Politicians opposing plans for a new waste incinerator at Buttington say a policy shift by the Welsh Government should mean that the plans do not go ahead.

An official application for the Energy Recovery Facility project at Buttington was submitted to the Welsh Government by developer Broad Energy (Wales) earlier this month.

But after the Welsh Government confirmed to two local politicians that a moratorium on "new large-scale energy from waste" projects was to come into force immediately, opponents of the scheme now say they feel the plans could yet be dismissed.

Montgomeryshire MS Russell George and Powys County councillor Amanda Jenner have called for a moratorium on the development of any new large-scale waste incinerators in Wales, with Mr George raising the development in the Senedd and Cllr Jenner submitting apettion to the Welsh Parliament Petitions Committee.

County Times:

An artist's impression of the planned incinerator

Earlier in March the Welsh Government released a new policy document in which it said it would “place a moratorium on any future large scale energy from waste developments, as the increase in recycling and reduction in waste already seen means that we will not need any new large scale energy from waste infrastructure to deal with the residual waste generated in Wales”.

The policy also says an "incineration tax" could be introduced, and legislation could come forward banning some recyclables from being incinerated.

After Mr George wrote to the Minister asking for clarity on the announcement, a written statement was published which read: “The moratorium on new large scale energy from waste plants will cover those of 10MW or greater and comes into effect immediately.”

Now they say the policy should be applied to Buttington, and have called for a planning consultation that was due to begin in the next few weeks to be halted.

Alistair Hilditch-Brown, chief executive of Broad Energy Wales, said: "We are currently looking into the recent policy decision in more detail, and will be seeking clarification from the Welsh Government about what the moratorium - which is a temporary prohibition - will mean for the Buttington Energy Recovery Facility.

"We admire the Welsh Government's drive to achieve a zero waste, zero carbon future - but we remain committed to the Buttington project, the many benefits it will bring and the place it has to play in helping the Government achieve its 2050 ambitions.

"Buttington Energy Recovery Facility will provide an innovative way to significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill while generating low-carbon energy at the same time. We continue to believe it will be a significant step in the right direction towards helping Wales to become a zero-waste nation by 2050, will provide a much-needed facility for businesses in Powys and the surrounding area and will contribute a significant amount of green energy for consumption."

County Times: The map of the Buttington application.

A map of the site

Mr George said: “I hugely welcome this announcement having been calling for this for some time. Many residents have contacted me raising concerns about this potential development. Cleary, I would like to get absolute clarity that the Buttington development will now not proceed.

"With the planning consultation due to take place in a couple of weeks, we are, however, still awaiting clarity on whether the consultation process will proceed.

"We have been told by the Welsh Planning Inspectorate that they too are awaiting clarification and it may be that the moratorium does not take effect until the Minister comes to make their decision at the end of the process. Therefore, the planning consultation process could still start in mid April. I have organised a remote public meeting with local residents in order to inform them of the latest news and the planning process."

Cllr Jenner added: “If it is the case that this moratorium applies to the Buttington Incinerator development, residents will be hugely relieved. Ever since I was elected in 2017, I have been contacted by so many people worried about the impact of the incinerator on the community, on the school, the road infrastructure and also questioning the need for the incinerator here in Montgomeryshire."