Urbaser Balfour Beatty Engaging with Local Stakeholders

The proposed energy from waste facility at Javelin Park will provide an alternative to landfill for the household waste generated in Gloucestershire. Energy from waste technology has the ability to recover the most value from the rubbish we throw away, through recycling and the generation of heat and power.

Commenting on the proposal, Javier Peiro, Project Director, stated, “Gloucestershire County Council must ensure adequate treatment capacity for waste generated in the county, which is currently landfilled at significant cost to the tax payer. The proposed facility at Javelin Park will provide an urgently needed solution for dealing with this waste now and in the future.”

Urbaser Balfour Beatty (UBB) has been engaging with interested local businesses that could make good use of the heat generated from the process. By recovering heat as well as electricity, the efficiency of the plant will be maximised and even more fossil fuel carbon will be avoided.

Project Director Javier Peiro commented, “We are exploring the opportunity of offering the low carbon energy, which would be produced at Javelin Park EfW facility, to interested local businesses. Looking to the future, we are also considering how the plant can be made ready for new developments, ensuring that opportunities for low cost, low carbon heat energy are available throughout the life of the facility.”

As well as talking to local businesses about potential heat use, Urbaser Balfour Beatty have started to work with the local supply chain, to source materials and services from within the county. The contractor also plans to ensure employment and apprenticeship opportunities benefit local people.

Javier Peiro, Project Director, added, “Engaging with the local community is an ongoing commitment for Urbaser Balfour Beatty. We have been pleased with the level of interest in this proposal and are grateful of the opportunity to speak to such a wide range of people about their concerns and aspirations for the facility. In particular, we have been responding to people’s concerns about traffic, visual impact and emissions, and explaining how these potential impacts will be appropriately managed and mitigated.”

UBB’s engagement programme was launched at the public exhibitions in 2011, with 335 people attending the July event and 253 people in November. Since then, UBB have been discussing the proposal in depth with local political, community and business representatives, ensuring the benefits of the scheme are maximised. The UBB team have so far met with Stroud District Council, Gloucester City Council, the Parish Councils of Haresfield, Hardwicke and Quedgeley, Stroud Rotary Club and the Gloucester Environment & Ecology Forum.

The Environment Agency is currently consulting on the Environmental Permit application submitted by Urbaser Balfour Beatty, with public drop-in sessions recently held in Quedgeley, Stroud and Hardwicke. The Environmental Permit ensures the protection of human health and the environment and is needed before the plant is allowed to operate.