Say No To Green Lane Incinerator AKA Green Lane Eco Park

It’s just a few days until the start of our long awaited inquiry. The venue is set, the dates are set and the schedule is teetering on being finalised. This will likely be my final post before we begin. We have some additional information for you and also some last requests before this event, that will be so critical to the future of our area, begins.

Inquiry Conduct

Firstly, let me say that the conduct of campaign supporters and the wider community has been exemplary throughout all of our engagements with both Sky Properties and the Council.  For what is clearly an emotive situation, we should be proud that we have adopted a considered approach and should be commended for an open minded assessment of this application.

On analysis of Sky’s witness statements, we have found there are a number of inflammatory claims about residents behaviour which appear to serve no other purpose than to attempt to aggravate the attending residents in order to disrupt inquiry proceedings.  These claims are of course untrue and we have around 400 witnesses + 2 TV cameras which prove otherwise.  During the inquiry, we will not be dignifying this kind of provocation with a response.  We have come to expect goading from Mr. Hirsch and it goes without saying that we will continue to ignore his baiting in favour of our clear, rational statements of truth and fact.

Current Schedule (may be subject to change)

The latest draft schedule for the inquiry has changed slightly. It currently looks like this:
Week 1:
Wed: May 9th AM – Registration
Wed: May 9th PM – Sky Witness
Thu: May 10th AM/PM – Sky Witness
Fri: May 11th AM – Sky Witness

Week 2:
Tue: May 15th AM/PM – Sky Witness
Wed: May 16th AM/PM – Sky Witness
Thu: May 17th AM – Sky Witness
Thu: May 17th PM – Council Witness
Fri: May 18th AM – Council Witness

Week 3:
Tue: May 22nd AM/PM – Council Witness
Wed: May 23rd AM/PM – Say No Witness
Thu: May 24th AM/PM – Say No Witness
Fri: May 25th AM/PM – Reserved for Member of Public

Week 4:
Tue: May 28th – Closing Statements From All Sides
Wed: May 30th – Inspector’s Site Visit.

How to Help

Attend, attend and attend.  There is clearly a massive amount of opposition to this development, as was displayed by the unanimous decision of the Council to reject the application. In over 2 years, that opposition has neither diminished or lost momentum. This is our final opportunity to show how strongly we feel about our homes and the future of the area. It looks like we are going to have a good turn out on May 9th, but we also need to retain a presence for the remainder of the inquiry. If you can attend any other days, please make best efforts to be there, even if you can only take part for a couple of hours.  On May 9th, we will be meeting at Monton House Hotel between 9-9:30am, if you have not already sent your availability through to us, please find a campaign representative and leave your details so we may contact you should we need assistance over the period of the inquiry.

Thanks all, See you there.

Whats happening:

The Planning Inspectorate has asked that we facilitate the process of gathering information on attendees at the inquiry.  The Inquiry is currently scheduled to run between 9th May – 24th May.  Please make every effort to arrive on “May 9th” at “Monton House Hotel” to register.

The process will span multiple weeks, which will make it difficult for most people to attend everyday, so we would like to schedule attendance where possible. This should make it much easier for holidays to be booked from work and arrangements to be made.

What Information Do We Need:

Please send us the following information for each person who will attendee the inquiry:

Your Name: ****** ******

Your Phone Number: 999-9999

Your Email Address: ***@***.***

Do you want to speak at the inquiry?: YES/NO

Availability to Attend:
May 9th – YES/NO
May 10th – YES/NO
May 11th – YES/NO
May 14th – YES/NO
May 15th – YES/NO
May 16th – YES/NO
May 17th – YES/NO
May 18th – YES/NO
May 21st – YES/NO
May 22nd – YES/NO
May 23rd- YES/NO
May 24th – YES/NO

The Say No campaign will be presenting formal evidence in the later half of the inquiry.  If you want to speak as a member of the public, this will happen towards the end of the inquiry.  We encourage everyone who wants to, to speak. You have a voice and we want to ensure the inquiry hears your unique perspective on the application.

