Biomass burner ‘would affect Bishop’s Castle water supply’
Thursday 12th August 2010, 11:14PM BST.
Residents opposed to a controversial biomass burner planned for Shropshire town today claimed the plant could have “long term effects” for the local water supply if it is built.
Members of the Bishop’s Castle Group have claimed the land on Bishop’s Castle Business Park is the ‘worst possible place’ for a biomass plant as it lies right next to a Severn Trent Water facility.
Chris Day, spokesman for Bishop’s Castle Biomass Power, said all the issues regarding potential emissions had been dealt with at a public inquiry last year.
Paula Middleton, one of the founder members of the Bishop’s Castle Group in 2007, says she has written to every Shropshire councillor explaining the widespread public opposition to the project.
She has also claimed emissions of nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide could have ‘long-term effects’ for the water supply.
The site was provisionally earmarked for a biomass plant during a confidential discussion at a meeting of Shropshire Council’s cabinet on August 3.
The decision has since been called in and will be examined by a meeting of the council’s economy and environment scrutiny committee in early September.
If the decision is upheld hopes for a 2.5 acre community farm put forward by Bishop’s Castle Wasteless Society will be dashed. Members of the town’s allotment holders association have also claimed that the allotments on site would not be compatible with any form of incinerator.
Mrs Middleton said: “There must have been no consideration by the cabinet meeting of the long-term effects of the nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide emissions.”
By Peter Kitchen
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Erm… this sounds about as scientifically sound as the recent claim about the danger of methane poisoning on the Wrekin due to tunnelling by protesters.
Dodgy science aside, the Severn Trent facility is a waste treatment plant (aka sewage works), which has nothing to do with the provision of clean, treated water to local residents.
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….so the “worst possible place” for the biomass plant is on an industrial estate next to a sewage works? “The allotments on site would not be compatible with any form of incinerator”?
Can I suggest that there is an underlying theme here that the “best possible place” in the eyes of Bishops Castle residents is as far away as possible from Bishops Castle – I’m sure people would have more respect for them if they were to just come out and say that, rather than trot out pseudo-scientific garbage about it causing their cows to stop giving milk and leading to an outbreak of promiscuity among the youth of the town…..
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yes Rob there is a sewage works but there is also the towns water supply and the Community College, the youngsters playing fields, recently constructed housing, a vets surgery, and new business development where the Council insisted on expensive design requirements not imposed on the biomass developer.It is also marketed and called a business park and a power station is an unclassified use.
Furthermore the consent was given on a theoretical plant which has no detailed design or specification.
Before shooting off, as you have a computer compare the location on Google earth of the Ecclershall plant at Raleigh Hall and the proposal at Bishops Castle. One is a remote old ammunition depot well separated from the town the other is slap bang next to the edge of the town. I suspect that even you might spot the difference if you made the effort
Bye the bye publish your name in full lets see who you are. Nobody from the Castle hides away behind anonymous handles.
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Actually there is a water abstraction point near the plant, the groundwater underneath the sewerage treatment works is used to supply the town (although it has to be diluted with imported water as the groundwater is so high in nitrates). Seeing as the nitrates polluting the groundwater are most likely caused by the sewerage treatment works these works are likely to be a worse source of pollution than a biomass plant would be!
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