More time to comment on controversial plans for waste incinerator plans in part of Calderdale

Calder Valley Skip Hire has applied to Calderdale Council for an environmental permit to run a small waste incinerator plant (SWIP) at its Belmont Industrial Estate site in Sowerby Bridge.

A previous application was rejected by a planning inspector on the company’s appeal against the council’s non-determination of its application after a hearing last year.

At the council’s cabinet public question time recently, some members of the public and opposition councillors were critical of the authority’s, and cabinet’s, handling of the process.

Now the council says that, following the previous two public consultations, it has reviewed the significant amount of feedback received.

In response, the council is asking Calder Valley Skip Hire for more information before it makes a decision on the permit.

Residents will be able to have their say on this additional information when it is available on the council’s website, says the authority.

Based on people’s feedback, the council needs to know more about the proposed amount of fuel to be burned and the energy recovered and is serving a “Request for Information” to the company.

It also needs a “Health Impact Assessment” to assess any potential links between pollutants that may be emitted to land and water, and likely or unlikely health effects that may arise, says the council.

The receipt and online publication of this additional information will start a further 21-day public consultation.

The date will be confirmed in due course.

This means there is a new date for when the council will decide whether or not to allow the environmental permit, which will be after the original deadline of Wednesday, June 26.

All the new information to comment on will be published on the council’s website at new.calderdale.gov.uk/business-services/licences/other/environmental-permits/current-recent-applications/calder-valley-skip-hire

Every response to the previous consultations will also be published, and kept anonymous, on the website.

This will happen before the next consultation starts to give people time to consider the responses and give feedback, says the council.

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