AN ENVIRONMENTAL group's bid to legally overturn planning permission for an "ash dump" in Barry Docks has been thrown out by the High Court

The Vale of Glamorgan council passed planning permission for ash from a Cardiff Incinerator to be stored outdoors and then reprocessed on a site at Barry docks.

Although applicants Raymond Brown Ltd have informed the Vale council that they no longer intend to operate from the site, the permission still stands should another company wish to operate on Barry docks.

The Barry Friends of the Earth associated Docks Incinerator Action group called the plans "environmental madness" and took the Vale council to court in a bid to overturn the planning permission entirely.

The basis for the legal action being on six separate grounds, including that the council had wrongly classified the bottom ash as "non-hazardous", that it had failed to consider dust emissions, and that it hadn’t properly consulted Public Health Wales.

The Vale of Glamorgan council have issued a statement this week confirming that the High Court has found in favour of the authority and will allow the decision to stand.

The judge, The Honourable Mr Justice Coulson, stated that the application for judicial review “must fail” as it amounted to an attempt to re-argue the merits of the original decision and was therefore without foundation.

Marcus Goldsworthy, head of regeneration and planning at the Vale of Glamorgan council, said: “The council is extremely pleased with this decision which vindicates all the hard work of both officers within our planning team and the members of the planning committee itself.

"This application was considered properly and thoroughly prior to committee making a well informed and reasoned decision.

“The council will now be seeking to ensure that all of the costs it incurred in defending its decision in the courts are recovered from the claimant.”

Keith Stockdale, Docks Incinerator Action Group co-ordinator said that the group were disappointed with the results of the hearing but remained positive that the site will remain ash free for the foreseeable future.
He added that the group would not be pursuing an appeal.
“We’re being realistic,” he said. “We have decided it would be a bit risky to go to appeal.
“I don’t think the developers are coming though. We may have lost the court case but I think we won the case against the developer.”