A £500m energy-from-waste project earmarked by Urbaser Balfour Beatty for land at Javelin Park near Haresfield, Gloucestershire, has been approved by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles after a recovered appeal.
His decision was in line with the recommendation of the planning inspector who considered the case.
The county council’s planning committee had refused the scheme against the advice of officers and even though the council had decided in principle to enter into a contract with the consortium to deal with the county’s waste.
Opponents had highlighted the visual impact of the facility at a location close to the edge of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
However, the minister concluded that the project, which would generate over 17 megawatts of power as well as heat, had substantial public benefits which were not outweighed by ‘less than substantial harm to the settings and significance o the two heritage assets [in the vicinity] ‘.
