'Banish a monster' (From Middlewich Guardian)

CHAIN campaigner says Covanta's incinerator will destroy Middlewich's hopes and dreams in one hammer blow

2:52pm Wednesday 27th May 2009 in News Exclusive By David Morgan

A MOTHER-OF-FOUR has urged Middlewich councillors to ‘banish a monster’ in an emotionally-charged meeting packed with around 100 anti-incinerator campaigners.

In a historic first for the town, the monthly planning meeting, last Wednesday, was moved from the council chamber to the Civic Hall to meet the overwhelming demand from the public to attend.

Ayrshire Close resident Sula Stanley gave a stirring speech which was met with a standing applause.

She said that she spoke for the ‘overwhelming majority’ against Covanta’s plans for an incinerator at Midpoint 18 business park.

Ms Stanley added: “This is a town with a community who want Middlewich to be forward-looking whilst honouring the values and memories of the past.

“More than 7,000 other residents from Middlewich, Holmes Chapel and beyond have declared their opposition to Covanta’s planning application via a petition, and more than 1,000 letters of objection have been sent to Cheshire East Council.

“We’ve heard the business cases for and the emotional cases against – what concerns me are the unknown factors. We have to be so careful.”

Deputy mayor Mike Parsons

“It is an application which in one hammer blow destroys all the hopes, dreams and aspirations of Middlewich town and all in the name of a businessman’s profit.”

Councillors also pushed their discussion of Covanta’s controversial plans to the front of the agenda due to the strength of feeling in the room.

Clr Keith Bagnall, chair of the planning committee, said: “We’ve literally moved Heaven and Earth to get you here tonight.

“It really is a great credit to the town that we have so many people interested in what happens.

“I say with some humility that in all the years I’ve been chair of this committee, I think we may have had five people at a previous meeting.

“What we have got to do is make sure what we decide is in the benefit of Middlewich.

“This application is the most complex application that Middlewich has ever seen and probably that Cheshire has seen.”

Before making its recommendation, Clr Bagnall said it was critical that the committee receives information from the local health authority about the health implications of the proposed plant, capable of burning 370,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Clr Bagnall also said that he wanted to arrange a meeting with parish councillors from Holmes Chapel and Sproston to see what they think.

Middlewich Town Council’s recommendation is now likely to be made on June 9 with Cheshire East expected to make its final decision in July.

Covanta says its proposal represents £200 million of inward investment which it claims will create up to 300 temporary jobs during construction and around 50 permanent roles.

The American energy giant says the incinerator will make the percentage of Cheshire waste sent to landfill plummet from 70 per cent to four per cent.

It is also distributing an Environmental Agency leaflet which states that incinerators only make a ‘very small’ contribution to air pollution.

A spokesman said: “Covanta is pleased that Middlewich Town Council is taking time to consider all the facts and that the local community is taking an interest in the proposals.”

But Ms Stanley said that an incinerator in Middlewich is not needed as the largest incinerator in Europe is already in nearby Runcorn. She said Middlewich faces a crossroads.

She added: “The stark choice is between the interests of the Covanta shareholders sitting in their shiny offices in New Jersey and those of the people of Middlewich.

“The benefits of this proposal for Covanta are obvious – money and yet more money plus the opportunity to set up a garbage camp in someone else’s backyard.

“The benefits for Middlewich town and all the residents are harder to ascertain.

“The permanent smell of burning waste, the constant stream of HGVs, the drop in housing stock value and that of local commercial plots, the threat to local farmers’ crops and livestock, the question marks regarding the chimney stack’s emissions and the worry about the toxic fly ash travelling by road to a yet undisclosed location all seem to add up to a giant ‘Say no’ in the minds of many who have investigated this application.”

Deputy mayor Mike Parsons said: “We’ve heard the business cases for and the emotional cases against – what concerns me are the unknown factors. We have to be so careful.”