STATEMENT – PLANNING APPLICATION DECISION/HOWNSGILL ENERGY CENTRE

A spokesperson for Hownsgill Energy Centre commented, “County Durham has a significant (and growing) problem in terms of how it deals with non-hazardous, non-recyclable commercial waste generated by its local communities. The majority currently goes straight into landfill here in the region for future generations to deal with, or alternatively, is exported to sites elsewhere in Europe. 

“We, as a community, cannot continue to dismiss or turn a blind eye to this issue, and Hownsgill Energy Centre would have provided a very safe and fit-for-purpose solution to generate low carbon heat and power for Consett residents whilst preventing up to 60,000 tonnes of residual waste being buried for years to come. It would have also facilitated the upgrade and improvement of the local network to cope with increasing power demands, and would have been a catalyst for wider investment and development projects bringing much needed jobs and regeneration to Consett. 

“This was not an off-the-cuff, spontaneous idea. The application had been researched for many, many years based on a very real and heightened waste management problem which Durham County Council and County Durham as an area will continue to face. The facility would have enabled Consett to be an exemplar community as part of the country’s net zero efforts, becoming one of a small number of UK towns to responsibly convert their own commercial waste into local heat and power. Our plans brought together companies and experts at the forefront of their field to assess and determine the need for low carbon power, as well as enable the safe production and delivery of cost-efficient energy under very strict environmental and health and safety criteria.

“Therefore, whilst the outcome of the planning application is disappointing, we are now considering options, possibly an appeal, and will work closely with and continue to engage with all key stakeholders moving forward.”

Hownsgill Energy Centre Online Community Consultation

Plans to hold a Q&A session with members of the community have been confirmed, with an online discussion due to take place at 18:30 on Wednesday 30 June 2021. This will involve local Conservative Councillors (Delves Lane) Angela Sterling and Michelle Walton, as well as Mark Short (Hownsgill Energy Centre/Project Genesis Ltd), and participating members of the public.

Invitations to participate were offered to other community representatives and active social media opposition groups, and we understand that their questions have instead been forwarded to the respective Councillor representatives to raise. These will be discussed during the live session, available to view online, with factually-correct information and insight being provided. Questions/answers that may require additional information or other third party expertise/comment will be made available thereafter via the website.

It has always been the intention of Hownsgill Energy Centre and Project Genesis Ltd to hold a public consultation event (originally in person, postponed due to Covid) as part of the overall planning process, and we therefore welcome this open and balanced conversation.

RESPONSE TO MEDIA ARTICLE ‘Consett community rallies to oppose industrial waste incinerator plan’.

In relation to the above article (distributed by external parties 20 May 2021), a spokesperson for Hownsgill Energy Centre, commented, "Project Genesis has and continues to deliver long-term investment and community benefits to Consett and the surrounding area, and this is well known and positively regarded by local residents. Unfortunately, due to Covid, we have been unable to hold face-to-face consultations and public engagement to discuss the benefits of the proposed energy recovery centre, and therefore a lot of untruths, rumour and misleading information is now beginning to circulate. Once it is safe to do so, we will certainly be looking to arrange this.

"We fully understand that there will be questions from local residents, and we welcome this conversation. We have carefully planned and researched the facility (proposed for an existing industrial estate with development capacity as a strategic employment site), and carried out in-depth assessments as part of the application which answer residents' concerns. There will be negligible noise impact, no black bag or organic refuse will be used, and no toxic or harmful smoke plumes will be emitted from the stack. Dry waste materials will be shredded and baled elsewhere for transportation, and the building will operate under positive pressure so to avoid any odour. Therefore, The Environment Agency, which requires very strict criteria and regulations to be met, has no objections.

"Simply put, we can no longer turn a blind eye to waste materials produced in our very own community going to landfill and buried for generations to come. This is a serious problem and Project Genesis believes that by using local waste to generate local renewable energy, ie heat and power, the community will greatly benefit. We will be able to offer Consett households a discounted green power supply via a new local community energy company, while at the same time injecting £35m plus investment into the area, creating up to 60 jobs and contributing to Durham County Council's and the government’s net zero strategies."

(please note that accompanying images showing energy to waste facilities in certain media articles are not representative or realistic of the small scale facility proposed at Hownsgill Energy Centre.)

STATEMENT: RESPONSE TO POLITICAL MAILER (RICHARD HOLDEN MP)

It has been brought to our attention that information currently being circulated in the local area for political purposes includes misleading and factually incorrect information regarding Hownsgill Energy Centre.

This relates to a recent mailer sent to Consett residents by Conservative MP, Richard Holden. We therefore wish to correct this misinformation so to remain neutral and not be used for any possible short-term Councillor or political candidate gain.

Firstly, Mr Holden MP states that ‘local people are very concerned about the application if it is approved’;

Whilst we accept there will be some sensitivity and objections (as with any project of this nature), it is also very clear that many local people are in full support of the facility as it will not only significantly reduce the amount of waste going to landfill (therefore contributing to net zero and local climate change action), but will also create many new employment opportunities for Consett as well as lower energy costs. This is in addition to wider economic and community benefits, and the £200m of investment and 1,500 jobs already generated for the local area by Project Genesis.

Secondly, the letter states that there is ‘incomplete information provided about its environmental impact’;

All complete and necessary (required) information including noise, traffic and health data, and environmental impact surveys, are (and always have been) fully accessible and available to view at all times by the public. This is via Durham County Council’s online planning portal. All information submitted meets stringent criteria - indeed, the Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that after considering all evidence, it has ‘no objections’ to plans put forward to develop Hownsgill Energy Centre.

Furthermore, Mr Holden MP comments on the ‘length of time that this application is taking and that Durham County Council will now not meet to consider it until after the local elections. This seems deeply unsatisfactory’.