When council leader Philippa Marsden announced a review into the decision to grant planning permission for a controversial waste plant she said it was important to be “open, honest and transparent”.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s 2015 decision to allow Hazrem Environmental Ltd to build a treatment site in Cwmfelinfach is believed to be unlawful because an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not carried out.

Campaigners have kept the pressure on the council to explain why permission was granted – including High Court action.

Cllr Marsden faces extra pressure over the issue because the site of the plant at Nine Mile Point is within her council seat of Ynysddu. The council elections are in May next year.

In October this year, Cllr Marsden promised an internal review into how the 2015 decision was made. This has now been completed, but the council is refusing to make the result of it public – despite the earlier assurances of openness and transparency.

The reason for this is because the council conducted the review as part of its formal complaint process. Because of this, the only person allowed to see it is campaigner and resident David Platt, who was classed as the complainant.

A council spokesperson said it is standard procedure to carry out an internal review when a complaint of this nature is made.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer, Dr Platt said: “This was not an internal review – it was just complaint handling.”

He accused the council of sharing the report with the council’s corporate management team and has complained about this to the Information Commissioner.

Dr Platt also called for an external review into the planning permission and said: “We’re not looking for anyone to blame, we just want to know what happened and if there’s a chance for a proper environmental assessment.”

To complicate matters further, Dr Platt claims the findings of the review have been incorrectly shared by the council and has lodged a complaint to privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Lower Sirhowy Valley Residents Group member Jan Jones, a former Ynysddu ward councillor, said the group was disappointed with the council’s review.

She said: “We wanted an independent review, not an internal review.”

New applications

Hywel NMP has applied to Caerphilly County Borough Council for permission to fit a water tank and sprinkler system in the waste plant.

However, this has been submitted as a new application, and not as an amendment to the existing planning consent granted in 2015.

Campaigner David Platt said he believes this application should have been made as an amendment, not as a seperate application.

He told Caerphilly Observer: “Natural Resources Wales [NRW] has tightened the rules significantly since 2015 because they’ve realised an awful lot of waste disposal plants go up in smoke.

“They want a really good drench system just in case there ever is a fire. Basically NRW won’t allow this plant to operate without one – it’s as simple as that.

“If the council turned down this application, they can carry on and build the plant to their hearts’ content, but NRW will never allow them to switch it on.”

He continued: “This sprinkler system is useless without the plant and the plant is useless without the sprinkler system. So you’d think surely this would be an amendment to the existing planning consent – not a separate application.

“I believe it should have gone in as a Section 73 application to amend the existing planning.”

He said if a Section 73 application went in, it would bring the issue of an environmental impact assessment back into the fore.

Meanwhile, Hywel NMP has also submitted a non-material amendment to their initial planning consent to take out the on-site dryer.

Initially, there were concerns that emissions from the burning of natural gas used in the dryer would include nitrogen dioxide, leading to a weather phenomenon known as temperature inversion – which 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.

However, research carried out by NRW has since eased these fears, according to Dr Platt.

He added: “My concern here is that plant was originally scoped as a Schedule 1 development and a Schedule 1 development is assumed to have significant environmental impact until proven otherwise.”

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 later 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”.

More than 400 protesters gather at the site of the planned waste plant.

October 2021 – Council launches internal investigation into the planning permission given to the waste plant. Campaigners say nothing will change despite the investigation. Internal investigation concludes on October 22.

November 2021 – A motion calling on an external independent investigation into the planning permission is tabled by Blackwood independent councillor Kevin Etheridge. It is rejected by councillors in a heated full council meeting.

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service