Campaigners fighting plans for a waste recycling facility have won the latest battle.
The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today (Monday, March 10) sent the matter back to Hillingdon Council for determination, the formal procedure that effectively endorses the council’s decision of December 10 last year to reject the application.
Powerday’s only avenue of appeal now is to the environment secretary. Hillingdon will have to formally confirm its earlier decision in due course.
Leading the campaign against Powerday’s bid has been the Garden City Estate Residents’ Association (GCERA), which had prepared eight petitions and collected nearly 4,000 signatures during a highly organised crusade against the plans. Five petitioners spoke at the December meeting.
The large number of extra lorry movements, access through the nearby town centre and the resultant traffic, noise and air pollution, and the impact on surrounding homes – some within a 50 metre radius – were among the multitude of issues around which the opposition campaign was based.
GCERA seized on the 950,000-tonne annual waste capacity originally proposed for the plant, nearly two-thirds of which (600,000) would be transported via local roads.
David Andrew, GCERA acting chairman, said: “We are very pleased that they have sent it back to Hillingdon because we know [the council] support[s] our position.”
But Mr Andrew said he believed Powerday would appeal to the secretary of state because it had spent a lot of money on the bid so far.
Powerday was not immediately available for comment.
