Artist's impression of the Barton Renewable Energy Plant

A High Court judge has today (24 February) cleared the way for a new incinerator to be built near Manchester, after he ruled that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government’s decision to grant planning approval to a biomass plant proposal in Trafford was sound.

The case centred around Peel Energy's plans to build the £70-million Barton Renewable Energy Plant in Davyhulme. Trafford Council had unanimously rejected permission for the biomass incineration facility to be built on a 12-acre site adjacent to the Davyhulme wastewater treatment works in November 2011, citing concerns that it would have a detrimental impact on air quality.

However, following an appeal by Peel Energy, the decision went to a public inquiry in November 2012 and the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation for the plant to go ahead was then heeded by DCLG’s Secretary of State Eric Pickles in May 2013.

As such, Trafford Council requested a judicial review of Pickles’s decision. It is this judicial review that was heard in court last week, and was ruled on today.

Speaking of the decision, Jon England, Project Manager at Peel Energy, said: “We are grateful to the court for considering the issues raised by Trafford Council.

“We now intend to focus our attention on completing the work necessary for the plant to be built so it can start generating renewable electricity for the homes and businesses of Greater Manchester.”

Biomass energy plant details

According to Peel Energy, the incinerator will burn around 200,000 tonnes of biomass per year, with sources including ‘reclaimed wood’ that would potentially otherwise be sent for landfill. The plant will also burn: virgin wood, allegedly from forestry residues and timber processing; energy crops; and agricultural residues.

The facility will reportedly generate enough electricity to power 37,000 homes and employ 100 people during construction, with 15 permanent jobs being made available once the plant opens (expected for 2016).

In 2012, plant biomass combustion accounted for 18.3 per cent of the UK’s renewable energy, and DECC’s ‘Renewables Roadmap’ estimates that by 2020, biomass could potentially provide between 26 and 42 per cent of renewable energy in the UK, but there are worries the government could be too dependent on biomass to reach its statutory target of generating 15 per cent of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. Indeed, a 2012 report from the RSPB, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace warned that producing power through certain types of biomass combustion can be ‘dirtier than coal’.

Trafford Council ‘disappointed’ with ruling

Trafford Council said it was ‘disappointed’ with the decision to dismiss its application regarding the Davyhulme plan, adding that it is now ‘considering its position’ and will henceforth ‘concentrate its efforts on ensuring the number of preconditions, which were set out in the decision for the biomass plant, are upheld to safeguard the health of the people of Flixton and Davyhulme’.

The judge’s decision has also been condemned by environmental campaigning body Breathe Clean Air Group (BCAG), which had previously challenged the Environment Agency (EA) over the legality of its decision to grant the Davyhulme facility an environmental permit, claiming that the EA had ‘failed to take notice of crucial information’ regarding the potential air pollution produced by the plant.

Writing in a statement on its website, BCAG said: ‘Today is a backward step for democracy and localism. The local communities and the local council could not have shouted any louder that this was the wrong technology in the wrong location. The decision should have been a firm “NO”.’

Adding that the facility will be a ‘smiling assassin’, the group outlined its belief that the facility’s ‘low chimney’ will ‘emit pollution containing arsenic, dioxins, nitrogen dioxide, nanoparticles and many, many more dangerous pollutants into the air around the stadium, local houses, schools, parks, allotments, the Trafford Centre and various sports facilities at Trafford Quays’.

It added: ‘Today’s decision just digs us further into this deep, dirty hole and the Breathe Clean Air Group will continue the fight to climb out of it.’

The issue of air pollution has come under the spotlight recently, after the European Commission (EC) announced that it has launched legal proceedings against the UK for illegal nitrogen dioxide levels in 16 areas, including those in Greater Manchester.

If found guilty, the UK could face fines of up to £300 million a year.

Read more about the Barton Renewable Energy Plant