Permission given for fire safety water talk at controversial recycling plant
Plans for a 250,000 litre water tank that would be used to deal with any fires at a recycling facility in Abermule have been approved.
The approval comes despite objections and concerns that the proposal could affect sewage infrastructure beneath the site for water tank site.
The application for the water tank will be a central part of the Powys County Council’s new application to environment body, Natural Resources Wales for an environment permit to run the facility.
The last permit application was rejected back in March and main reason behind the refusal was the supply of water if a fire happened at the site.
At a meeting in July, members of Abermule and Llandyssil Community Council discussed the application and objected to it.
They said it was in an area known to be contaminated and that, no documentation had confirmed that it had been investigated or dealt with.
Following further discussion at the community council’s August meeting, Councillor Mark Pearce wrote to Powys, asking for a copy of the contamination remediation verification report.
He said: “Several identified underground services in close proximity to the proposed location of the water storage tank— a telecom cable, a 355mm water main and a 160mm pressurised sewer main.”
Planning officer Richard Edwards in his report that said water company Hafren Dyfrdwy had initially raised an objection in respect of the siting of the tank given that it would encroach on the exclusion zones for its apparatus within the area.
“Revised plans have been produced which have resulted in the diameter of the tank being reduced and moved slightly closer to existing units.”
“Hafren Dyfrdwy has reviewed the additional information and plan and is now happy with the proposal given that the concrete pad will disperse any loading, and as the pad is minimal depth no issues are likely to be raised.”
The bulking facility is proposed for receiving recycling collected from households across Montgomeryshire, where it will be squashed together or “bulked,” so that it can be more easily transported to processors to turn into new products.
