6:30am Thursday 16th July 2009
PLANS to build a controversial power plant in a Worcestershire market town have been shelved.
Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has pulled out of funding up to £965,000 towards the Tenbury biomass plant project because it wants to use that money to save businesses and jobs.
Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood chips to produce energy and are claimed by backers to be environmentally friendly.
However, opponents say that the environmental benefits are questionable because the fuel often has to be transported long distances in lorries and that emissions from the burning process can be harmful.
Chris Day of applicant CJ Associates said it was sad the Tenbury project, of which Worcestershire County Council was a partner, had been shelved but added it had been on hold for some time.
“We will come back to Tenbury at a suitable time with a suitable project,” he said.
Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for West Worcestershire, Richard Burt, said he was pleased to see the project “effectively dead in the water”.
“Efforts now need to be concentrated on developing the park to provide real business and real jobs,” he said.
Harriett Baldwin, Conservative parliamentary candidate, said: “I am supportive of small scale biomass projects like the 700 kilowatt wood fuel burner at Worcestershire County Hall, but I have always argued that the Tenbury business park location was ill-advised, as it is far from the grid and requires additional lorry movements through Tenbury,” she said.
An AWM spokesman said: “These are tough times for the economy and we’ve had to make some difficult investment decisions during the update of our Corporate Plan, requested by Government in response to the recession.
“The biomass project at Tenbury Wells was still in the approval process. In the present climate we are having to focus all our efforts on projects that make maximum impact in the short to medium term – protecting jobs and businesses.”
Anthony Blagg, cabinet member for waste and green environment, said: "Worcestershire County Council, as joint site owners, is as keen as anyone for positive outcomes from Tenbury Business Park. We remain supportive of the scheme in principle and will continue, where appropriate, to encourage projects that contribute to regional and national targets for energy generation from renewable sources and contribute to the environmental excellence of Worcestershire's economy."
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