Waste management facility under scrutiny
A COMMUNITY liaison group has been established to work with developer Sky Properties on its proposed renewable energy facility in Salford.
If the Green Lane Eco Park – which is based on industrial land off Green Lane in Eccles – is given planning permission, it will generate sufficient electricity for 15,000 homes and create 50 full-time jobs.
Sky Properties has organised a programme of consultations to gauge residents’ opinions on the proposed development prior to it being submitted to Salford Council.
The first meeting was attended by 130 residents of Monton in addition to Salford MP Hazel Blears and it was agreed that the community liaison group will be established.
Residents raised their concerns over increased traffic at the meeting.
Anthony Hirsch of Sky Properties said that the site was designated for development and that traffic would increase irrespective of whatever scheme was proposed.
He said: “We’re delighted by the response to the initial dialogue with the Monton community led by Sky Properties, and that Hazel Blears MP has offered to assist in the consultation.
“We have resolved to go forward with a focused Community Liaison Group of around 20 Monton residents to concentrate on key issues.”
If the planning application goes ahead, the Eco Park will treat and manage about 240,000 tonnes of business waste each year through a materials recovery facility (MRF), an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant and a gasification plant.
The MRF would be able to sort 100,000 tonnes of recyclable materials including paper, cardboard, glass and cans per annum.
The AD plant would be capable of processing about 60,000 tonnes of food and other biodegradable waste to generate renewable energy.
The gasification plant would have a capacity of around 80,000 tonnes per annum to convert residual, non-recyclable waste into renewable energy in the form of heat and power.
The gasification plant – which will be built by Energos which is a division of Salford-based sustainable energy business ENER-G – will have the capacity to convert about 80,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste a year into renewable energy.
