Council approves permit for incinerator despite claims it will be 'a disaster' for Calderdale town

Council officers – using delegated powers – have said Calder Valley Skip Hire can operate a small waste incineration plant in Sowerby Bridge.

The firm already has planning permission for the plant but had previously had the permit effectively refused by a government planning inspector.

Now it has had a fresh application approved.

A spokesperson for the council said it acknowledged the issue had “generated significant interest in the community”.

“However, the basis for the determination for this application had to be confined to the objective technical and legal considerations identified within the environmental permitting regulations but all community concerns were fully acknowledged within this framework,” they said.

The council says the decision includes conditions “to ensure that the plant will not have any detrimental effect on local residents, their amenity, or the wider environment".

Leader of the council, Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said: “We understand the strong local feeling around this permit application and I know that this decision will be disappointing for the community.

“It has been made very clear that there must be absolute compliance with the conditions of the permit, and this will be robustly monitored by the council through a planned programme of inspections as well as continued air quality monitoring in the local area.”

Sowerby Bridge and Ryburn ward councillors Adam Wilkinson, Dot Foster, Simon Ashton and Leah Webster (all Labour) claim there are “serious flaws” in the incinerator application.

“We will take time to digest the officers report and continue to work with the community to figure out the next steps in this decade-long campaign,” they said.

“We remain committed to fighting for clean air in Sowerby Bridge.”

Councillor Martin Hey (Green, Northowram and Shelf) said: “This ruling is a disaster for Sowerby Bridge and will further damage air quality in an area already suffering from high levels of pollution.

“Residents of the town remain mystified as to how the application was approved when it was seemingly opposed by all Calderdale councillors.

“The Labour cabinet left this decision to council officers rather than taking control of the process themselves – in our opinion this was a huge mistake that now leaves residents paying the price.”