Grundon walks away from incinerator plan

The waste firm released a statement saying it no longer intended to try and obtain permission for a controversial incinerator at Chieveley and said it was “disappointed” with the council’s refusal of its plan, describing it as a “missed opportunity” which will see it persuing investments in other areas of the UK.
This comes seven months after plans for the Energy from Waste (EfW) facility, which would have reportedly processed up to 250,000 tonnes of waste a year and would house a flue stack towering at 74m, were thrown out by West Berkshire Council and the deadline for appeal passed without action.
Director of Estates for Grundon, Andrew Short claimed the facility, proposed for Old Kiln Farm in Chieveley, would have generated £1m a year for the council, while creating permanent jobs for the area and generating enough power for 30,000 local homes.
“It is hugely disappointing, this really is a missed opportunity for West Berkshire,” said Mr Short. “Our scheme would have generated up to £1m a year for the council which is quite considerable when you think it could have gone some way to off-setting West Berkshire’s £9m of austerity measures and cuts.”
He also claimed that a kitty worth £125,000 was in the pipeline to benefit local community projects, such as the renovation of Hermitage Village Hall.
The statement accused West Berkshire Council of failing to address a lack of adequate infrastructure to help relieve pressure on waste disposal services in neighbouring counties, including Oxfordshire and Hampshire.
Mr Short said that current systems were not sustainable and the council’s decision would be detrimental to household and business costs.
He said: “West Berkshire runs the risk of being left without the infrastructure it needs if individual communities do not accept that regional infrastructure will be required to support the larger community and growth.”
For a full report see this Thursday's