300 Lynn jobs plan to get go-ahead
ONE of the biggest-ever private investments in Lynn – which could create up to 300 new jobs at a state-of-the-art paper mill – looks set to receive the backing of council planners next week.
Palm Paper, the German-based company behind the 330 million scheme, is hoping to build the mill at the former British Sugar site, on Poplar Avenue, in a move which will see 550,000 tonnes of newsprint produced in the town every year.
The scheme has been recommended for approval ahead of a special meeting of West Norfolk Council's development control board on Tuesday, with officers stating the multi-million pound investment will have a "positive impact on the local economy."
The mill will produce newsprint using 630,000 tonnes of recycled newspaper and magazines every year and the plans include scope for a second production line, to be installed in around five years' time, which would see employment levels doubled to 300 direct and 300 indirect jobs.
When news of the plans was first reported the investment was declared as a huge boost for the regeneration of the town and it has since emerged that Lynn beat off competition from locations in Kent, Essex and Ely before being selected.
Despite being recommended for approval a lengthy report to development control board members includes a number of objections in relation to the impact of the mill on wildlife and the environment.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust has raised serious concerns about plans to relocate water voles from the southern reed bed of the flood relief channel, which forms part of the application site, and has called for the matter to be resolved before planning permission is granted.
A water vole mitigation plan states that displacement into other areas, specifically the adjoining County Wildlife Site, will be encouraged by cutting the vegetation within the reed bed to reduce the quality of the habitat.
But the trust believes this is a considerable distance from the reed bed and there is no indication if water courses are available.
It is also concerned about a possible "destructive search" being carried out prior to development work starting in February, at a time when water voles spend large periods of time below ground feeding on stored food.
The East of Ouse, Polver and Nar Internal Drainage Board has also raised concerns about plans to raise the water level of the channel to help serve the mill, which could result in a loss of flood storage capacity.
The mill will require 400,000 cubic metres of water a day, 96 per cent of which will be re-circulated in the production process, meaning 16,000 cubic metres of fresh water will be required on a daily basis from the flood relief channel.
It has been estimated this will not have an impact on water levels and water availability but in times of serious drought it may create a serious threat to the ecosystem.
The Environment Agency has agreed to investigate the possibility of raising the water level in the channel for a limited period to help support the abstraction.
Further concerns have been raised by Enviros Consulting, a firm acting on behalf of an undisclosed client, including the publicity surrounding the application, HGV movements at the site and the impact on the wider road network.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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