NATURAL Resources Wales (NRW) has deemed an application from a company in Barry to change its environmental permit as 'withdrawn'.
The decision was made after the applicant failed to meet a deadline to provide further information.
JM Envirofuels (Barry) Ltd, in Wimborne Road, Barry Dock, currently has a permit which allows it to treat and store waste wood, which is then used as fuel in energy from waste facilities.
The company applied to NRW in 2019 to increase the amount of wood waste it could treat and store, as well as proposing to treat other types of non-hazardous household, commercial and industrial waste - including metal, glass and plasterboard.
The proposal also included accepting and storing ash produced by energy from waste facilities, such as the Barry Biomass plant.
Following its own technical assessment of the application and consideration of the responses to a public consultation of the application at the beginning of the year, NRW issued a 'notice' to JM Envirofuels (Barry) Ltd in April 2020 to ask for additional information in relation to many aspects of its proposed plans.
Following a request from the applicant, NRW agreed to extend the deadline for the submission of the additional information to July, 17 2020, providing almost three months for the applicant to complete the request.
The applicant did not provide the information by the deadline and as a result NRW has deemed the application to have been withdrawn.
NRW operations manager for NRW, Caroline Drayton said: “We ensure that every application we receive is thoroughly assessed to protect nearby communities and the environment.
“The company’s plan was significantly different to what it currently has a permit for.
"Following our assessment of the application and responses we received through the consultation, it was clear that further detail was needed to show how the activities would comply with the regulations.
“The advice we received from specialist organisations together with the information we received from local people through our consultation was incredibly valuable to us.
"We thank the people who took the time to get involved.”
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JM Envirofuels (Barry) Ltd has the right to appeal NRW’s decision via Welsh Ministers and must be made by August 13, 2020.
All documentation submitted in support of the application, including a copy of all notices and responses, are available on NRW online public register.
Barry Town Council Court ward councillor, Dennis Clarke said: "This shows that when a town takes an interest in what is happening to it and works with the system, correct decisions are more likely.
“The town did respond in detail and in numbers.
“The extension, if granted, would have impacted on the town’s health.
“We can only assume that the applicant was aware of this and knew that the data, if supplied by them, would have proved the point.
“The next stage must be enforcement by the Vale to make the applicant clear up the material still on site as there is no planning permission allowing their use to continue.”
Docks Incinerator Action Group (DIAG) spokeswoman, Julia Brunskill said: "DIAG and the amazing Barry community are extremely pleased that we have been listened to on this occasion.
“We are all looking out for our future generations' health.
“With the public consultation for a large increase in waste wood and other wastes, we came out in force after taking the time to look over JM Envirofuels' application and critique it, despite no formal training.
“This shows that a community can impact decisions in their locality.
“We assume that the company has realised that the Barry community care deeply about their children and the negative health impacts that the increased permit would have had on our children’s health.
“We are now looking at the enforcement that needs to be taken on the site which has no planning permission.
“We continue our fight against developments that are detrimental to the health of Barry residents, including the incinerator."
JM Envirofuels (Barry) Ltd has been contacted for a comment.
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