Press Release from Carymoor Parish Council
Press Release from Carymoor Parish Council, issued also on behalf of Castle Cary Town Council and Ansford and Lydford Parish Councils:
Issued: 2 March 2009
Bronzeoak’s Proposed 25 megawatt Power Station at Castle Cary
Plans for the development of a gigantic power station, on the Western outskirts of Castle Cary left local Councillors reeling this week. If approved, the massive power station would dominate the local skyline at a height of 200 feet. In contrast, the pet food factory comes in at a ‘relatively modest’ 125 feet.
Although claimed to be ‘green’, the hungry power station would need feeding with 250,000 tonnes of fuel each year. And nearly all of this would come in by HGV through local communities on roads already overburdened with traffic.
The development is proposed by Bronzeoak, which operated the notorious ‘mad cow’ incinerator at Dimmer. Repeatedly threatened with closure by the Environment Agency for breaching emissions standards and causing noxious smells, it was finally shut down in 2006.
Speaking after news of this development first broke, John Newton of Carymoor Parish Council said:
“This is shocking! How could Bronzeoak with its appalling track record locally suggest such a development here? I’m all in favour of appropriately sized and sited renewable energy projects, but this oversized monster would be in completely the wrong place. People local to Castle Cary have had enough of inappropriate industrial developments. We will fight this proposal all the way.”
Bronzeoak’s ‘biomass’ power station would produce 25MW of electricity; enough to meet the daily needs of all the households in a town the size of Yeovil. However, John Newton pointed out that the Castle Cary area is already self-sufficient in renewable electricity production. 4MW of renewable power is already being generated from landfill gas at Dimmer and other small renewable plants are being built locally. “This proposal certainly isn’t ‘green’. All it would do is lead to a massive increase in HGV traffic thundering through local communities, increased carbon emissions and transmission losses in feeding power to where it would actually be used,” he said.
- ENDS -
Editor’s Notes:
Key messages from Carymoor Parish Council plus Castle Cary Town Council and Ansford and Lydford Parish Councils on Bronzeoak’s proposals are that:
1. We support appropriately sized and sited renewable energy projects
2. This proposal for a 25 megawatt power station is not green:
- Will lead to massive increase in HGV traffic on already overburdened roads
- Will increase carbon emissions
- Castle Cary area is already self-sufficient in renewable electricity production
3. Bronzeoak have an appalling track record:
- Their previous development on this site had to be shut down
- Breached Environmental emissions standards
4. We will fight this proposal all the way.
5. Photo-montage comparing height of boilers and chimney stack of proposed power station with the Towers on the West Front of Wells Cathedral attached. NB Height of Towers on West Front of Wells Cathedral are the same as that of Pet Food Factory at Castle Cary (as per attached letter from Alder King, agents acting for Pet Food Factory).
Bronzeoak Power Station Wells Cathedral Photo Montage