Covanta waste incinerator plans thrown out

Cheshire East Council's planning committee voted unanimously to reject plans by American energy firm Covanta to build an incinerator in the Middlewich.

The committee said the proposed site clashed with the Cheshire Replacement Waste Local Plan and the applicant did not demonstrate that other preferred sites are not available. The council also felt the development would result in oversupply of waste facilities and lead to a requirement to import wastes from outside Cheshire, thereby undermining the objective of enabling waste to be disposed of in one of the nearest appropriate installations.

Covanta plans to appeal against the decision, claiming it has the backing of the Environment Agency, the Highways Engineer and the Highways Agency as well as the local NHS Primary Care Trust.

Chairman of the Strategic Planning Board, Cllr Hilda Gaddum, said: "The committee gave the proposal a very full and fair hearing – devoting the entirety of a special meeting of the Strategic Planning Board, held at Middlewich Civic Hall, to consider this one application.

"The Council is duty bound to assess the proposal against national policy and the prevailing development plan. After careful consideration the members concluded that the Covanta scheme conflicted with development plan policy in a number of key areas – namely that with the approval of other waste facilities elsewhere in Cheshire there is not a clear need for the development."