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Campaigners against a controversial waste plant have hit out at the leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council after she released a statement saying it is “time to move forward and heal the divisions within the community.”

They have argued the council’s decision in 2015 to grant planning permission for Hazrem Environmental Ltd to build a waste treatment facility on Nine Mile Point Industrial Estate was unlawful, due to the fact an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not carried out.

But a bid to take the council to a judicial review in an attempt to reverse the planning permission was unsuccessful, with a High Court judge throwing the case out on September 2 due to the amount of time passed since the permission was first granted.

Campaigner Dr David Platt, who led the charge to take the council to a judicial review, told Caerphilly Observer he will not be pursuing the judicial review route further, but other courses of action will be taken, with support from members of the Lower Sirhowy Valley Residents Group.

Cllr Marsden’s statement

In a statement released on September 9, council leader Philippa Marsden, who is also a councillor for the Ynysddu ward where the plant will be located, said she feels she can now offer her views on the issue with legal proceedings “reaching a conclusion”.

She said: “As leader of the council and local councillor for the ward where this proposed development would be sited, you can appreciate that I am in a very difficult position.

“I am, of course, dedicated to supporting my constituents and I completely understand the strong opposition to the proposed facility within the community and share the concerns, but at the same time I must be fair and impartial in order to allow due process to be followed.”

Cllr Marsden, who was first elected as a councillor in 2016 and became council leader in 2019, added: “I also need to stress that this is an historic issue which dates back to a period of time before I was the leader of council – and indeed before I was a local councillor.

“There are complex technical and legal arguments around this development which have been considered in court during the unsuccessful judicial review application.”

She continued: “It is now time to move forward and heal the divisions within the community. I want to assure residents that the council will continue to work with the applicant and other agencies to ensure that the proposed development continues to comply with all appropriate legislation to minimise any impacts on the surrounding community.”

Cllr Marsden also said she will be asking senior management at Hywel NMP – the company that took over the site from Hazrem earlier this year – to “provide details of their plans to engage with the community going forward”, and would like to see a residents liaison group set up.

In the same statement, the council said it was “keen to set the record straight about a number of inaccurate and misleading claims that are circulating in the community”, including accusations of corruption.

The council also denied claims the development is illegal.

Hywel NMP has been contacted for comment.

Leader criticised

Following Cllr Marsden’s statement, the Lower Sirhowy Valley Residents Group hit out at her and fellow-Ynysddu councillor John Ridgewell.

The group said: “We are sorry to hear that Cllr Marsden, and presumably Cllr Ridgewell, felt torn between their responsibilities as members of the ruling Labour cabinet and their duty to represent those who voted for them.

“It was obviously for them alone to decide which side of the fence to come down on in that situation, but we are disappointed that it wasn’t ours. 

“Finally, Cllr Marsden speaks of setting up a liaison group. We have still not given up on getting a proper assessment of the potential environmental impacts of this plant performed and mitigated, as is required by law.”

In a meeting on September 9, group members agreed to start a petition calling on both Cllr Marsden and Cllr Ridgewell to consider their positions as Ynysddu ward councillors.

The waste plant

Plans for the new waste treatment facility on Nine Mile Point Industrial Estate were approved by the council’s planning committee in December 2015.

Hazrem Environmental Ltd, the company behind the waste plant, has previously said up to 100,000 tonnes of waste would be processed annually at the site, including the sorting and segregating of waste for recycling and the production of fuel.

Emissions from the burning of natural gas used in an on-site drier would include nitrogen dioxide.

There is a fear that a weather phenomenon known as temperature inversion could be a risk to public health.

Temperature inversion occurs when cold air is trapped by warm air above, thus restricting any clouds, haze or pollution from escaping an area, such as the Sirhowy Valley.

Campaigners have argued that council officers should have asked Hazrem to carry out an environmental impact assessment before the decision was put to the council’s planning committee.

In not doing so, council officers rendered “any subsequent planning consent unlawful”, the Lower Sirhowy Valley Residents Group has said.

Earlier this year, the site of the proposed waste plant was sold by Hazrem to its directors, who in turn sold it to Hywel NMP.

