Recycling centre consultation launched as plan to lease out former King's Lynn incinerator site backed
People who use Lynn's recycling centre are being asked to have their say on plans to move it to enable a proposed power station expansion to proceed.
The announcement came after county councillors today voted in favour of plans to lease the land once earmarked for an incinerator to the developers behind the scheme.
EP UK Power Development Ltd is currently seeking permission to produce more power from its site on the edge of the town than is currently permitted.
As part of the scheme, it wants to develop a carbon capture facility on the Willows land which was previously proposed for the controversial burner project.
At a meeting in Norwich today, Norfolk County Council voted to proceed with the preparation of a lease agreement and to formally remove the Willows site from its waste plan, more than four years after the incinerator scheme was finally dropped.
If it goes ahead, the project would also see the recycling centre move around 250 metres from its present site. Officials say building work could start next year.
Martin Wilby, chairman of the county council's environment, development and transport committee, said: "We expect to see a smooth transition from one site to a new one just down the road, and welcome the fact that there would be no cost to taxpayers as a result of the need to move.
"Plans for the new recycling centre would need to go through the usual planning and permit process, so people will have opportunities to have their say as part of that.
"In addition to the statutory consultation process I’d urge people who may wish to let us know at this early stage anything that we may not have thought about in relation to a move to please get in touch."
Division councillor Alexandra Kemp said the formal vote to remove the Willows site from the county's waste plan was "really important."
Anti-incinerator campaigners have previously argued that its continued presence in the plan could have seen the hated project revived.
Miss Kemp said: "It’s clear that local people value the current recycling centre as there were around 140,000 visits last year.
"The most important thing will be that any move of the recycling centre is done with the absolute minimum of disruption and I’m pleased that any replacement would be on a like-for-like basis.
"It would be lovely if people not only gave us their thoughts on the move but also took the opportunity to let us know their ideas of how we could improve the Recycling Centre even more."
Anyone who wants to have their say on the proposal should email haveyoursay@norfolk.gov.uk.
