Latest news with #MuckOffAcorn
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Haverhill campaigners "elated" after digestion plant is refused
Campaigners are "elated" after plans for an anaerobic digestion plant on farmland near a Suffolk town were Bioenergy wanted to build a complex that would turn manure and crops into renewable energy on land at Spring Grove Farm near said it would create jobs in the community and create enough energy to heat 7,000 homes, but the proposal received more than 1,000 a development and regulation committee meeting at the Conservative-controlled Suffolk County Council, councillors rejected the application. Acorn Bioenergy has been contacted for comment. Indy Wijenayaka, West Suffolk Council's Labour portfolio holder for growth and a spokesperson for the Muck Off Acorn campaign group, said it was "a fantastic moment"."This is a massive relief for the community and we can now start to get on with our daily lives and not have a the spectre of one of the biggest anaerobic biodigesters hanging over us like a cloud," he said."I am absolutely elated." When the plant was first proposed, more than 1,000 objections were raised, with residents lodging concerns about increased traffic and possible by-products from the were also fears the plant could eventually be used to dispose of food waste, after councils were told they must offer a food waste collection service by April defended the project, saying it would benefit the community and the wider county and also create organic fertiliser to be returned to Veitch, head of business development at Acorn Bioenergy, said the site would be "very well hidden" and be "very close to the A1307", suggesting traffic would have a lesser impact on local ahead of a meeting in which the plant was refused, planning officers raised concerns over the plant's proposed also said "insufficient information" had been provided regarding any impact on highway safety and the Bowman, a member of Muck Off Acorn, said he was thrilled the council threw out the plans. "We are elated and it really endorses what we have been saying all along that this is a ridiculous application for that location," he said. Joe Mason, Suffolk County Council member for Haverhill Cangle, also welcomed the ruling."This industrial-scale facility had no place near homes, the pre-school or our vital gateway into Haverhill," he said. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Haverhill digestion plant plan that sparked outcry faces refusal
Plans to build an anaerobic digestion plant, which has faced hundreds of objections, have been recommended for Bioenergy wants to build a site that would turn manure and crops into renewable energy, on land at Spring Grove Farm near Haverhill in said it would benefit the community and wider county, but planning officers advised Suffolk County Council throws out the application over concerns about its location.A campaigner told the BBC there were "so many reasons why this should be refused". The company behind the scheme has declined to comment ahead of the plans being discussed on Thursday. More than 1,000 objections were raised when the plant was proposed, with residents lodging concerns about increased traffic and possible by-products from the developers said the plant would create enough energy to heat 7,000 homes and bring in local jobs. They said it would also create organic fertiliser to be returned to farmers. In a document prepared ahead of a Development and Regulation Committee meeting at the Conservative-controlled council, officers raised concerns over the plant's proposed also said "insufficient information" had been provided regarding any impact on highway safety and the landscape. Mark Bowan, a member of Muck Off Acorn - a campaign group opposed to the project - said he was "delighted" that planning officers had recommended its refusal, "because there are so many reasons why this should be refused". "At the end of the day common sense has so far prevailed," he said. Indy Wijenayaka, West Suffolk Council's Labour portfolio holder for growth - and a spokesperson for Muck Off Acorn - added he was "really happy planning officers had seen the flaws" in the he added it was not yet "a done deal".
