A decision on whether a controversial incinerator will be built on the border of Merseyside and Lancashire has been pushed back as protestors continue their efforts to get the plans turned down.
Proposals for an incinerator at Simonswood Industrial Park on Stopgate Lane in Bickerstaffe, near Ormskirk, which would see thousands of tonnes of medical waste burnt each year have been a bone of contention for hundreds of people living in the area for a number of months. The plans estimate that 3,650 tonnes of hazardous waste and smaller amounts of non-toxic waste would be burned at the site, with a decision now deferred following a meeting yesterday (Wednesday, September 7).
The plans have been the subject of an ongoing dispute between the applicant, Culzean W2E Limited and a 3,300-member campaign group called 'Stop the Simonswood Incinerator'. The company claims that Public Health England studies show modern, well run and regulated incinerators are not a significant risk to public health, but campaigners have hit out saying there are still serious health risks.
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Outside the County Hall in Preston yesterday, protestors demonstrated with banners and placards, while inside a two hour meeting took place with Lancashire County Council's Development Control Committee. However, speakers from the campaign group claimed that reports so far put to the council had not considered evidence from medical waste incinerators, as opposed to municipal waste incinerators, Lancs Live reports.
Lancashire County Councillor Barrie Yates said that members of the committee did not have the right information in front of them and were confused, and thus proposed that the matter be deferred. His proposal was seconded by Councillor Paul Rigby.
Amy Seddon, a local resident who has campaigned passionately against it, welcomed the deferral. She said afterwards that campaigner Dr Kerry Dwan, a medical statistician, had clearly set out the evidence against it. Amy said: "Dr Dwan stated that the report put to the council is based on municipal waste incinerators and not based on any research or evidence that comes from medical waste incinerators, so it's invalid, as the report hasn't got the right evidence because the kit and the technology hasn't been used before.
"We are basically the guinea pigs, and that's something that they need to understand before the next meeting."
She continued: "Some councillors that were against it said they just don't believe that these pieces of kit should be built in residential areas and 40,000 people disregarded just a kilometre away on the other side of the border in Knowsley, so they made it clear that they were considering Knowsley as well. "
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said the application was deferred during the two-hour meeting at County Hall this morning, following a vote. The deferral was proposed by Cllr Barrie Yates and seconded by Cllr Paul Rigby, said the spokesperson, adding that the committee wanted to receive more information in relation to air quality, local plan policy, and monitoring and enforcement of permits by other bodies
Culzean W2E Limited via its consultants, Oaktree Environmental Ltd, was contacted for a response but has previously told Lancs Live that concerns over older incinerators were not relevant to the proposed unit. David Young, principal consultant for Oaktree Environmental Ltd, told Lancs Live, in February this year, that a Public Health England statement published following a major study of modern municipal waste incinerators had said "modern, well run and regulated waste incinerators were not a significant risk to public health."
The next meeting is scheduled for October 19.
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