Next wave for Peel’s £165m Plastic Park approved
Cheshire West and Chester Council has signed off plans for a variety of facilities capable of recycling 367,500 tonnes of plastic waste a year.
The council’s approval of Peel NRE’s proposal was unanimous on 5 July.
Richard Barker, development director for the Peel L&P subsidiary, praised the council’s decision, adding that the development would be “a UK first that will underpin the circular economy in the North West”.
Plastic Park is part of Peel’s Protos development, which sits near Ellesmere Port.
At 133 acres, Protos is meant to be an energy and resource hub, bringing together different groups to develop technologies geared towards helping the country reach its net zero carbon targets.
Plastics Park plays a key role in that endeavour, providing a way to reuse plastic waste. Last year, planning approval was secured for Enviroo’s £20m plastic recycling facility at the park. The year before, construction began at the park’s energy-from-waste plant.
Four of the recently approved facilities will aid in sorting waste into material-specific areas, create flaked plastic for use as food packaging or drinks bottles, and turn other plastics into an oil that can be used to manufacture new products.
The planning approval also includes a hydrogen refuelling station capable of providing up to 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen fuel a day. This is enough to power 20 HGVs in their work servicing Protos.
Peel estimates the new facilities will create nearly 150 jobs.
“It’s imperative we deliver creative solutions to the UK’s plastic problem,” Barker said.
Barker described the importance of clustering recycling technologies together at Plastics Park.
“It’ll mean we can cut down on vehicle movements, create 147 new jobs and deliver essential infrastructure to underpin a North West circular economy that’s much more sustainable,” he said.
Barker continued: “We’ve planned Protos as a holistic destination to support the UK on the road to net zero. With the recently announced Protos CO2 network, linking to the proposed regional carbon capture infrastructure, the Plastic Park is just another example of forward-thinking development that responds to dual-challenge of reducing our waste sent to landfill, whilst cutting carbon emissions.”
Chester-based AxisPED is the planning consultant and landscape designer for the project. Manchester-based Fletcher Rae is the architect.
The project team also includes Envirocheck, Smith Grant Environmental Consultancy, WSP, Tree 21 Limited, NVC, Fichtner, Element Sustainability, and Amion.
The application reference number with CWAC Council for the Plastics Park proposals is 21/04076/FUL.