Plans to create a controversial multimillion-pound waste facility in the north-east are to go out for public consultation.
More than 200 objections have been lodged against a proposed £150million incinerator which is poised to be built in Aberdeen, but would also serve households in Aberdeenshire and Moray.
The scheme has been designated for a derelict industrial site at East Tullos and would be able to take in 150,000 tonnes of waste a year – both household and commercial.
As of 2021, Scottish councils will be banned from putting any biodegradable waste into landfill.
It is expected the incinerator would be operational by then, if it gains planning approval, and would produce low-cost energy – about 10mw of electricity and/or 20mw of heat for local users.
Around 40 new jobs are also expected to be created.
However, local residents in the surrounding communities of Nigg, Cove, Altens, Torry and Kincorth have raised concerns over the plans claiming the incinerator would impact on the environment, traffic flow and public health.
Under the current proposals thew plant would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with heavy goods vehicles driving to and from the site between 7am and 7pm.
Yesterday, during Aberdeen City Council’s planning committee meeting, members unanimously agreed that a public hearing should take place before the full council before the proposals take any further steps forward.
Councillor Jean Morrison, convener of the council’s zero-waste sub-committee, said she welcomed the news of a public hearing.
She said: “There have been a number of objections coming in, and I think it’s really important that the local community – as well as people from the rest of the city who object – have the opportunity to raise their issues with the project and get the answers they require.
“Whether these answers will be the answers they are looking for remains to be seen, but it’s really important the council allows the community the right to be heard.
“The residual waste that we have in the city, rather than put it into a landfill, would have to be exported outside of the area, but with this plan we can keep it in the area and use that waste to create energy and heat, and most importantly build a heating network in Torry to afford the community low-cost heat, which to me is one of the greatest benefits.”
The date for the public hearing is still to be set.
