Slough's Incinerator
Slough’s Incinerator puffing out smoke
The giant Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW) plant on the Colnbrook Bypass is right in the middle of the proposed 3rd Runway. It burns rubbish from more than 12 local authorities including Slough, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell and the West London Waste Authority.
It would seem that the topic of the waste plant has worryingly dropped off the Government’s latest version of the National Policy Statement (NPS). It was in the Government's draft NPS, so it is our belief that because it is such a big issue, it has been taken out of the latest NPS. Then if a 3rd runway is finally approved, the incinerator will just be re-located anywhere, with the Government ignoring a public outcry saying "we have to relocate it"!
It was also our understanding that previously, to prevent waste going back to the outdated undesirable landfill system, the new plant was to be planned, built and operational before the existing "state of the art plant" was bulldozed to make way for the proposed 3rd Runway. This scenario would obviously play havoc with Heathrow's planned runway delivery date as the process has not even started yet. Alternatively they possibly do know and are not telling the public affected, to prevent an outcry at this time.
We not only wanted to know where the incinerator would be relocated to, but we also wanted to know who is picking up the £500 million pound relocation bill. The cost of over £500million is not supposed to fall on the taxpayer. When asked at the consultation, Heathrow's answers were inadequate to say the least. They did not accept the economic case for the 3rd runway, based on their own and Governments figures, was an ever descending dive to NO benefit.
True to form Heathrow want to treat the public at their consultations like mushrooms by "keeping them in the dark and feeding them manure", and NOT telling us where the incinerator will be relocated to. When asked, a spokesperson for Heathrow said "It was not known where the new site would be" and she advised she would need to look up planning law to see who would pay the £500 million relocation cost. We explained that "Heathrow were originally liable for the cost" but she could not confirm either way if this was still the case.
The model incinerator, maps and flyers
So on the 5th of February, we took a model of the Colnbrook incinerator and printed flyers to the Heathrow consultation in the Queensmere shopping Centre in Slough. The leaflet asked Slough residents "Where is the new incinerator being relocated to, in the event that a 3rd runway goes ahead?".
Surely given the number of years spent trying to force this 3rd Runway project upon us, Heathrow do know and could share the facts. If the incinerator is to be earmarked for Slough then people have a right to know what is potentially coming to their area.
Leaflet given to Slough residents
Update 11th Feb 2019
By the end of the week, news reporter Matt Joy, from the Slough and South Bucks Observer, discovered that the incinerator could be relocated right next to the M4 & the exhaust tower will be 20m shorter than the current tower. Let us hope that when the wind blows the smoke over the proposed 3rd runway, that landing pilots remember to switch on their fog lights and wind up their windows! Cough, Cough!