Eric Pickles Gets It Wrong
Trafford Council will make an appeal against Secretary of State, Eric Pickles’ decision to grant planning permission to the Barton Renewable Energy Plant, in Davyhulme Greater Manchester.
The Davyhulme Incinerator is in the wrong place as the emissions from burning contaminated waste wood and plastics will have serious health impacts on the people of Trafford, Salford and Manchester.
“We are very grateful to Trafford Council for having the commitment to fight this all the way” said Pete Kilvert, Chairman of the Breathe Clean Air Group. “The group will support Trafford Council as we don’t want or need a dirty incinerator in our neighbourhood for the next 25 years.”
The Public Inquiry last November relied on flawed evidence from the Environment Agency. The Agency did not carry out an independent assessment of the site, and accepted Peel Energy’s data. This included accepting nitrogen dioxide figures from Eccles town centre when there were higher readings closer to the proposed site in Peel Green. Peel Energy’s evidence also failed to recognise that Wilfred Road in Peel Green would receive the highest dose of the irritant and toxic gas and this was accepted by the Agency.
Secretary of State Eric Pickles has also failed to take notice of the Localism Act. This legislation is supposed to allow local authorities to make local decisions as they are better placed. The Government’s desire to cut red tape to allow development at any price in order to regenerate the economy is not the right decision for a biomass incinerator in a built up area.
And on 1st May the Supreme Court ruled that there is too much airborne pollution in the UK to meet European standards.
“The appeal to the High Court should give the Council and the Breathe Clean Air Group an opportunity to stop this incinerator polluting the air we breathe, once and for all,” added Mr Kilvert.
Eric Pickles was in yesterday’s Sunday Express where he reminded Newham Council that they had a duty of care:
Last night her MP, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, said: “We are looking into this problem and trying to find out how widespread this problem is across the country. Newham had a duty of care to exercise proper control over what happens to those properties.
“Either they were excessively and supremely incompetent or they didn’t care.”
He challenged council chiefs, adding: “This council only has one chance to redeem itself and that’s with a fulsome apology and an offer of compensation for all the stress and hardship caused.”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/404415/93-year-old-driven-to-her-grave-after-she-gets-a-false-50-000-repair-bill
Mr Pickles’ words could come back an bite him hard over the incinerator issue where the Planning Inspectorate over which he’s supposed to preside have either been “excessively and supremely incompetent or they didn’t care” about imposing a major health hazard on Davyhulme and surrounding areas.