A crunch meeting to discuss plans for a £5 million biomass burning power station in Bishop’s Castle has been delayed.South Shropshire District Council’s development control committee had been due to discuss the controversial application of the proposed biomass plant at a special meeting on Tuesday. But it has been cancelled for a second time.
Council officials said today it would enable the authority to take advice after the threat of a legal challenge by campaigners fighting the scheme.
Council head of planning and building control Jake Berriman said: “The meeting has been cancelled pending my taking further legal, professional and technical advice to safeguard the council’s position in respect of a clear potential legal challenge received yesterday.
“At this time I cannot give any indication as to when I will be able to bring a further report for consideration.”
He said Bishop’s Castle Biomass Power, could appeal against the council’s failure to reach a decision in the required time.
“I have advised my members the applicant may wish to exercise a right of appeal for non-determination, in which case I would suggest to the planning inspectorate the application be determined by way of public inquiry,” he said.
South Shropshire District Council’s planning committee had been due to consider the application on April 30, but cancelled the meeting just hours before it was set to take place. The meeting rescheduled for Tuesday was postponed yesterday .
Michael Dawes, vice-chairman of Bishop’s Castle Group, which is fighting plan, said: “The applicant put forward a series of conditions which the district council added to, to protect the public from the plant. Unfortunately those conditions were unenforceable and the council did not accept this until last week.
“We said this was a major change to the application. We wrote a very strong letter to the council on Friday and said if it didn’t accept this is a material change we would be seeking some form of judicial review. I think now the council has accepted they’ve got a problem.
“I think the council has done the right thing in postponing the meeting, it has got to reconsider how the public are affected.”
By Rachael Lowe
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