Claims council were misled over plans for incinerator, 26 Nov 2011
(Return to main Binn Farm page)

by Sandra Gray, The Courier and Advertiser

(Also see SITA's response from 30 November 2011)

A LEADING environmental campaigner has claimed that Perth and Kinross Council was "misled" over plans for Binn Farm.
Michael Gallagher, secretary for Green Alternatives to Incineration in Scotland, criticised the firm behind the proposals to use gasification at the Glenfarg site.
Permission to make alterations to the design of an already approved waste incinerator was given to SITA UK by the local authority's development control committee last month.
During the meeting, the company's planning manager Anne-Marie Wilshaw gave assurances that they had spent the last few years developing plans for gasification technology in Surrey and were now sufficiently confident in putting their
name behind it.
Since then, however, Mr Gallagher has been contacted by protesters from Surrey who have raised their concerns about these latest proposals.
"It seems that developments there have not made as much headway as Ms Wilshaw appeared to suggest," he said.
"Firstly, SITA has not, developed a gasification incinerator in Surrey — at least not beyond the design stage.
"It has merely applied for planning consent for such a plant which, if approved, would form part of the company's plans for an 'eco park' in Spelthorne and the Secretary of State is currently considering the application.
"Secondly, SITA has been making similarly misleading statements in Surrey and just last week the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) upheld three out of five complaints by a member of Spelthorne Against the Eco Park with regard to the company's newsletter distributed to local residents."
The ASA ruled claims that gasification technology was "being used successfully in Dumfries and Iceland" were misleading and stated: "We therefore considered that most readers would interpret the entire text as a claim that the gasification planned for the Charlton Lane site had also been proven to work successfully and in the same way and on the same basis as at the referenced facilities.
"We noted this was not the same use of the technology as had been applied in Iceland and Dumfries.
"We also noted that the facility in Iceland had failed its dioxin test in 2009 and that the site at Dumfries had experienced problems with the design of its boilers which were being replaced and that the plant had yet to generate electricity."
Describing the information given by SITA UK to members of the development control committee as "ambiguous" and "open to misinterpretation", Mr Gallagher called for the local authority to review its decision with a view to rescinding permission.
He is also urging Scottish Ministers to get involved by taking another look at Binn Farm and similar plans in Scotland, as he does not believe the technology has been proven.
"In the end, SITA's shift from conventional incineration to gasification is nothing to do with a quest for better technology," he added.
"The company is motivated simply by the fact that subsidies in the form of Renewables Obligations Certificates are four times higher for gasification."
A spokesperson from SITA UK told The Courier that the comments made by the company to the development control committee should be viewed in their "rightful context".
He said: "The intent was simply to clarify that SITA UK is at a more advanced stage with plans to develop gasification facilities in the UK, including Surrey and Avonmouth.
"The application process SITA UK has gone through to secure permission for the site at Binn Farm has been long and thorough.
"Our application was submitted to Perth and Kinross Council in October 2010 and was widely consulted upon with statutory bodies such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
"It was then recommended for approval by the council's planning officer in a comprehensive report to the development control committee."

(Also see SITA's response from 30 November 2011)