Latest news with #NorthWestRecycling
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Fire risk fears renewed before Rockliffe 'gasification' plant decision
Residents have raised fresh concerns about plans for a plant that would use rubbish to produce gas, ahead of a planning decision on the scheme being made on have obtained inspection reports from the Environment Agency (EA), seen by the BBC, some of which allege environmental breaches and increased fire risk at North West Recycling's (NWR) waste processing compound near Carlisle in recent proposed plant in Rockcliffe, which would generate electricity, would be part of the same firm pointed to recent EA reports which showed previous fire safety concerns had been addressed and said the project would have "no impact on human health or the environment". A large fire broke out at the waste site in 2021. Documents obtained by the BBC last year revealed EA inspectors, who attended at the time of the fire, alleged NWR had breached regulations on the storage of waste, resulting in a significant fire company denied the allegations and was not prosecuted over the blaze, which was deemed living nearby said the documents raised questions over the safety of the proposed "gasification" has said it would heat commercial and industrial waste such as film plastic and paper that cannot be recycled, so that they break down into a type of gas made up of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and other gas would then be burned to generate electricity for the site and the wider grid, according to the facility's environmental permit. But some people in the Rockcliffe area are worried about pollution and fire Story, a farmer who lives near the site, said "the air was thick" and "everything was noxious" when the 2021 fire said a similar incident, if a new gasification plant was built, would not be a "winning combination". Using Environmental Information Regulations, local opponents of the scheme have obtained more than 20 reports following inspections of NWR by the EA, dating from 2020 to late of the documents allege breaches of the company's environmental permit and the site's fire prevention plan at various Mudge, from Carlisle, sent some of the files to Cumberland Council, when it was considering whether to issue a new environmental permit for the proposed gasification plant. 'Endangering human health' Mr Mudge argued the reports cast doubt on whether the operator would abide by the conditions of any new permit and, therefore, that it should not be the council awarded the permit in April."How can the council be confident this site's going to comply with conditions when you see this record of endangering human health and unsafe fire practices?" Mr Mudge Bamber, on behalf of NWR, did not comment directly on the alleged breaches but pointed to an inspection report from last September and one from April that did not record any said the EA "consider NWR to be a competent and compliant waste management company", supported by the fact the agency had not objected to the gasification project. Mr Bamber said the company had commissioned a number of reports on the scheme's impact and the council's ecologist and Natural England had not raised any Council said it "engaged specialist independent consultants to review key aspects of the proposal and listened carefully to the advice of key specialist government bodies" before granting the environmental added it was "firmly committed" to protecting the public and had no grounds to believe the operator would not comply with the on Cumberland's planning committee are expected to decide whether the gasification plant will get planning permission on Friday, with officers recommending approval. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
ITV News
2 days ago
- General
- ITV News
Campaigners against recycling plant proposals say their environmental concerns are 'being ignored'
Campaigners against plans to build a recycling plant in Carlisle say their climate change concerns are 'being ignored'. The proposed waste site, located near Rockcliffe, is set to go in front of Cumberland Council's planning committee on 20 June 2025. North West Recycling have previously said that they have fully engaged with the planning authority and submitted a comprehensive application. Protestor David Mudge says there have been "no real answers" to air pollution concerns. He said: "We've been ignored. We've been dismissed. We've raised complaints about the whole way that the process has been done. And then we've been told we're being unreasonably persistent. I mean, they're just not listening to us. We've got valid concerns, and they need answers. Louise Robertson said: "The planning department should not be puppets for the Council. You know, it's there to serve us and protect us. "I just feel like we've been cornered into being lambs to the slaughter." In a statement, North West Recycling said: "This planning application has taken over 18 months, which is due to be determined during a dedicated Planning Committee meeting which has been arranged purely forthis project. "The due diligence given to this application is unprecedented and has been scrutinised by the Council, independent Consultants and expert Consultants appointed by the Council. "North West Regeneration Ltd has commissioned the provision of significant studies from independent experts to provide reports that include Air Quality Assessment and Modelling, Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA), Ecology and Habitat Risk Assessments (HRA), Carbon Quality and Need documents. "Over recent months, Natural England has stated that they have no objection to the application and its independent reports, the County Ecologist has adopted the HRA report findings and agreed with the conclusion that the development has no impact on Human Health and the habitat. "The Environmental Health Department and Local Authority have appointed an independent Pyrolysis expert consultant to recommend and provide the Environmental Permit to enable the Gasification Project to operate. "The granted SWIP permit fully complies with the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and UK Environmental Legislation. "All these experts have considered the finest detail of the project and concluded that there is nodetrimental impact on Human Health or the Environment. A Cumberland Council spokesperson said: 'The Council issued an Environmental Permit on 23 April 2025, this is after carefully considering and responding to concerns raised and engaging specialist independent consultants to review key aspects of the proposal and obtaining advice from key specialist Government Bodies such as the Environment Agency and Natural England.'
