Concerned locals in Newton Aycliffe have warned a “toxic” waste incinerator could impact thousands of lives writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.
Parents say air pollution caused by the facility could increase the likelihood of childhood cancers and breathing difficulties.
Protesters have renewed their campaign to stop the controversial facility from opening, and have called for an independent health and environmental review of the site before it can operate.
The Environment Agency is set to consider an environmental permit application later this year, which would allow the developer, Fornax to send the burnt waste into the air from a large 100ft chimney.
Residents in Newton Aycliffe and the surrounding villages have feared the incinerator’s opening day for more than four years, when plans were first announced.
Fornax wants to operate a “high-temperature thermal-treatment facility”, and if a permit is approved, would be able to accept hazardous and clinical waste for incineration.
The company said up to 10,500 tonnes would be incinerated per year at its new site in the business park but previously insisted there were “no environmental health or amenity issues”.
“It’s horrifying,” said Sarah Travis, who has joined hundreds of other residents in raising the Stop the Heighington Lane Incineration Plant Campaign group’s profile in recent weeks.
She added: “Aycliffe and the surrounding area is being used as a dumping ground, and residents already suffer with Ashcourt [Quarry] and the waste treatment facility toxifying the air.
We don’t want this new facility on our doorstep affecting our health or that of our children’s health, or that of the local wildlife and environment.”
Initially rejected by Durham County Council and opposed by ardent campaigners, it was later approved by the Government at a planning inquiry in 2022.
Planning inspector John Woolcock said many of the concerns were not “well founded” and the incinerator would not damage human health.
Yet, it is not just residents living in properties near the Merchant Park estate that are concerned.
The scale of the facility and amount of waste set to be burned has led to locals warning that anybody living within a 12-mile radius could be affected.
Construction on the Fornax site finished earlier this year, and is located just a short distance from schools, care homes, and playgrounds, with the UTC South Durham and Little Clubs Nursery nearby.
The incinerator is scheduled to burn waste around the clock, seven days a week, including “toxic and industrial waste”.
“A 12-mile radius could be facing decades of exposure to harmful pollutants, many invisible and long-lasting,” they added.
Parent Deborah Mitchell is concerned about the impact the contaminated air will have on her children’s health.
She said: “This incinerator will burn 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will incinerate and store dangerous and harmful substances, including materials that contain arsenic, cyanide, and mercury.”
A stark warning over potential dioxins and furans, fine particulate matter, and heavy metals has also been issued.
However, legal counsel representing Fornax at the 2022 inquiry said: “The fears concerning the impact that this scheme would have on air quality and future employment uses are entirely unfounded.”
Gary Wallace, area environment manager in the North East, said: “Our regulatory controls are in place to protect people and the environment and we will carry out a detailed and rigorous assessment of Fornax’s permit application.
“We may only refuse a permit application if it does not meet the legal requirements under environmental legislation, including if it will have an unacceptable impact on the environment or harm human health.
“We understand there is local interest in the proposed site, and we welcome comments from the public and interested groups on environmental factors that people feel are important.”
Residents, businesses, and representatives from organisations involved with the project will attend a public meeting at Heighington Village Hall on Monday June 16.
The consultation is now live on the Environment Agency’s Citizen Space site by searching for Fornax. It will run until Friday June 27.
UPDATE FRIDAY 13 JUNE: The public meeting planned for Monday June 16 has been postponed to a date yet to be confirmed. Posting on the group’s Facebook page, the organisers said: “Rather than a single one-hour meeting for up to 200 people, we’re now moving towards a more accessible and inclusive format: An eight-hour drop-in consultation at GLOW Church (12:00–20:00) with six Environment Agency officers available throughout the day and more time to engage, ask questions, and understand the issues fully.”
Bill Edgar
Reporter for the Local Democracy Reporter Service.
South West Durham News covering news across County Durham.
