Bid to stop Bishop's Castle biomass plant fails

Campaigners failed in a last-ditch bid today to stop a controversial £5 million biomass plant being built in south Shropshire.

A petition handed in with more than 1,400 names on it triggered another debate on plans for land at Bishop's Castle Business Park at a full Shropshire Council meeting today.

But the majority voted to uphold the decision of the council's cabinet in October to sell the land to Bishop's Castle Biomass Power - which could spell the end of a four-year campaign.

Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council portfolio holder for waste and economy, moved to reject the petition and said the proposal had been "thoroughly aired" at an eight-day public inquiry.

He said the scheme offered the best financial and economic outcome for the land and added 37 planning conditions attached to the plant would ensure it was rigorously monitored and enforced.

He said the tendering process had been fair, open and accessible, and there was no justification for retendering.

Forty members of the dominant Tory group voted to reject the petition. There were 17 votes against from the Labour, Lib Dem and independent groups on the authority. Campaign leader Michael Dawes, on behalf of the Bishop's Castle Group, was allowed to make a five minute address to the council.

He claimed that guidelines for the sale of the site were at odds with the four-storey high power station. Mr Dawes asked: "Is the council a hard-faced oligarchy that imposes an unwanted and ill-thought out development on a small community against its will or is it a responsive body that listens to the people and responds accordingly?"

After the debate, Mr Dawes said the group would be writing to the council chief executive to see if the issue could be further examined under the informal tendering process.

He said: "Today's decision was taken on purely party political lines."

By Dave Morris