Incinerator moves much closer

Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, had the opportunity to 'call in' the application by Veolia but has written to the council to say that intervention 'would not be justified'.

This means that subject to Veolia signing a legal agreement on proposed lorry routes, compensatory off-site planting and landscaping, and a financial contribution towards site monitoring, full planning consent will be granted by the Council for the plans, which include a waste transfer station.

There will be 44 conditions on the planning permission to ensure matters such as dust, noise and construction do not have an adverse impact on people.

The facility, at North Quay, would generate electricity from household waste collected in East Sussex and Brighton & Hove that is not composted or recycled, diverting it from landfill sites. The electricity would be fed into the distribution network, providing power to the equivalent of 16,500 homes.

To view the application and the decision by the Secretary of State please visit www.eastsussex.gov.uk/erfNotes for editors

East Sussex County Council's Planning Committee decided it was 'minded' to grant planning permission on February 21.

Under planning regulations, the Secretary of State can call in a planning application to determine it herself if it departs from local planning policies. In this case, the application did not comply with policies about the visual impact on the adjacent Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and the loss of areas for the storage and processing of crushed rock and marine aggregates at North Quay.

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