Petitions
Tuesday 9 February 2010
Observations
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Incinerator (Gloucester)
The Petition of residents of Gloucester and surrounding areas, and others,
Declares that the Petitioners believe that the County Council is proposing to build a large scale incinerator in or around Gloucester capable of burning 175,000 tonnes of waste, much of which could be imported from around the country.
Further declares that the Petitioners believe that other options have not been given sufficient consideration, and that local councillors should oppose incineration and should consider other more environmentally friendly options instead.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to call upon the City and County Councils to rule out incineration from Gloucestershire's waste plan.
And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Mr. Parmjit Dhanda , Official Report, 13 January 2010; Vol. 503, c. 801.]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Government have made funding available to Gloucestershire County Council through the allocation of PFI credits, however the choice of technology and the location is a local matter. It is for local authorities to decide how to manage waste in their area, and rightly so. It is important that plans for all waste facilities emerge from local waste strategies and plans, so that all options for reuse, recycling and composting can be explored first. Gloucestershire's waste authorities have already developed and adopted a Joint Municipal Waste Management Strategy (2007) which is their route map for the management of household waste.
I would like to clarify that as part of the application process DEFRA requires all authorities to submit a plan based on a theoretical model that uses real figures and facts to demonstrate the project is robust enough to proceed. The choice of technology will be driven by detailed waste flow modelling that will determine the size of the facility/facilities required to meet the authority's waste management objectives. This reference case does not mean that the technology, size or location for the
waste PFI project has been decided but is used to guide the procurement process. At the time of approval the size of the proposed facility was considered appropriate for dealing with the amount of residual waste which the county council expected it will have to deal with over the life of the contract, taking into account planned minimisation, recycling and composting activities.
It is my understanding that Gloucestershire County Council's waste project is currently subject to an ongoing procurement process, and proposals for technology and location will be set out in the contractors bids. The eventual outcome of this procurement will be a decision for the council to make and any new facilities will be subject to a planning application.
The Government are strongly committed to managing waste in the most sustainable way. This means as far up the waste hierarchy as possible, with energy from waste ranking higher than landfill but below waste prevention, reuse and recycling. Generating renewable energy from waste (including via combustion) can offer a considerable climate change benefit compared to the alternative of landfill.
Based on the application received from Gloucestershire County Council, it is clear that the PFI project has the potential to make an important contribution to meeting the UK's climate change objectives, deliver much needed infrastructure and provide potential employment opportunities in the local area.
New Ferry Butterfly Park
The Petition of residents of Wirral South and others,
Declares that the Petitioners object to the threatened closure of New Ferry Butterfly Park.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to encourage Wirral council and others to do all they can to secure the retention of the Butterfly Park.
And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Ben Chapman , Official Report, 12 January 2010; Vol. 503, c. 659.]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
The Government understand that Wirral Metropolitan borough council has agreed to make a compulsory purchase order with a view to ensuring that the New Ferry Butterfly Park remains a wildlife reserve, although it continues to seek a resolution of this matter directly with the site's owners. As a compulsory purchase order may be submitted in due course to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for confirmation, it may be considered prejudicial for the Government to comment further at this stage.
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