£30m Southport energy plant to create 100 new jobs

Plans for a multi-million pound waste-to-energy plant in Southport have been given the go-ahead by Sefton Council, paving the way for the creation of 100 new jobs.

Condy Lofthouse, the Liverpool-based architecture firm, has secured planning consent for a £30m project to transform a major local eyesore into a facility that will generate enough power to heat 1,000 homes.

Funded by Iona Capital, the plant will include an anaerobic digestion facility, biomass boiler and waste transfer station with a combined annual capacity of 162k tonnes of non-hazardous and inert waste.

Construction is due to begin early next month, with Newcastle-based contractor Surgo appointed to the project.

Andy Armstong of Condy Lofthouse, who designed the scheme and managed the planning application, said: “This is the most modern facility of its type in the region and the way it utilises and processes different waste sources makes it one of the most environmentally efficient, too.

“The facility will turn co-mingled municipal waste into energy as well using green waste, food waste and residual waste.”

He continued: “It’s a ground-breaking investment and is part of the country’s move towards district power generation and storage and away from ‘mother lode’ power sources like Hinkley C. Within five years facilities like this will be much more common and our energy mix more stable as a result.”

Planning permission was at first delayed while councillors assessed the plant’s potential impact on nearby houses and roads.

The site’s first energy will come on stream by March 31 2017 and be powered entirely by its own output.

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