CAMPAIGN TO STOP waste PLANT in gedling
Say NO to a Digester Plant next to our new Country Park
NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED
The Friends of Gedling Country Park are pleased to announce that we have a brand new website- you can find out all about the Country Park, news and events on site and how you can get involved by clicking here.
http://www.gedlingcountrypark.org.uk/
BREAKING NEWS
Tuesday 17th February 2015
We are delighted to confirm that this morning Tamar Energy have released a statement to say that they are withdrawing their plans for a Waste Plant in Gedling and have decided to focus their efforts elsewhere in the Country.
You can read the full story on the Nottingham Evening Post website http://www.nottinghampost.com/Relief-Gedling-bid-12million-food-waste-plant-new/story-26037363-detail/story.html
This excellent news is great timing ahead of the official opening of Gedling Country Park next month on Saturday 28th March. A brand new website for the Friends of Gedling Country Park will be available soon, and you will be able to find out all about the opening day on that website.
Finally, we would like to say a big thank you to the hundreds of you who supported our campaign and leave you with a final thought for they day:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has".
Margaret Mead
Although the campaign has now finished successfully we have left the details of the campaign available here for information.
Introduction
This website was created by Friends of Gedling Country Park to tell the public and local residents more about the proposed plans for a waste plant on the former Gedling Colliery Site - and why we believed that this was the wrong location for waste processing.
We have no objections to the use of Anaerobic Digester's to turn food waste into valuable energy and re-useable waste indeed we feel that they are necessary, but firmly believe that this is a case of right technology, WRONG LOCATION.
We strongly object to the application based on its proposed location and the impact the plant would have on local residents, schools and the environment. We are supported by Gedling Borough Council, local MPs and a growing number of local residents in the vicinity who have raised objections. However, if this application goes through the impact of this waste plant will be felt by many people across Gedling, Mapperley, Arnold, Lambley and Burton Joyce.
WHY SAY NO
ZONING & LAND USE
We believe that the allocation of this land for use as a Digester Plant is contrary to the zoning plans and strategy set out in the Council’s Core Aligned Strategy.
Tamar Energy’s application indicates that the location is disused and a former heavy industrial colliery site – and fails to mention the extent of the development of the Country Park that has now occurred and its proximity. This location has already been zoned for development of housing and light industrial use and therefore we believe it would be an incorrect allocation of this land if the proposed AD facility is approved.
A better use of this land would be for light industrial and office allocation. Friends of Gedling Country Park propose to work with the county and borough council’s and potential developers to encourage the development of a hi-tech business park here. This would not only generate significantly more employment than the proposed 5 staff suggested by Tamar Energy for their plant – but would help to revitalise the economy in this particular area – and attract beneficial and meaningful inward investment.
TRAFFIC
Local roads (Arnold Lane, Shearing Hill & Main Rd) are already overloaded with cars and HGVs carrying in excess of 17,000 vehicles per day. They cannot take the additional HGV traffic that this plant will bring with around 81 lorry’s loads a day. The increased traffic would be environmentally damaging to both the Country Park and Gedling Village highways and hazardous for both pedestrians and other road users.
Tamar’s report suggests a steady flow of vehicle throughout the working day; this will not be the situation. The flow of transport will peak and trough throughout the day it will be very heavy early in the morning from when the plant opens then again in the afternoon. This because vehicles will load the night before to be at site as early as possible so they can go back to collect a second load to deliver in the afternoon in between you will have the smaller bin wagons delivering at random times.
Our discussions with other plant operators tell us to expect multiple HGVs to queuing at a time to be tipped – especially early in the morning.
ODOUR, AIR QUALITY & AIR POLLUTION
The location of the proposed plant has three boundaries with the Country Park and beyond the other boundary is the current residential area of Gedling. This will mean that users of the Country Park and local residents would be subjected to odour generated from the plant itself and from the HGVs coming and going from the site on a daily basis.
Tamar Energy would plan to use negative pressure and fast closing door. However, their plans show the reception shed having four doors for vehicles to tip and when there is a backlog of vehicles those four doors will be continually being opened releasing odour.
Another cause of odour will happen when the plant has a breakdown which will happen from time to time as motors fail and pumps fail. There will be situations where the reception shed will be storing waste until repairs are completed and this will cause odour. As the plant gets older and parts get worn this will become an increasing issue.
NOISE
This industrial facility will operate twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The delivery, loading and movement of food waste will be noisy. HGVs could stand idle and the engines and electricity generator will also be noisy and impact negatively on the environment.
Local operators of similar facilities have described the impact of day to day operations of the plant as “incredibly noisy”. Significant noise levels will be created during the operation of the plant (especially processing of waste tinned products), movement of vehicles on and off the site and the unloading of vehicles.
A significant increase in noise levels is not suitable on the footstep of a Country Park, nor near to residential areas.
