Bishop’s Castle biomass plant plans scrapped
Plans for a biomass plant to be built on land at Bishop’s Castle Business Park have been scrapped, it was revealed today.
The controversial £5 million scheme was scrapped when terms for the sale of the 2.5-acre site by Shropshire Council to developers Bishop’s Castle Biomass Power Ltd could not be agreed.
The council agreed to sell the land in October 2010, and planning permission was granted for a biomass plant on the site in September 2009 following a planning inquiry.
However, following more than a year of negotiations between the council and Bishop’s Castle Biomass Power Ltd, the sale will now not go ahead, meaning that the biomass plant will not be built on the site.
Many local businesses and residents objected to the planned biomass plant, a planning inquiry was held in 2009 and hundreds of objections were made.
The plant would have produced around 2.5MW of power from the burning of energy crops and wood chips.
Shropshire Council leader Keith Barrow is now speaking to Bishop’s Castle Town Council to ensure that residents have their say on what the land should be used for in the future.
Keith said:
“I know the community had very strong views on this proposal, which has been going on for many years now. The original planning application was submitted to South Shropshire District Council in 2007 – long before Shropshire Council came into being. Now that the sale is not going ahead, this gives us an opportunity to talk to the town council and local residents about potential alternative uses for the land, and I have already started talking to the town council about potential ways forward.”
Local Shropshire Council member for Bishop’s Castle, Councillor Charlotte Barnes, said:
“Bishop’s Castle has waited a long time for this news, and people have fought very hard on something they didn’t feel was right for their community. All the hard work of the Bishop’s Castle community, especially the Bishop’s Castle Group, seems to have paid off and I’m glad as the new local member that I was able to attend the last few meetings.”
Mayor of Bishop’s Castle, Keith Pinches, added:
“We were very pleased to receive the news from Shropshire Council because there was overwhelming opposition to this biomass proposal from the people of Bishop’s Castle. We thank the Bishop’s Castle Group who fought so hard against this unpopular project. We look forward to working with Shropshire Council and the community to find alternative uses for this site.”
