Opponents to plans for an extension to the Whitemoss hazardous waste landfill site near Skelmersdale have failed in a legal bid to block the project.
Campaigners said there was simply no need for the facility, which has a planned capacity of 150,000 tonnes of waste per year.
But Greg Clark MP gave the scheme the green light in May last year during his brief tenure as Communities and Local Government Secretary.
He also opened the way for Whitemoss Landfill Ltd to compulsorily purchase private land off White Moss Lane South to make way for the project.
With the backing of campaign group, Action to Reduce and Recycle Our Waste (ARROW), neighbouring landowner, Arthur Scarisbrick, battled to overturn Mr Clark’s decision at the Court of Appeal in London.
Aerial view of the Whitemoss landfill (June 2017)
But top planning judge, Lord Justice Lindblom, said that he could detect no legal flaw in the Secretary of State’s ruling.
Strategic
Mr Clark, he said, was entitled to focus on the “considerable” strategic need for Britain to be self-sufficient in hazardous waste disposal sites. And, he did not treat that as an “automatically overriding factor” when balancing the disadvantages of the scheme against long term public benefits.
There was also a local and regional need for the facility and Mr Clark said there were “very special circumstances” justifying the development in the Green Belt.
The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Irwin, said: “I do not accept that …the Secretary of State fell into error.” Lord Justice Lindblom continued: He “neither misinterpreted nor misapplied” government policy on nationally significant hazardous waste infrastructure projects.
And Mr Clark was also entitled to find that there was “a compelling case” for compulsory acquisition of the site so that the project could proceed.
The area is already home to a hazardous waste landfill site, but that was due to close in 2018, the court was earlier told. But the new one, to be developed on neighbouring land, is set to remain active until 2035, said David Wolfe QC, for Mr Scarisbrick.
The issue of whether there was a real need for the site on Green Belt land is “hotly disputed”, added the barrister.
The existing landfill site only uses a fraction of its 150,000 tonnes-a-year capacity, he argued.
But Lord Justice Lindblom rejected claims that consent for the new one was simply nodded through “without limit or scrutiny”. And, an application to the Supreme Court was refused.
Capacity
The extension to Whitemoss is needed because the current landfill is coming to capacity, Whitemoss Landfill Ltd managing director Rob Routledge told letsrecycle.com today (26 June).
Mr Routledge said: “The issue reviewed at the Judicial Review had previously been considered by three, Government-appointed, independent Planning Inspectors before making their recommendation to the Secretary of State that Development Consent should be granted.
“This matter has since been further considered by two High Court Judges and four Appeal Court Judges. The Appeal Court has also refused an application to appeal the Judgement to the Supreme Court
Following this clear and unequivocal decision we hope that this draws the legal process to a close and that Whitemoss Landfill can continue the important role it plays in managing waste safely for the communities we serve.”
On its website, Whitemoss explain that in September 2016 the Environment Agency issued revised environmental permit for the new landfill area and recently a variation of the permit has been issued.
Preparation works for the extension started after the permit was issued and construction of the first extension cell is due for completion this year.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
