More local views ignored again

In the last few days plans have been approved to create a new plant to reprocess food waste and create energy in the small Northampton village of Theddingworth which is near the Leicestershire boarder and the town of Market Harborough, despite objections from local residents. Welland Waste Management have been given planning permission to site a Thermophilic Aerobic Digester (TAD) and a gasification plant at Pebble Hall Farm, where they already have one unit.

One of the campaigners. Fiona Wilson, who is against the construction of the new plant said "I'm not happy with the stink the existing plant generates and I'm very concerned about the odours from the TAD - they're going to be horrendous. While another a campaigner from Welford, said it was an "industrial facility". All agree that they don't want the countryside around the village spoilt.

Northamptonshire Country Council who approved the passed the blame by making it sound like it was out of their hands and claiming that just because there was a TAD on the site it was okay to build another. Here is what Councillor Phil Larrett, chairman of the development control committee, had to say: "[Councillors] felt the emphasis within the national planning policy framework with regard to renewable energy was a significant factor." before going onto say  "Farmers are finding it difficult and many of them have diversified and if you visit this site, there are a significant amount of industrialised processes already going on." 

In the Localism Act the people where promised more say in what we wanted our communities to look like and the development within them, however their is no evidence I can see that this is actually happening. In fact all I can see is developers being given permission to develop both housing and industrial site despite local objections and real concerns. Once again we have been let down by our national Government and Local Government and the Localism Act isn't worth the paper it is written on.