Proposed Energy Recovery Facility, North Quay Road, Newhaven

What development is proposed?

In November 2005, Onyx South Downs Ltd (now Veolia East Sussex Ltd) applied for planning permission to build an energy recovery facility with ancillary infrastructure, including waste transfer station, administration/visitor centre, landscaping and highway works at North Quay Road, Newhaven. The application reference is LW/462/CM(EIA).

The proposed facility (more commonly known as a waste incinerator) would receive and burn waste from homes across East Sussex and Brighton & Hove, which would be brought to the site by lorry. It would process about 210,000 tonnes of waste annually. In the process, it would generate about 19MW of electrical power, most of which would be fed into the national grid, with the remainder being used on the site.

The County Council consulted widely on the planning application and received over 15,000 comments. The planning application was considered by the County Council's Planning Committee on 21 February 2007.  The Committee decided to grant planning permission, subject to conditions and a legal agreement.  The latter agreement has not yet been concluded, so planning permission has not yet been released.

Since the planning application conflicts with certain planning policies affecting the area it was referred onto the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to see if she wished to "call in" the application for her own determination after holding a Public Inquiry.  However, the Secretary of State has indicated that she does not wish to intervene.  This allows the County Council to proceed towards the release of planning permission.

A separate Integrated Pollution Prevention & Control (IPPC) application has been made to the Environment Agency. The Agency granted the IPPC permit on 6 November 2006. The EA web site link below will take you to a copy of the IPPC permit. If planning permission is granted, the IPPC permit will provide a basis for monitoring and controlling any pollution from the facility.

Where can I find more information on the proposals?

The planning application and the IPPC permit application are both supported by very large volumes of technical information, which can be seen at the following locations:

• County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes
• Planning & Environmental Services Department, Lewes District Council, Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes
• Newhaven Library, 16 High Street, Newhaven
• Seaford Town Council, Hurdis House, 10 Broad Street, Seaford
• Peacehaven Town Council, Town Council Offices, Meridian Centre, Meridian Way, Peacehaven

What is Lewes District Council’s position?

Lewes District Council has been a consultee on both the planning application and the IPPC permit application.

Following consideration by its Planning Applications Committee in April 2006, the District Council lodged objections to the proposals on a number of grounds which include:

• The principle of using mass burn incineration as a means of waste disposal.
• The principle of use of the site at North Quay for waste incineration, given weaknesses in the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) analysis submitted with the application.
• Failure to comply with the proximity principle to treat waste close to its source, resulting in an unacceptable high number of lorry trips to and from the site.
• Prejudice to the ongoing regeneration of Newhaven.
• The dominant scale of the proposed incinerator building and its impact on Newhaven and the surrounding landscape, much of which is designated AONB and proposed National Park.
• The impact of lorry traffic on the AONB between Beddingham and Newhaven.
• Further information required on the impact of the proposed facility on public health and the environment.
• Lack of provision for relocation of the existing aggregates importation and sorting use on the site.

In addition, the District Council has asked that, in the event that the County Council are minded to grant planning permission:

1. the application should be referred to the Secretary of State as a departure from the Development Plan.
2. Strict controls are imposed to ensure that the environmental impact of the proposals during the construction phase are minimised with agreed Management Plans for the control of dust, noise, vibration and construction traffic.
3. The applicant is asked to make a planning obligation which provides dedicated funds to enable the District Council to employ an officer to deal with environmental health concerns during the construction and operational phases of development.

A copy of the full report to the Planning Applications Committee can be seen by clicking here.

Web Links

East Sussex County Council are the waste planning authority. The following external link goes to their webpage on the Energy from Waste facility at Newhaven. This has the latest on the incinerator, plus previous planning reports and consultations.
www.eastsussex.gov.uk/environment/planning/applications/erf/default.htm

The external link below goes to the Environment Agency's website. They are the pollution control agency and are the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales.
www.environment-agency.gov.uk/

Veolia Environmental Services South Downs propose to build the Energy Recovery Facility at North Quay, Newhaven. The external link below goes to their webpage about this.
www.veoliaenvironmentalservices.co.uk/southdowns/pages/erf.asp

The following external link goes to the DOVE (Defenders of the Ouse Valley & Estuary) website. They campaign against the location of a waste incinerator in Newhaven.
www.dove2000.org/

The Friends of the Earth are national environmental campaigners. The following external link goes to their South East webpage.
www.foe.org.uk/campaigns/local_groups_and_campaigns/se.htm