Controversial £135m waste incinerator plant approved

A £135m energy from waste incinerator has been approved by councillors in West Yorkshire.

The plant will be built on land on Airedale Road, Keighley and will be capable of producing 10 to 11 MW of electricity a year, BBC News reported.

More than 3,000 people had signed an online petition against the proposals due to concerns about pollution, noise and the visual impact of the plant.

The developer, Endless Energy, has not yet commented on the decision.

The National Trust, which runs nearby East Riddlesden Hall, also objected to the plans due to the prominence of the chimney stack.

“We consider this will have a substantially harmful effect on the setting of East Riddlesden Hall,” it said.

Bradford council had been recommended to approve the plans as the development would divert waste from landfill.

Officers also said it was not likely to have a major visual impact and concerns over pollution fell under the Environment Agency’s permitting process.

The proposals were originally given planning permission in 2014 but a revised application altering the scheme was refused by Bradford Council in 2015.

The new application includes a refuse derived fuel power plant which has a 196ft (60m) chimney stack and a waste plastics melting plant capable of producing 28.5 m litres of bio fuel a year.

It is expected to create about 79 full time jobs and 300 temporary construction jobs.