Where to send the information:

Please email the above information to: info@greenlaneecodump.org

Thank you for your continued support.

The location and impact of recycling and materials recovery facilities continues to be hotly debated. Today the BBC reported that a facility in Lancashire is receiving a stream of compliant from residents who claim the odours are making their lives seriously unpleasant.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-15864619

One local resident stated the following:

Before it was first built, there were three things they told us – it won’t be an eyesore, your property won’t be affected, and it won’t smell. Categorically all of them have been affected in a big way,” said Mr Wayne.

Do these claims sound familiar? They should, because Sky Properties push exactly the same fantastical claims.  You will also notice from the image above, that the plant in Lancashire is neither in the middle of a heavily populated residential area.. or 50metres from a children’s park.

Common sense tells us that trying to put one of these on Green Lane is ridiculous.

Many of you may already be aware, that in the last couple of weeks, Sky Properties have made an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. It amounts to an attempt to overturn the “unanimous” refusal of their application to build a waste processing and incineration facility by Salford City Council in June.

The History

It’s been almost two years since Sky started their campaign to try to dupe the community into believing that their waste site was going to be great for the area and the local residents.  In that time, they have continued to forcefully exclude any thoughts, opinions, decisions and facts presented by local residents, businesses and now the Council.

Going In The Right Direction

We are happy to report that there have been many positive developments since the refusal.  As the Bridgewater Masterplan gathers momentum we have seen a similar appeal from Anthony O’Connor (Sky’s next door neighbour) quashed, indicating that the Planning Inspectorate is aware of the issues in the area. In addition, Sky’s attempt to have the site re-included in the regional waste strategy has failed. The reasons for removing the site from the GMWDA joint development plan, have been debated at a hearing and subsequently upheld by the Inspector. The site will NOT be re-included to the regional waste plan.

What’s Going To Happen Now

Regardless of the positive developments, this fight is about to get tougher than we’ve seen so far. Our worst enemy will be complacency.  Now is the time that we need to start gathering our resources and throwing our full weight behind the Council as they defend their decision to refuse.  In the coming months, we will be working alongside the Council to help ensure that common sense prevails and that the Council’s decision is upheld.

What Do We Need To Do

We will be registering as an interested party for the appeal. This will give us the opportunity to present our information in full, so it may be assessed and used in the Inspector’s decision.  Two years is a long time and situations may have changed. Individuals and businesses may have left the area, whereas others may have move in. In some cases, we may have different community representatives and Councillors.

In the first instance we need to do the following:

• * Contact friends, family and colleagues – Notify anyone who has, is or will be affected by the outcome of the appeal.. that the appeal has arrived.
• * Contact your Councillors – Regardless of the Council rejecting the application, you need to ensure that your local Councillor is aware that the appeal has arrived, and also that you still feel strongly about the negative impact this will have on the area. Do this by email, letter or phone. You can find contact details here: http://www.salford.gov.uk/findyourcouncillors.htm
• * Keep watching for updates – We will be working with the Council to agree dates and the location for the appeal proceedings.  When we have these confirmed, we will need all hands to the pumps. Leafleting, postering and attendance at the hearing will be our top priorities.

We knew this was coming, now we have to ramp it up a notch. Stick with us and thank you for your continued support.

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Today I attended the standing room only funeral of Councillor John Cullen at St Mary’s Church in Eccles.  For those who didn’t know, John sadly passed away last week after a period of illness.

I have only known John for a short period of time, meeting him back in 2009 and subsequently working closely together with him on the Say No campaign.  In the pivotal role of Vice Chairman, John worked tirelessly for this campaign and provided strength, knowledge and guidance to assist in all of our battles and successes.  John was a kind and caring man who never failed to stand up for what he believed in. Well loved by the Council, the Community and this Campaign, John will forever hold a special place in all of our hearts and minds.

Thank you John, for everything you did for us. Thank you for your guidance. Thank you for teaching me that it’s not always the loudest man in the room who has the greatest ability to influence positive change.  You have taught us many things, not least that nice guys can win too. You are a winner and always will be.  You will be greatly missed. Rest in peace.