Plans have been approved for a £330 million rubbish incinerator in central England – despite environmental concerns.
Nottinghamshire County Council has backed proposals drawn up by energy firm Uniper, which would see the complex replace the existing coal-fuelled power station at Ratcliffe-on Soar, near East Midlands Airport, when it is decommissioned.
Concerns raised at a planning meeting to discuss the plans covered things such as its visual impact and potential impact on air quality, noise, dust and ecology.
READ MORE: {}
It is understood the plant will produce and emit carbon dioxide at a net carbon gain of more than 100 tonnes every year.
Uniper says incineration is the better option due to landfill waste creating methane – while the energy created from the plant will help support businesses that could be built on-site.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar is also a potential location for a new nuclear fusion plant, with sites currently being considered by the Secretary of State.
Uniper said the impact of the waste incinerator – or EMERGE (East Midlands Energy Re-Generation Centre) – would be "within the parameters of established environmental control limits".
Dr Andy Read, the redevelopment manager for Uniper, told the council’s planning committee: “Our vision for Radcliffe is for development that creates high value jobs based on modern industry and manufacturing served by an on-site energy hub.
Most Read
"This hub would enable electricity and heat to be shared between the businesses and we see it as a key enabler for new businesses coming to the site.
"It gives an immediate climate improvement by displacing landfill and it does have pathways to net-zero and indeed net-negative which is set out in our application, given the right future policy from Government."
The plans have been condemned by members of climate action group Extinction Rebellion, as well as a number of Notts councillors.
Extinction Rebellion’s Dr Monica Pallis said the council's strategies had not caught up with rapidly changing methods which aim to reduce carbon emissions.
She said: "Your administration badly needs a sustainable waste strategy fit for a climate emergency."
Coun Jen Walker, the leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council's Labour group, suggested the proposed creation of 45 jobs was "pitiful" and asked where the waste would come from and where the residual ash would be buried after it was burned.
Coun Daniel Williamson, for the Ashfield Independents, said: "I am deeply disappointed by the planning committee's decision today after a robust debate.
Don’t miss
"The climate emergency is happening now, it's no longer a problem for our children and is very much today's issue.
"Dressing up an incinerator as an environmentally desirable option is not only wrong but deeply disturbing in context."