VERMIN
There is a known hazard of vermin infestation with similar AD plants and this will not be contained within a boundary fence and will cause a hazard for park visitors particularly dog walkers and be disturbing for families with young children.Anyone having a picnic on the country park will be inundated with them, flies breed from May to September exactly the same time the park will be at its highest visitor rate.
An increase in vermin numbers on site would also pose a wider public health problem to visitors of the Country Park through an increased risk in exposure to Leptospirosis. Leptospirosis also known as Weils Disease, is a type of bacterial infection spread by animals in particular rats.
In 90% of cases, leptospirosis only causes mild flu-like symptoms, such as headache, chills and muscle pain. However, in some cases the infection is more severe and can cause life-threatening problems, including organ failure and internal bleeding.You can catch leptospirosis by touching soil or water contaminated with the urine of wild animals infected with the leptospira bacteria.
IMPACT UPON THE COUNTRY PARK
Since the colliery closure more than 20 years ago it has taken the vision of the local councillors and residents to achieve the development of a Country Park at a cost of more than £1 million. Friends of Gedling Country Park and local residents have high hopes for the park. We want to work hard to create a gold standard country park that celebrates its rich history and heritage, is a haven for wildlife, is accessible to everyone in the community and a park to be proud of.
We believe that this waste plant could ruin the Country Park. The size and height of the digester tanks in particular will be too large for the proposed location and would seriously undermine the quality and experience of visitors to the country park. The plant would be situated on lower ground very close to the park boundary and would be visually obtrusive across many views.
The exhaust fumes from the plant are likely to include around 20% Carbon Dioxide. There is a high likelihood that the Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere by this plant would create localised acid rain. Acid rain deposited over the soil within the Country Park, will over time change the soil structure and ultimately the vegetation structure. Any changes in vegetation within the park are extremely likely to have an effect upon the local flora and fauna. Including rare species currently found within the Country Park such as a rare butterfly called the Dingy Skipper Erynnis Tages. Gedling Country Park is one of a few locations where the Dingy Skipper is found within the East Midlands.
The following news article details a safety incident at another plant. Were this to happen here it would be a major concern right on the door step of our Country Park and the Ouse Dyke.
SAFETY
The plans include two combined heat and power plants and associated stacks. These stacks would be only 53 metres away from any new housing associated with the Gedling Access Road and only 33 metres away from a new primary school, which Gedling Borough Council has already planned for the area.
In the Environment Agency's 2012 publication 'Guidance for Developments Requiring Planning Permission and Environmental Permits' it states there could be some risk to the health of people living closer than 250 metres to an AD engine stack due to the pollutant emissions associated with the stack.
Problem at other sites have included:
• Fernbrook Bio, Rothwell, Northants – County Councillor says the plant should be shut as the smells are destroying the quality of life for residents living over half a mile away from the plant.
• 2013 – Botulism causes fatalities in a dairy herd in Wrexham on land surrounding anaerobic digestor facility.
• 2013 – Bio Energy in Cannock, Somerset are fined £30,000 after 60 tonnes of digestate escapes from a pipe at the AD plant.
• February 2013 – a major leak at Harper Adams AD plant in Shropshire floods fields and enters nearby rivers, polluting the water system.
• September 2012 – 300,000 litres of digestate from Clapham Biogas overflows and pollutes the nearby water system.
• HL Foods, Lincolnshire are fined £140,000 by the Environmental Agency for the horrendous smells affecting the local area, which they say is similar to the stench of “dead rats”.
• AD plant in Farrington, Lancashire applies to extend its exhaust stacks from 39 feet to 82 feet, to try and improve the air quality for local residents (in other words, the plant gives off a horrible stench, even though the application said there would be NO smell).
EFFECT ON HOUSE PRICES
This facility would have a detrimental effect on the local economy and property market. No one will want to move to an area that smells of slurry and rotting food; where gardens are no-go areas, windows have to be kept shut and washing has to be dried indoors. Neither will they want to expose their children to the risk of escaping bio-aerosols and the subsequent health risks.
ALTERNATIVE FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE WITHIN 3 MILES!
We question that there is a specific need for this AD facility in this area and particularly at this location given that there are already two AD plants within 3 miles; Severn Trent at Stoke Bardolph and Bio Dynamic (UK) Ltd at Colwick Industrial Estate. These can more than adequately cope with local demand today and have sufficient capacity to expand for the future. In addition, Tamar Energy actually already has a plant in Nottinghamshire located at Retford.
CONCLUSION
We do not support the plans for an AD facility at this particular location based upon the detrimental impacts to local residents (current and future), environmental impacts within the park and the risk to public health from siting such a facility in such close proximity to residential and public amenity areas including the brand new Country Park which has just been created at a cost in excess of £1 million. There is adequate capacity within 3 miles of the proposed site to deal with waste at an appropriately situated alternative facility.
