addressed in the documents we have put together. One of the things we welcome is the interest in the supply chain and opportunities for employment and training for local people.

"This will form part of our community plan which will be submitted alongside the application."

He said the project manager returned from holiday in the middle of next month and they hoped to submit the plans within the coming weeks.

"We remain committed to being open and honest about our proposals and will keep the local community updated about the submission of our planning application as soon as it is finalised," he added.

The energy plant is planned for land next to the i54 business park, behind aerospace company HS Marston. It would burn wood, bark, sawdust and other agricultural by-products to generate energy and if planners at Wolverhampton City Council approves, work will start at the end of the year or the start of next year, and be finished by 2016.

It is hoped the plant will power firms at the nearby i54 business park – including Moog and Jaguar Land Rover – as well as tens of thousands of homes nearby.

Residents had raised concerns after developers revealed around 58 lorries a day will be travelling in and out of a planned power plant in Wolverhampton for almost three years while it is being built. And when the incinerator is up and running, this number will rise to 79 vehicles a day.