UK’s ‘biggest’ anaerobic digestion plant blocked by protests

Plans to build the UK’s biggest anaerobic digestion plant have been put on hold following a series of protests and campaigns against it.

FD Bird & Sons wants to build an anaerobic digestion plant near Beverley in East Yorkshire. The plant would create biogas through the anaerobic digestion of organic materials, turning up to 50,000 tons of food waste destined for landfill into heat and energy for up to 10,000 homes in the East Yorkshire region.

The company claims they received permission to build an anaerobic digestion plant on the site in 2013. However, the case was brought before a planning committee made up of councillors from the East Riding area. East Riding planning officers had recommended approval of the application.

According to the Hull Daily Mail, FD Bird & Sons' plans were unanimously rejected by the East Riding councillors. The committee meeting at Beverley’s County Hall refused the scheme land off of Leven bypass to build the plant.

The Hull Daily Mail says that dozens of protesters were stationed outside the county hall during the committee meeting. In the last few months over 700 people have protested against the anaerobic digestion scheme, criticising its visual impact and questioning its green credentials.

Campaigners against the plant have apparently vowed to fight any appeals launched by FD Bird & Sons.