Belvedere – Towards a sustainable city
It has taken six-and-a-half years and two public inquiries but the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alistair Darling MP, has now granted planning permission for the Belvedere energy-from-waste plant. The decision provides the borough with the assurance that it can dispose of its non-recyclable waste in a more environmentally-friendly manner. The Council will no longer depend so heavily on landfill.
The plant has been the subject of on-going protest, in particular from Friends of the Earth, the London Borough of Bexley and the Mayor of London, who is seeking a judicial review to challenge the decision. Kensington and Chelsea Council believes it is the best way to deal with waste as the Capital strives to become a sustainable city.
Western Riverside Waste Authority
Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) is the statutory body that is responsible for the disposal of household, commercial and industrial waste delivered to it from the London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, Wandsworth and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Non-recyclable waste from WRWA will now be processed into energy at Belvedere, in the London Borough of Bexley. WRWA is also going to construct a state-of-the-art materials reclamation facility at Wandsworth to ensure that as many recyclables as possible are extracted before the rest is burnt.
What does this news mean?
Alistair Darling’s decision means that the borough’s non-recyclable waste will be put in barges and sent down river on the tide, and then unloaded at the new energy-from-waste plant at Belvedere. Once it is built, in around 2010, the new plant will produce enough electricity to power 66,000 homes and it is hoped that it can incorporate a combined heat and power system to improve its energy efficiency even further.
London’s problem
London has a serious waste problem, much of which it currently transports to landfills in the Home Counties. The situation is simply not sustainable as Londoners produce more and more non-recyclable waste. The Belvedere facility will make London more self-sufficient in managing its own waste. It will divert waste away from landfill and it will generate electricity. It will also keep waste transport on the river and it will generate jobs.
A huge leap forward
The Council regards this decision as a huge leap forward for waste management. The new facility will mean that WRWA will soon have the range of modern waste management techniques available to provide a twenty-first century service for the benefit of the environment and the people the authority serves.
The Planning Inspector
Some people have been concerned about the environmental impacts of energy-from-waste, but the proposals have been investigated very thoroughly in two public inquiries and by the Planning Inspector.
In his report, the Planning Inspector said:
“From a considerable body of evidence on alternative technologies and sites I was unable to identify any as offering the potential of greater benefits for the environment or fewer disadvantages (in terms of transport mode, landscape or amenity) than the Belvedere site.”
The environmental benefits
The Belvedere facility fits with the National Waste Strategy and the European Landfill Directive, which requires the diversion of waste from landfill.
The planning application for Belvedere was supported by a full and robust environmental statement, which examined all issues relating to health and the local environment in great detail. It also demonstrated that the plant will be safe. The facility has already been issued with an operating permit by the Environment Agency, and the Agency will monitor emissions to ensure that they remain within the strict control levels required.
Belvedere is to be located in an industrial estate, well away from houses and schools, reducing any noticeable impact on the local community.
The proposal also includes a traffic management system designed to improve traffic flow. Pedestrian and cyclist access in the area will also be improved as a result of the proposal.
Also in its favour is the fact that most of the waste will arrive at the site by river as opposed to road. Belvedere will save over 1.3 million HGV miles per year and keeping waste on the river will remove over 100,000 lorry movements from London’s already congested roads each year. It is also worth noting that the Belvedere site is designated in the Bexley Unitary Development Plan as a Special Industrial Zone for waste processing.
Towards a sustainable city
Given that London, due to the lack of waste treatment facilities in the Capital, landfills 73 per cent of its waste, and 85 per cent of that is exported outside the Capital, there has never been any danger that the Belvedere plant would not be fully used. London urgently needs new facilities that recover value from waste if it is to become a sustainable city, and the Belvedere development will make a significant contribution to that aim.
Email your comments on this story to rbkcdirect@rbkc.gov.uk.
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