MP Steve Barclay urges “act now” amid fears an Environment Permit could aid Wisbech incinerator by bringing in waste via the backdoor
MP Steve Barclay has raised fears an Environmental Permit applied for by the Port of Wisbech could be used to feed waste to the town’s incinerator via the backdoor.
As reported earlier this month the Port of Wisbech Ltd has applied for a bespoke permit that would allow it to store up to 75,000 tonnes of baled waste a year.
An application document drawn up by Tetra Tech Ltd on behalf of Port of Wisbech Ltd explains the intention is for the firm to store the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) bales prior to exporting them to the near continent.
But with just hours to go before the consultation expires the North East Cambridgeshire MP is urging constituents to lodge objections to the proposal amid fears it could mean waste being stored for the 54-megawatt incinerator set to be built on a site off Algores Way.
Work on the MVV Environment Ltd’s Medworth project began earlier this week.
Mr Barclay has been campaigning to get agreements and signatures from local authorities and councillors to confirm they would not use the incinerator to burn waste – he argues that without waste to burn there is no business case for the incinerator.
The Environment Agency has been running the consultation on the port’s permit application, but it is due end at 5pm tomorrow – meaning residents have just hours to act.
Mr Barclay claims key information is missing from the consultation information on the Environment Agency’s website and says the amount of waste is not made clear – instead, it is contained in a report on how odour will be mitigated, and in the operating document. Neither is signposted.
The MP said: “Would the permit allow waste to be stored for import – to use at a Wisbech Incinerator – as well as for export. The applicant’s document says they plan to export waste, but the Environment Agency tells me the permit applies to storing waste at the Port so it could be used for import.
“The permit itself is not published as a draft. The Environment Agency says it has not yet been written. We cannot therefore see what, if any, conditions apply.
“Nor is it clear whether a further consultation will be held. The Environment Agency tells me this depends on the level of public response to this consultation.
“The type of waste to be stored appears to be the worst kind from an environmental perspective. The applicant refers to combustible fuel (RDF which is refuse derived fuel).
“On the basis that each bale of waste is one tonne and the maximum load for an articulated curtain sided lorry is 22 tonnes, there would be an additional 12 lorries a day to shift 240 tonnes over 312 working days.
“Nothing in the application says where the waste is coming from. There is little operational detail - aside from one line mentioning exports, there is no information on how the waste is being loaded onto ships on the drawings or contained in the text.
“I also asked the Environment Agency about the implications of waste being transported to and from Wisbech Port, such as the closing the A17 at Sutton Bridge for ships accessing Wisbech Port or the impact on roads near the Port. They said this is for the local planning authority to decide.
“There has been no comment from the Cambridgeshire County Council, yet a number of Cambridgeshire county councillors have still not signed my pledge to say they will never vote to use the Wisbech Incinerator to starve it of waste contracts.
“It is important this permit is not used as a backdoor route to get waste via ships into Wisbech Port and through town to the Wisbech Incinerator.
“If you share my concerns about this permit, and the lack of details, please register your view on the Environment Agency consultation before 5pm tomorrow.”
