A company called W4B submitted a planning application to build a power station at Avonmouth that would burn Palm oil or Jatropha oil. Bristol council rejected it but they appealed to the government.
A 'public' inquiry was held by a government Planning Inspector, Mr Trevor Cookson, from 10-13 Aug 2010. No recording or photographs were allowed (unlike council planning meetings which are webcast).
At the start of the inquiry Mr Cookson heard legal arguments why evidence on the sustainability of the fuel should be heard, but nevertheless refused to accept this evidence. He also refused to provide a written copy of his ruling giving reasons.
Since the main problem with the proposal and the council's reason for rejection of the planning application was sustainability, the rest of the inquiry passed quite quickly and W4B's barrister was able to make a strong case that the application should not be refused.
Mr Cookson now reports to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government (Conservative) who will decide whether the power station should be allowed.
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The planning inspectorate can be contacted via the case officer, Leanne palmer at
leanne.palmer@pins.gsi.gov.uk quoting appeal APP/Z0116/A/10/2126342/NWF . However now the inquiry has closed the letters may not be taken into account.
It is better at this stage to write directly to the following:
- Eric Pickles,
eric.pickles@communities.gsi.gov.uk (
http://www.ericpickles.com/)
- Your MP, asking them to write to Eric Pickles:
http://www.parliament.uk/about/contacting/mp/
- your Bristol councillor, asking that an official letter be sent to Eric Pickles - address at
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Council-Democracy/Elected-Representatives/councillor-finder.en
Chris Huhne (LD), minister responsible for Energy and Climate Change, who will ultimately make the decision on awarding renewable energy subsidies for the plant, can be contacted on
chris.huhne@decc.gsi.gov.uk (
http://www.chrishuhne.org.uk/)
Sustainable renewable energy on a large scale must be captured directly from sun, wind and water - destroying rainforests to produce a small energy contribution is unacceptable and allowing renewables subsidies to be spent on this would be a travesty. The government is expected to clarify its policy soon - in the mean time we need to ensure Bristol is not heading in the wrong direction.
local campaign contact:
ianalander@tiscali.co.uk
1. the appeal inquiry did not allow a thorough consideration of the environmental impacts of the power station. (this is contrary to the Aarhus Convention, which the UK has signed)
2. the power station will rely on imported biofuels which are known to cause deforestation and damage biodiversity
3. the developer's own 'Carbon Analysis' report showed that the power station will make no worthwhile contribution to reducing carbon emissions and hence tackling climate change
4. a report from the National Non Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) commissioned by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and published in March 2010 stated that electricity from palm oil and jatropha - biofuels to be used by W4B - has a carbon footprint worse than electricity from natural gas.
5. the power station will worsen air quality for nearby residents, although the modelling predictions made by W4B's consultants show that it will be just within legal limits.
In summary - the power station does nothing to help reduce carbon emissions, it worsens local air quality, it destroys wildlife habitats, it relies on imported fuel (ie it is no solution to energy security), and it will double the amount of palm oil used in the UK for energy production..
It also costs the country a lot of money. As UK electricity consumers we will be paying W4B £36m a year in subsidies on the basis that the power they generate is 'green'. Well the Govt's own report says that it is no greener than electricity from natural gas. So it's a really bad deal!