Deputation to NLWA from Cllr Tammy Palmer and Cllr Bob Hare, LB Haringey requesting a pause on this [NLHPP] project

Dear Councillor Palmer,

I am writing to you regarding your deputation to the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) meeting on Thursday 25 June 2020. This was in relation to the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP). I would like to thank you for joining the meeting and setting out the issues you wanted to draw to Members’ attention.

Following a thorough review of the proposed project, including the points raised in the deputations, I am letting you know that Members unanimously approved the start of procurement for the new Energy Recovery Facility (ERF). As promised in the meeting, we are responding in writing to each deputation. I have outlined the key points you raised and provided a response for each below, to advise you of Members’ understanding of these issues in making their decision.

In your deputation you claimed that the scale of the project has changed and that residents have not been consulted on this in half a decade. Extensive consultation was carried out prior to submitting the Development Consent Order (DCO) application, between November 2014 – June 2015 across all seven north London boroughs. This comprised a two-stage consultation process including 15 events and several meetings with community and statutory stakeholders. We also distributed newsletters to 28,779 properties within close proximity to the site and additional leaflets were left in community centres and libraries in all seven north London boroughs advertising the consultation events. NLWA hosted a website which included details of the consultation and advertised the events in the Enfield Independent, Haringey Independent and the Waltham Forest Guardian. Copies of the materials used in the consultation process can be found in the consultation report appendices here.

The DCO was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in October 2015 and following a public enquiry the Project was given consent by the Secretary of State in February 2017. During the public enquiry any person can assert their interest and their right to make representations about the application to the Inspectorate, whether this is to support or object the application. The DCO application would not have been accepted unless public consultation had been demonstrated and met requirements. NLWA continues its wide-reaching engagement on the Project with stakeholders including regular Community Liaison Group meetings which include representatives from London Borough of Haringey, newsletters, Twitter and website updates and community roadshows. With regards to your claim that the scale of the Project has changed, this is simply not true. We consulted on a facility that has capacity to manage 700,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste every year and this is the Project we are bringing forward.

In your deputation you claimed that there are a lot of unanswered questions over data, including the carbon capture abilities. We want to reassure you that we are continuing to stay abreast of the latest technologies for carbon capture use and storage. Although this is not used by the UK waste sector at present, we are carefully considering the options should it become viable in the future. At present, this technology is in its infancy and no commercial scale projects are expected to be complete until 2024 (in Norway and Rotterdam). Our current facility in Edmonton has been modernised during its life and we will want to make sure that the new facility is also capable of accommodating positive technological developments in future. NLWA will continue to consider the viability and feasibility of these technologies as they mature.

In your deputation you claimed that the time for incineration has passed and that we should focus on reducing non-recyclable waste. We agree that the focus should be on reducing non-recyclable waste. That’s why reducing non-recyclable waste is NLWA’s first priority and the NLHPP goes hand in hand with this. NLWA does more than any London waste authority to help our residents increase their recycling rates. We accept the widest range of items for recycling and our waste prevention activities are one of the most significant in the UK. In fact, the cost to Councils and subsequently the taxpayer is lower for recycling than it is for residual waste, so the incentive to maximise recycling has financial benefits, as well as environmental. At the NLWA we recognise this, and that’s why as part of the NLHPP we are investing £100m in building new recycling facilities to help boost recycling rates to 50%. This includes a Resource Recovery Facility which will be built in the first phase of the project with capacity to manage up to 135,000 tonnes of wood, plastic and metal every year. We are building a new public reuse and recycling centre for the benefit of local residents.

If you have any further questions about the Project or require any clarifications, I would be happy to answer them or arrange a briefing at a suitable time.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Clyde Loakes