Ford concerns over bid for airfield waste treatment plant

Details of the scheme will be revealed to villagers at a public exhibition on the site earmarked for the former Tarmac Topblock works, on Saturday, August 3.

Ford Parish Council has already been given a presentation on the plans by Grundon Waste Management two months ago, when some councillors expressed concerns about emissions from the ‘gasification’ of waste, superheating it to produce gases which could power up to 29,000 homes, the company claims.

Parish councillors also voiced fears about the impact of the many lorries visiting the site each day.

Trevor Ford, chairman of the parish council, said the site had been identified by West Sussex County Council as a possible waste treatment plant and in a public consultation had referred to a figure of 150,000 tonnes of waste. However, Grundon was now proposing to handle up to 250,000 tonnes.

“We are worried about lots of issues,” said Mr Ford. “We are not experts in pollution, but we understand there are different levels of pollution control in, for example, Switzerland, than there would he in the UK for this kind of scheme.”

Grundon said its proposals would ‘focus on technologies that maximise the recycling and recovery of waste resources’.

Andrew Short, estates director for the company, said: “We are moving from a throwaway society to one of a circular economy where all wastes are viewed as resources. Our new site at Ford will make a significant contribution towards ‘closing the loop’ and in assisting West Sussex achieve its zero waste to landfill target.”

He added that Grundon, a family company, was ‘committed to meaningful and transparent community consultation’ and was looking forward to engaging with the community over the proposals in the coming weeks and months.

The company claims its proposals would make good use of a redundant, brownfield industrial site, renovating existing buildings where possible. The plant would recover materials for reuse and generate clean, sustainable energy for the equivalent of 29,000 homes, and create approximately 60 direct jobs.

Grundon also states that its ‘Circular Technology Park’ would result in a decrease in traffic movements over the previous permitted use at the site.

It is in talks with the various authorities and has submitted a scoping report to West Sussex County Council’s planning team to seek its views on what a future planning application should include and what technical reports would be required. A copy of the Scoping Report has been uploaded to the project website www.circulartechnologypark.co.uk where more details of the project can be found and comments can be made.

The public exhibition on the Tarmac site on August 3 is from 11am-3pm. Access to the site will be from Ford Road, Ford.