CONTROVERSIAL changes to already-approved plans to turn a former colliery site into a renewable energy park have been granted - despite claims that air pollution will be considerably affected for hundreds of residents living nearby.
Peel Environmental’s plans for a plant which turns waste timber into electricity on the former Houghton Main Colliery site, off Park Spring Road, were approved in 2015 but under strict conditions, including tight regulation over the number of vehicle movements in and out of the site.
The new application - which was approved by Barnsley Council’s planning board members on Tuesday - sought to relax those conditions allowing more vehicles as well as a greater variety of material to be used as fuel on the site, including refuse-derived fuel (RDF) which is made from waste products including paper, non-recyclable plastics and textiles.
Kevin Osborne, from Little Houghton Parish Council, spoke against the plan at the town hall and wore a gas mask to protest against the changes before the meeting.
He said: “The introduction of RDF, something which no-one really knows what that is, will affect both the smell around the area and air pollution.
“The distance from the nearest resident is 700 metres, which is akin to the space between Barnsley Town Hall and the Alhambra. An incinerator would not be put there, so why do it elsewhere?
“Peel still have to obtain an Environment Agency licence to burn RDF waste at Houghton Main and I’m sure local folk will raise their concerns then.”
A report, which was discussed by members, revealed the number of vehicles in and out of the plant will increase from 30 to 39 per weekday, and 33 on both Saturday and Sunday on a road described as an ‘accident blackspot’ by Coun Pauline Markham.
The plans caused controversy when they were first submitted in 2014 as they included an anaerobic digester - a facility for breaking down biodegradable matter or ‘biomass’ into fuel - as well as a facility to burn timber.
That application was met with opposition by residents of nearby Houghton, Darfield and Grimethorpe and was rejected, but a new application without the digestion facility was accepted in 2015.
Coun Markham added: “I concur with the objections as the traffic is appalling around the site. Air pollution is already bad enough and we should be refusing this.”
However, the planning board voted in favour of the scheme, despite considerable opposition from both local residents and councillors shared in a 40-minute debate.
