Agenda item

Click here to view a recording of this item on You Tube.

Councillor de Whalley left the meeting and addressed the Committee in accordance with Standing Order 34.

Members were reminded that at the Council meeting on 25 February 2021, Council passed a motion to object to the principle of the proposal for an energy from waste facility in Wisbech.

It is important to note that this remains in placeand is unaffected by this very specific, and limited consultation response.

The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) had invited the Council to submit an Adequacy of Consultation (AoC) representation, in response to the submission of the Medworth EfW, CHP facility and associated grid connections application.  The Council had 14 days to respond to this specific consultation.  The deadline for comments to PINS was Thursday 21 July 2022.  PINS would consider comments it received from host and neighbouring authorities in deciding whether or not to accept the application as submitted.

As this was a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) it was considered by PINS and ultimately determined by the Secretary of State.

At this stage PINS are only looking for comments on the consultation carried out pre-submission. PINS have made it clear that this is not the stage to consider the merits of the case, that will be later, and the council will have much longer to provide their response. The timetable will be set out by PINS in due course, if they decide to accept the application. A copy of the flow diagram showing the role of local authorities in this process, was attached to this report.

Comments were made on the AoC by officers in the specific terms of the request received.

The report detailed the consultation carried out by the applicant.

The Committee noted the key issues for consideration as set out in the report.

In accordance with the adopted public speaking protocol,Dr Little (objecting) addressed the Committee in relation to the item.

In accordance with Standing Order 34, Councillor Dark addressed the Committee.  Councillor Dark, Leader of the Council and Administration stated that he wished to make it clear that this was a technical matter that was being considered, and the Council had taken a decision some time ago that the Council was in principle opposed to this incinerator at this location citing reasons that it was too large, too near and sufficient in the supply chain to actually need more.  That was the position of the administration and was a similar position taken by every other Council in the area around this matter including Norfolk County Council.  That position would remain. 

In terms of the matter being considered, Members were being asked about the adequacy of consultation and as had been explained what needed to be considered was whether the applicant had done what they said they were going to do which was the minimum legal requirement or in the prevailing circumstances that we know in West Norfolk, given the history of concern around incineration and given the actual issues around where the plume might go, the size of the site, drawing in the consultation of 3.5 miles (5 km) was that adequate consultation as there were numerous groups and Parish Councils that had said that they would want to get involved with this and would want to be consulted but the reality was that they were outside the framework of this.  From a technical point of view, officers were right – had Medworth done what they said they were going to do and did that meet the legal requirement?  The reality was yes but the additional question the Committee needed to answer was given all the local concern over incineration, given all of the people who were interested in this including the other parish councils and the wider impact, was 5km wide enough on a site of that size and the concerns that had been raised.  He hoped that the Committee would agree that they could have done more.

Councillor de Whalley addressed the Committee in accordance with Standing Order 34.  He outlined his concerns to add to those of Councillor Dark and Dr Martin Little, which included when the Council had its own battle with the proposed incinerator at the Willows, which was half the size, it was deemed appropriate by this Council to run a poll across the whole district.  The developer left some papers which showed that they were unhappy with the poll and results.  This begged the question of whether the consultation should be left with the developer of 5km.  Waste would be pulled in from a 2-hour radius along roads which were not adequate.  There was Cambridgeshire County Council, Fenland District Council, Wisbech Town Council, Norfolk County Council and this Council all lodging ‘in principle’ objections.  The Willows Incinerator took into account objections from 9 MPs across Norfolk and neighbouring counties, therefore, to restrict to 5 km for a site twice the size seemed inappropriate.  A number of Parish Councils had written to Cambridgeshire County Council stating that they felt that the consultation was inadequate. 

In accordance with Standing Order 34, Councillor Kemp addressed the Committee and explained that as a local Councillor, she was asking the Planning Inspectorate to refuse MVV’s application for an incinerator in Wisbech on the West Norfolk border.  She would ask the Planning Committee to send a letter to the Planning Inspectorate regarding the inadequacy of consultation with residents of West Norfolk. 

·       She explained that she had asked MVV both, before and during, the Pre-Application Consultation last July to August, to consult with residents, including in the community centres, but MVV refused. MVV held no consultation in South and West Lynn or in the parishes of West Winch or Clenchwarton. 

·       When MVV’s hired consultants spoke to the Borough’s Environment Committee about the incinerator, shortly before the pandemic, I told them they should consult with Lynn and surrounding villages. They refused.

·       MVV didn’t consult properly with West Norfolk residents, and they set too narrow a circle for the area of consultation, of up to 5 km.

·       But 15 km area was still too narrow an area, as it extends only to the Pullover Roundabout in West Lynn and stops short of King’s Lynn and surrounding villages and took no proper account of the velocity of the winds around the Wash as a carrier of particulates, or of the impact on the tourist area of the North Norfolk Coast.

·       There is an open and flat Fen landscape between Wisbech and King’s Lynn, across which particulate matter and secondary particulate matter could easily travel.

·       All Parliamentary Group on Air Pollution in December called for an immediate moratorium on all new incinerators, as research shows that eggs, 10 km away from incinerators, have been found to contain dioxins from incinerators. Incinerator matter has been found in children’s toenails and associated with childhood leukemia.

·       South and West Lynn are deprived areas, living in the indices of deprivation and suffered from a long battle against an incinerator 8 years ago that Cory Wheelabrator wanted to build in the ward. The prospect of another incinerator is causing anxiety. Public Health, and Mental Health, is a material planning consideration.

The Assistant Director advised that this is about the adequacy of the consultation. If it was accepted by the Planning Inspector, there would be the opportunity to talk about the merits in more detail at the pre-examination and examination stages.

Councillor Bone stated that he was disappointed at the lack of consultation.  He added that there would be transportation of other authority’s waste to the site.  He felt that it would be of detriment to the town.  He felt that residents should have had the opportunity to do this.

Councillor Rust added that this was a Major National Infrastructure Project and would not be determined by a local Planning Committee but by the Secretary of State.  It was clear that a 5 km radius was not adequate.  She stated that the Committee must add its weight to the fact that the consultation was not adequate.

Several other members of the Committee agreed with Councillor Rust.

Councillor Parish added that West Norfolk’s rubbish went to Suffolk for burning and there were two proposed nuclear power stations in Suffolk and should all of England have been consulted, it was a question of balance.  He asked whether people of Suffolk had been consulted to see if they wanted West Norfolk’s rubbish.

Councillor Storey added that as elected Members they were there to look after the residents within their wards.  With regards to the distance of consultation, 5km was not very far and not adequate.  He could not see why the people of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk had not been consulted on the project and felt that they should have been.  He added that this was the wrong project, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Chairman, Councillor Mrs Spikings expressed her concerns and added that 5km was nothing especially with prevailing winds.  This was a local issue, and everyone should rally together and be counted.  It was noted that the Council still opposed the project.

It was proposed by Councillor Storey and seconded by the Chairman, Councillor Mrs Spikings that the whole of West Norfolk should have been consulted and that the following recommendation be sent to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Democratic Services Officer carried out a roll call on the recommendation, and after having been put to the vote was carried unanimously:

Recommendation:

(1)            Notwithstanding the fact that the applicants have undertaken consultation in accordance with their own Statement of Consultation (SoC), the Committee is very concerned that the 5km consultation area is entirely inadequate given the size of the plant and therefore OBJECT as it is considered that the whole of the Borough should have been subject to consultation.

(2)            Members note that the ‘in principle’ opposition to the proposal for an energy from waste facility in Wisbech remains as agreed by the notice of motion at the Council meeting on 25 February2021 and was unaffected by this specific technical consultation response.