Bottling plant to appeal against demolition order
A GLASS company that has been ordered to demolish its Cheshire bottle manufacturing and filling plant within 18 months, putting around 600 jobs at risk, says it will appeal.
Quinn Glass’s factory, the biggest bottling plant in Europe, sits on the former site of the Ince B power station at Elton in Chester and was completed in 2005 on the basis of planning permission for a smaller facility.
The company has been served an enforcement notice by Cheshire West and Chester Council to cease production at the site within nine months, and to demolish unauthorised buildings within 18 months.
The notice follows a legal case brought by rival firm Dublin-based Ardagh Glass, which argued that because part of the site was built without planning permission it violated UK and European law, which demands that planning consent must not be given for such projects without first carrying out a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment.
But in a judgement made on April 8, Ardagh lost its argument in the High Court that retrospective planning permission cannot be granted for the Elton plant.
Quinn said the enforcement notice was issued by Cheshire West and Chester Council by way of protecting their regulatory powers under the four year immunity rule, and added it will be appealing this in view of the fact that a comprehensive planning application has already been with the local authorities since January 2008.
A planning application to “regularise the existing development”, submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council, remains to be determined but the council said it is waiting for further necessary information from Quinn before deciding when the matter will go before committee.
Quinn said in a statement: “The enforcement notice does not take effect until 29 May and in the meantime Quinn Glass will be appealing in order to allow time for a proper and full determination of the planning submission.”
It added: “We are pleased now to note that the local authority have stated that they are again considering when to bring the application before their planning committee.”
