M5 power plant plan refused after protests

Versus Oak Energy wanted to build a 10,000sq m facility at Giffards Recycling, off Kelvin Way, West Bromwich, that promised to convert 400,000 tons of waste into electricity to power 70,000 homes a year.

However, Sandwell Council’s planning committee rejected proposals on Wednesday due to fears over noise and air pollution.

The committee also raised concerns over the pedestrian crossing due to be installed because of increased traffic not meeting the needs of elderly residents.

Impact

A petition against the scheme attracted more than 500 signatures, while the Labour party’s deputy leader and MP for West Bromwich East, Tom Watson, wrote a letter of objection to the council on behalf of his constituents.

The letter cited concerns related to the traffic impact of the facility, as well as its visual impact due to its size and the building design also being out of character with the area.

A small number of people against the plans attended the meeting and applauded the committee’s decision.

They held up protest banners throughout the deliberation, including one which read: ‘Burn your rubbish somewhere else, not by our children and their school’.

A design statement submitted with the application said the site would operate 24/7 but that waste deliveries from lorries would be restricted to between 7am and 7pm on weekdays and 7pm and 1pm on Saturdays.

There would be no deliveries on Sundays, it added. A total of 168 vehicles would enter and leave the site every weekday, according to the plans.

The plans had been recommended for approval by planning officers, who said the site would create a ‘negligible increase’ in pollution levels, as well as an increase in traffic of one per cent per day for cars and around four per cent daily for HGVs which they felt were minor.

The application also claimed the scheme would create 41 new skilled, long-term jobs within the local area, generating £1million pounds in wages annually.

A further 100 jobs would be created during the construction phase, it was claimed, with a total of £150m in direct investment.

Councillor Jackie Taylor said: “I could never imagine living across the road from that, and for me there was no compromise to support the residents living within the area. I’m under no illusions that I was representing residents of that area.”