Agenda item

            (Mrs. S. Wylie, Director of Health and Environmental Services, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Director of Health and Environmental Services reminded the Committee that Bombardier Aerospace had submitted a planning application for the proposed construction and operation of a combined heat and power generating station for the treatment of refuse derived fuel by gasification at the above-mentioned location.  The site in question, which was located within an established industrial area in the Belfast Harbour Estate and accessed from Airport Road, was currently undeveloped scrub land bounded by a fence.

            On 26th March, the Department of the Environment had written to the Council advising that Article 31 of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 had been applied to the application, designating it as one of major importance as it had considered the development, if permitted, would be of significance to the whole or substantial part of Northern Ireland and it would affect an entire neighbourhood.  That notification had sought the Council’s views on the application and had stated that, before the application was determined, the Department would either cause a public inquiry to be held before the Planning Appeals Commission, or would alternatively issue to the applicant a Notice of Opinion as to how it considered the application should be decided.

            The Director concluded by informing the Committee that a technical environmental health response had already been provided to the Planning Service, however, that organisation had now sought a fuller Council response as it had determined that the application would be dealt with under Article 31.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 18th April, it had agreed to invite the applicants of the aforementioned planning application to a future meeting to outline the plans in greater detail.  Accordingly, the Chairman welcomed to the meeting Mr. R. McFadden, Vice President of Operations Wing Manufacturing and Assembly, Mr. C. McBurney, Director of Plant Engineering, Ms. C. Eastwood, Environmental Manager,  and Ms. M. Ryan, Public Relations Advisor, in relation to the application.

            Mr. McFadden provided an outline of Bombardier Aerospace Belfast’s organisation and purpose.  He summarised the organisation’s investment in facilities, technologies, processes and products and explained that the demands on energy requirements and associated costs were continuing to rise.  Mr. McFadden described the proposed alternative energy project and outlined the key benefits for Bombardier and to the community.

            A range of questions were put by the Members to Mr. McFadden and the other representatives from Bombardier in relation to access to and from the proposed plant, the destination and sustainability of the waste product, the possibility of providing cheaper energy to local schools and/or community groups and the relationship between Bombardier and the consortium of local waste companies which would design, construct, own and operate the energy from waste facility.

            The Chairman thanked the representatives from Bombardier for their presentation and they then left the meeting.

            After discussion, the Members noted the information which had been provided and noted also that a draft response to the Planning Service would be prepared for the Committee’s consideration at a future meeting.