By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans for a controversial incinerator at the site of a landmark Nottinghamshire power station will be reviewed by a Government body after the project was given the go-ahead by local planners.
The multi-million-pound Ratcliffe-on-Soar proposals were given the green light last month during a Nottinghamshire County Council planning committee meeting.
But campaigners Extinction Rebellion Nottingham (XR) are against the project, and a petition against it has gained more than 3,000 signatures.
The proposed £330m EMERGE Centre (East Midlands Energy Re-Generation Centre) would be located on previously developed land on the Ratcliffe site.
Now, the National Planning Casework Unit (NPCU) – which was set up by the Governmentwill review the decision.
The unit checks major planning decisions on behalf of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
A statement from Uniper, which lodged the planning application, read: “Throughout this process Uniper has worked extensively with the relevant bodies to provide them with the information they require. We will continue to do so in order that the planning determination can be concluded.”
According to Nottinghamshire County Council, the facility will manage at least 472,000 tonnes of residual waste per year and will create 45 permanent, new jobs once up and running in 2024.
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust CC BY-SA 2.0
A statement on the Nottingham XR Facebook page read: “Incineration is not the answer. They provide a ‘market’ for waste.
The site would be constructed over 36 months, with an anticipated opening date of December 2024.
Uniper added: “The proposed facility would play an important role in helping meet the UK’s ambitions to effectively and efficiently reduce waste and manage its impact on the environment, reducing CO2 emissions, and helping the East Midlands meet its landfill diversion targets. The EMERGE Centre would deliver much-needed residual waste management recovery capacity in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham for which there is an acknowledged shortfall, as set out in the planning officer’s report.
“With no objection from statutory consultees and the endorsement of Rushcliffe Borough Council, we hope that a quick decision is reached so that approximately £330 million worth of capital infrastructure investment can be realised.”
