Three possible Merseyside incinerator sites withdrawn

Jun 24 2009 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

Cllr Tony Robertson

Cllr Tony Robertson, leader of Sefton Council, said: “People who have been faced with having waste facilities near where they live or children go to school, will be relieved that that’s no longer on the agenda.

“But that’s only in the context that the problem has not gone away – it’s still there, it’s just a matter of how it’s dealt with.”

MEAS is now looking at two sites each in Wirral, Knowsley and Halton, and one in Liverpool. Six of those will definitely be put forward to the next stage of the process, while one in Halton – the former Johnson’s landfill site – is being discussed further with Halton Borough Council and the land-owner.

Wirral’s graving dock site was removed from the list after Wirral Council and owners Peel Holdings said using it for “high-intensity waste management” would hamper the £4.5bn Wirral Waters development.

Liverpool City Council told MEAS the land next to Speke sidings was already earmarked for development.

The land had recently changed ownership and could be the location for the “next big employment/ business development in south Liverpool”, the council said.

The city’s executive council member for assets and development, Cllr Peter Millea, also told the Daily Post: “It sounds like it’s just some railway sidings but to the eastern side it’s not far from the Speke Estate and to the north it’s not far to Hunts Cross. We regard that as too close to houses.”

MEAS will now draw up a “preferred options report”, which will be published in September before another round of consultation.

The seven sites >>