Incinerator Facility Receives Approval Amidst Local Opposition

A waste incinerator facility is set to be constructed in Sowerby Bridge, notwithstanding objections voiced by local inhabitants. Calder Valley Skip Ltd’s earlier proposal was turned down by the council in 2017, and a subsequent appeal was rejected by the government in 2023. However, Calderdale Council has now issued an environmental permit for the project, subject to specific conditions “to ensure that the plant will not have any detrimental effect on local residents, their amenity, or the wider environment”. Councillor Jane Scullion, who leads Calderdale Council, commented: “We understand the strong local feeling around this permit application, and I know that this decision will be disappointing for the community.” She further stated that “absolute compliance” with the permit’s attached conditions has been explicitly mandated. “This will be robustly monitored by the council through a planned programme of inspections as well as continued air quality monitoring in the local area.” The facility is slated for construction at Belmont Industrial Estate on Rochdale Road, notwithstanding a “large number of representations made on a wide range of issues during the three consultation periods”. The council’s monitoring and compliance plan is structured around four principal components: On 27 November, activists staged a protest outside Halifax Town Hall as members arrived for a full meeting of Calderdale Council. The authority to approve the permit was assigned to council officers, bypassing the councillors themselves. Councillor Martin Hey recounted: “Coming into the meeting, one woman said to me ‘I thought you would be against because all the councillors are against the incinerator, and yet you can’t collectively stop it’.” “Something’s going wrong, isn’t it?” he added. The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that Councillor Silvia Dacre, the cabinet member for resources, affirmed that the decision was appropriately delegated to officers. Campaigner Jane Pugh remarked that “answers given at cabinet and council have not been very warm, almost antagonistic to reasonable questions”. Audiences can access highlights from West Yorkshire via BBC Sounds, view the most recent episode of Look North, or submit potential news stories for coverage here. This content is copyrighted by the BBC in 2024, with all rights reserved. The BBC does not assume responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.