TWO MPs, a Welsh Assembly member and a county council leader have all backed village protests against plans for a waste incinerator plant near a primary school and homes.

More than 100 letters and emails objecting to a thermal waste treatment plant at the Severnbridge Industrial estate in Portskewett have been sent to Monmouthshire planners.

A public meeting over the plan was attended by around 100 residents at Sudbrook Trinity Church earlier this month, while more than 50 people held a protest outside the former Tata Steel storage site last week (Monday, July 17).

Monmouth MP David Davies said: “I have been contacted by numerous residents who are concerned about this application and I believe their concerns are perfectly valid.”

DPS Process Solutions wants to install two 15m-high chimney flues to convert up to 20,000 tonnes of medical waste, car parts and plastics into electricity, plus six steel storage containers. The waste will be imported over the Severn Bridge from England.

Urging the council to carefully examine the effects on the environment and people, plus the firm’s business model, Mr Davies added: “It is important to alleviate any perception that the company is simply being paid to burn waste and the electricity generation is an attempt to portray this as a “green” process.”

Newport East MP Jessica Morden said residents had raised concerns that there had been a lack of consultation about the plan, close to Archbishop Rowan Williams Church in Wales School and homes.

Concerns included air pollution, the type of medical waste to be burnt and noise and traffic from a round-the-clock operation.

Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay said residents feared for air quality and felt the plan was “wholly unsuitable” for a small village.

Monmouthshire council leader and Portskewett and Sudbrook ward member Cllr Peter Fox (Con) said he shared residents’ fears of emissions “which could be disastrous in many ways, possibly including health issues and the constant living with any odours”.

Resident Dennis Boyett claimed the wind could carry pollution to the school grounds 500m away, which was “completely unacceptable”, while Bethan Hansen said: “We and our children should not be subjected to breathing in the dangerous fumes. It should be built away from a residential area.”

Dr Alex Leigh added: “Exhaust gases from industrial processes and car engines have been linked to excess respiratory and cardiovascular deaths in industrialised countries for half a century. The majority of these excess deaths occur in very young children and the elderly – a significant proportion of the local population.

“It is completely irresponsible to site a plant of this nature in close proximity to any population centre.

Darren Lloyd added: “I find it incredible that no other site can be proposed other than placing this in the middle of a residential area where so may kids play in their gardens.”

The closure of the Sudbrook paper mill had resulted in a “vast improvement” in the air quality, said Sam Postle, but “this proposal will reverse any headway made in the villages of Portskewett and Sudbrook.” 

Anne Benkins, who attended last week’s protest, said: “There is potential for the emission of toxic waste into the atmosphere which would adversely affect people and the environment.”

An independent air quality assessment submitted by DPS said emissions would fall within accepted limits, with “negligible long-term effects”.

James Woodcock, of Monmouthshire Business and Enterprise, backed the plan, saying it would provide an alternative treatment technology test centre and create 20 jobs.