£122m Walsall incinerator well on target
Surrounded by countryside and with its chimney towering into the sky, a £122 million incinerator, which willl process waste from Walsall, is taking shape as work ploughs ahead.
The development in Four Ashes sparked complaints from residents but, as this new aerial picture shows, it is on target for its planned opening in December.
The photograph shows just how much the sprawling site is already dominating the Staffordshire landscape.
The structure, which will generate power for around 32,000 homes, can now be seen at the Four Ashes Industrial Park where it is based just off the A449 Stafford Road. Rubbish that cannot be recycled from Staffordshire, Sandwell, Worcestershire and Walsall will be brought to the site to be burned.
Work on the office block area is developing well and contractors revealed that there will be a giant bunker, which visitors and staff will be able to see from a viewing point where the rubbish will be brought. Once completed the building will also have one of the largest grass roofs in the country. At its peak up to 300 people have been working on the development.
Paul Gouland, marketing director at Clugston Construction, which is working on the project, said: "This major project is having significant benefit to the local economy during construction, with at least 87 per cent of the workforce and a large proportion of the supply chain having been sourced locally."
The Green Party attacked plans to build the incinerator, stating it is expected to cost up to £1 billion in its 30-year life.