Hywel NMP was set up in January this year and is backed by private equity investment firm Foresight Group, which is based in the Shard in London.

The story so far

December 9, 2015 – Hazrem’s plans to build a waste treatment facility at Nine Mile Point Industrial Estate is approved by the council’s planning committee.

Campaigners against the plans stage a protest outside the council offices in Tredomen.

July 2016 – Campaigners submit around 700 formal letters of complaint to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) about the plans

September 2016 – NRW says it is consulting further with Public Health Wales over the application by Hazrem.

September 2016 – Dr Gillian Richardson, who was then-Executive Director of public health at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB), wrote to NRW, warning that the plant’s emissions could affect local resident’s health, citing temperature inversion in the valley.

January 2017 – NRW turns down an environmental permit application for the waste plant, citing a potential “negative impact on the health of people living in the area”.

The move is welcomed by Chris Evans MP and Rhianon Passmore MS, as well as Ynysddu’s councillors at the time – Jan Jones and Philippa Marsden, who is now leader of the council.

August 2017 – NRW u-turns over its decision to reject the environmental permit application, following an appeal from Hazrem.

NRW says it will not contest the appeal, saying Hazrem included “extra technical information” in the appeal, which caused NRW to change its stance.

Rhianon Passmore MS criticises NRW and pledges to continue fighting against the plans.

September 2017 – Lower Sirhowy Valley Residents Group begins to look for £3,000 to cover legal fees as it aims to continue its opposition to the plans. The group launches a formal objection against Hazrem’s appeal for a licence to build the waste plant. A protest is held on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

October 2017 – A two-day public inquiry is held at Blackwood Rugby Club. A letter by Hollywood actor Michael Sheen is read out at the inquiry, describing the situation as “especially alarming”.

Roger Tunstall, representing NRW, said the body had “found no grounds to defend the initial refusal” following a “full and thorough consideration of the appeal”.

December 2017 – The waste plant is given the go-ahead by the Planning Inspectorate. A Planning Inspectorate report said NRW had based its decision on “worst case scenario” figures.

Chris Evans MP and Rhianon Passmore MS say the community has been “totally ignored” over the decision.

February 2018 – Residents hold a torchlit protest march at Nine Mile Point to continue the campaign against the waste plant. Attendees include Chris Evans MP, Cllr Philippa Marsden and former Islwyn MP Don Touhig.

Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, writes to NRW asking it to demonstrate how the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act is being applied during the environmental permitting process.

August 2018 – Chris Evans MP calls for a review into NRW following its handling of Hazrem’s environmental permit. He says NRW has “failed my constituents on a number of occasions”.

December 2020 – Residents group submits a Freedom of Information request to the council. After receiving a response, Dr David Platt, of the residents group, said: “We started to suspect that a mistake had been made by the planning officers back in 2015”.

January 2021 – Hywel NMP, which is backed by London-based private equity firm Foresight Group, is set up. Hazrem would later sell the site of the proposed waste plant to its directors, who would sell it on to Hywel NMP.

February 2021 – Residents group writes to the council suggesting three ways it can overturn the decision to grant planning permission to the waste plant. Included is the suggestion the council takes itself to judicial review – which would avoid compensation having to be paid out to Hazrem should the decision be overturned.

March 2021 – Council responds to letter from residents group, saying it is seeking its own legal advice – and that the residents group may have to wait several months for a reply.

Dr David Platt prepares to take the council to judicial review himself, due to concerns the council is “dragging its feet” over the issue.

May 2021 – The council’s Plaid Cymru and Independent groups call for clarity from the council over the situation, while, campaigners protest in Risca.

August 2021 – Dr David Platt’s application for a judicial review is turned down by a judge, but Dr Platt opts to renew the case, with a court date set in September to determine whether or not the council is taken to a judicial review.

September 2021 – Dr David Platt’s application for a judicial review is rejected by the High Court.

Caerphilly County Borough Council issues a statement to “set the record straight” over “inaccurate and misleading claims that are circulating in the community”.

Council leader Philippa Marsden says it’s “time to move forward and heal the divisions in the community”.

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service