Cllr Clare Campion-Smith has today (Monday 27th October) backed demands from residents across Bristol to reject plans for a biomass power plant in Avonmouth ward.
The proposed site, which would be fuelled by treated waste wood, would be at the northern fringe of Avonmouth ward and away from the residential areas. However many residents and campaign groups have said not enough consideration has been given to the detriment to local air quality if the project goes ahead.
Cllr Campion-Smith, a councillor for Henleaze ward and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for Bristol North West in next year’s General Election, is the second Lib Dem to openly criticise the plans, after Cllr Tim Leaman also raised concerns over health grounds.
In 2010 plans for a biofuel plant in Avonmouth were rejected by the City Council’s development control committee after objections were raised by the Liberal Democrats at the time. The new application for an ‘11MWe bioenergy facility’ in Avonmouth ward began in July. It will be heard and determined by ‘Development Control Committee A’, a committee made up of twelve local councillors, on Wednesday 5th November.
Cllr Campion-Smith said:
“Residents have approached me in my capacity as a councillor about this application. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I understand the need to reduce the burning of fossil fuels and the importance of finding sustainable ways of generating energy but this plant is not the answer to our energy problems.
“Of course biomass has its merits and it has a role to play in our country’s move towards a low carbon economy to tackle climate change and further our energy security; biomass heating for example is virtually carbon neutral. When we were in the administration, we installed biomass boilers in some schools and these small schemes work because they use safe, known local sources of fuel. But I am very concerned about the pollution and health risks to residents in the immediate area – and to all of Bristol – when the wind is blowing strongly across the city. This is not to mention the unquantified environmental damage and health risks if flooding occurs.
“With the right safeguards in place, sustainably sourced biomass can make a useful contribution to renewable energy. However at present I am not satisfied that these potential dangers have been addressed. We should instead focus our attention on investment in other renewable sources of energy, such as solar PV and offshore wind. It is after all thanks to the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government that the UK is now the number one country for offshore wind investment.
“The planning process is not the best way to address some of these issues but it is the only way on offer for local communities.”
Cllr Tim Leaman, who represents Kingsweston ward, which covers the areas adjacent to Avonmouth, added:
“Biomass is and has often been a contentious issue. From my perspective this application has potentially negative implications for public health.
“Reports have arisen from a variety of sources regarding air quality in Avonmouth and the surrounding area being adversely affected by waste wood and carcinogenic dust. I am concerned wood-fuel handling and burning at the proposed new plant will further pollute the air and damage the health of local people. This in my view will apply not only in Avonmouth ward but in the areas that I represent in Lawrence Weston, Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle.
“The ramifications of an increase in health problems related to increased air pollution would be far reaching in terms of personal loss, decrease in the quality of life, loss of productivity, and increased costs to the NHS. These consequences will affect all age groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, and I cannot accept this as an outcome.”
