Issues Further Afield

 

Developments further afield can have a detrimental affect on our Town, this page attempts to document those potential developments so you are informed and in a position to engage with the issues

 

 

Ampthill Further Afield - Contents

 Covanta Energy | Bedfordshire Energy and Recycling Project (BEaR) | Center Parks - Warren Wood

Covanta Energy

Covanta Energy have put forward a proposal to build a larger scale Energy from Waste facility, to treat waste from not only Bedfordshire but also  Buckinghamshire. However, the local authorities are opposing this proposal as are many local residents, so Covanta have applied direct to Government for approval, which is seemingly bypassing local decision-making.

The proposed facility - known as Rookery South Resource Recovery Facility - will convert on average 585,000 tonnes of residual waste per year into 65MWe of electricity, of which 55MWe would be exported to the national grid. That's enough green electricity to power approx. 82,500 homes. The proposed site is Rookery Pit near to Millbrook. Concerns have been raised concerning the environmental impact of the facility, the enormous number of lorries that will service the site and how it will impact on the scenery of the Marston Vale.

Covanta will need to get the appproval of the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

Register Your Objections

Objections can be emailed to RookerySouth@covantaenergy.uk or you can write to Covanta, Unit 7, Water End Barns, Water End Lane, Eversholt. Beds, MK17 9EA.

To learn more visit:

Sign the Online Petition Against the Covanta Plant:

Bedfordshire Energy and Recycling Project (BEaR)

After three years, thousands of pounds spent on consultations and hundreds of hours of council officers time, the BEaR project has collapsed as DEFRA will now not stump up the £79 million needed to make the project a reality at the old Brogborough Landfill site close to junction 13 (M1).

The BEaR Project was set up by the local authorities to find alternatives to the landfilling Bedfordshire and Luton's waste. Strict Government and EU legislation require that by 2020 the amount of the UK's household waste sent to landfill has to be reduced to 35% of the levels landfilled in 1995. Currently, over 300,000 tonnes of household waste is produced in Bedfordshire and Luton each year and this figure is set to rise in the future as the area has been earmarked for more housing. A partnership was created between Central Bedfordshire Council, Bedford Borough Council and Luton Borough Council in the hope of finding the best economic and environmentally friendly solution for managing the county's waste. The preferred solution is a Energy from Waste (EfW) with Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant and the prefered location was Rookery Pit near Millbrook. However, overtime first Bedford Borough & then Luton Borough Council have withdrawn from the project partnership and only Central Bedfordshire Council remain committed to the project to the end. 

Center Parcs - Warren Wood

Center Parcs won a planning appeal to build a fifth holiday village at Warren Wood, near Ampthill, as Mid Beds District Council had originally opposed the plan.

The company is to spend £200 million on the development of its the site, Center Parcs Warren Wood, which was originally due to open in 2010. The new village will be built in an area of woodland, currently managed for commercial forestry use by the Bedford Estate. Center Parcs Warren Wood will comprise 700 forest villas, a 75-bed hotel and spa with 12 associated spa apartments and two main centres including indoor sports, swimming pool, restaurants and retail outlets.  It will also include outdoor sports and leisure facilities and a lake. The development will create 1,400 jobs among other economic benefits, according to the company.

Work on the new site has been delayed by appeals over the re-routing of footpaths and the effects of the current economic downturn. The facility is now likely to open in 2013. One consequence of the delay is that the much needed Millbrook Crossroads roundabout is unlikely to be built in the near future, which risks more deaths and injuries at this dangerous junction.

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