A PACKED Barry Town Council planning committee meeting heard how the Vale council would be in a "very difficult position" should they attempt to once again fend off plans to build a massive wood burning energy plant on Barry dockland.

Previously, Sunrise Renewables had their plans for a wood incinerator on Woodham Road, turned down by the Vale Council's planning committee in 2010. The company then won an appeal against the decision, overturning the refusal and landing the Vale council with an £80,000 bill.

At a meeting of Barry Town Council's planning committee this week (Tuesday, March 3) planning officer Clive Farrant advised the councillors that they are "not in a position to consider the issue in planning terms" because the principle plans have already been established.

He also advised that should councillors go against recommendations for a second time, they may be personally liable.

In light of the planning inspectors decision Mr Farrant noted that "there appear to be no design grounds on which to make objections", despite the plans being for a 43m chimney - twice the size of the previous stack - the same height as Cardiff's Marriott Hotel.

In front of a lively public gallery, Barry Town councillors discussed concerns surrounding the development - which would incinerate 200 tonnes of treated wood chips daily - including health fears, the impact it would have on Barry aesthetically and the adverse effect it would have on the Waterfront development as a whole.

Members also raised concerns that rather than being a slightly altered version of the current permissions, which expire in July, these are new plans masquerading as amendments.

Speaking about how the council should approach their objections - which will be submitted to the Vale council ahead of a future planning meeting - Plaid Cymru councillor Shirley Hodges (Baruc) said: “The question is whether this is a new application.

“It is a larger plant and higher stack than the previous plans. It is a different process and technology to the one proposed before.

“To me, that means it is a new application and we should repeat all of our previous concerns, as well as those which are relevant to its extra size.”

She also mentioned that the plans clashed with the council's aspirations for the Waterfront.

Fellow Plaid councillor Ian Johnson (Buttrills) said: “The last thing that our Waterfront development wants, or that local residents want to see on their doorstep, is a huge industrial setting when Barry is moving on from that point in our past.

“I also question the green credentials of this process. There appear to be much more efficient ways of creating renewable energy than this technology.”

Vale Councillor Chris Elmore, who attended the meeting as a member of the public, advised the committee that they may want to ask that a new Environmental Impact Assessment be carried out, given that the size and scope of the plant is bigger than the one proposed in 2010.

The committee agreed to submit objections based on the size of the stack, the volume of emissions, the proximity of the plant to the existing development on the Waterfront and whether it will have a bigger environmental impact than first thought.