Artist's impression of Veolia's EfW facility

Engineering contractor Clugston Construction, has announced that it has – in collaboration with its engineering partner CNIM – begun construction on Veolia Environmental Services’, energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Battlefield, Shropshire.

Waste management company Veolia, was first granted an Environmental Permit to operate the 90,000 tonne incineration facility in June 2010, with planning permission granted by the Planning Inspectorate in January 2012.

According to Veolia, once operational in 2015, the facility will treat 45 per cent of the municipal waste produced in the county and generate enough electricity to power 10,000 homes.

Around 200 construction jobs have so far been created, with a further 21 permanent jobs expected to be made available once construction is complete.

Commenting on the project Steve Radcliffe, Managing Director at Clugston Construction said he was “delighted” to have secured the contract.

Regional Director for Veolia, Donald Macphail, added: “We are excited to now be entering the construction phase and once again to be working with the Clugston CNIM team who are also responsible for the construction of our [energy-from-waste facility] in Staffordshire, which is due to become operational in December this year.”

Opposition

Veolia has encountered significant local opposition to its Shropshire EfW facility, with Shropshire Council’s Strategic Planning Committee refusing the plant planning permission in September 2010 due to concerns over harm to the nearby registered Battlefield site, leading to the company appealing to government’s Planning Inspectorate.

Following a lengthy process, in January last year the inspectorate decided to overturn the original decision.

Planning inspector John Woolcock said: “I allow the appeal and grant planning permission for an energy from waste facility for the combustion of residual municipal and similar wastes.”

“I disagree with the council’s conclusion that the proposed development would cause substantial harm to the setting of high value heritage assets…The proposal would result in minor harm to the registered battlefield.”

Speaking of the decision, Cabinet member for strategic planning, Councillor Malcolm Price, said: “Having heard evidence from all parties, the inspector has upheld Veolia’s appeal.

“This is a disappointing result for all those who opposed the planning application. We will now need to look at our options and to consider our next steps.”

The plans were also met with virulent opposition from local environmental campaigners, with Shrewsbury Friends of the Earth threatening to pursue a judicial review of Veolia’s contract with the council.

However, plans to force the review were dropped after it became evident that Shropshire Council’s lawyers would pursue costs from the environmental group, should they lose the case.

Spokesman for Shrewsbury Friend of the Earth, Dave Green, said: “Obviously we are very disappointed but sometimes you just have to be realistic.

“We still think it is crazy for Shropshire Council to proceed with this at a time where they are having to find further cuts to make.”

The UK’s increasing reliance on incineration as a method of dealing with residual waste has also come under the spotlight recently, after reports found that the UK could soon have to burn recyclable materials to ensure that the growing number of incinerators have enough fuel to burn.

Read more about Veolia’s Battlefield energy-from-waste facility.