300 jobs in pipeline with Bloxwich waste plant bid
Around 300 jobs will be created if a new waste and energy plant earmarked for approval in Walsall gets the go ahead, it emerged today.
Up to 300,000 tons of rubbish would be treated every year at the proposed plant, on industrial land off Fryers Road, Bloxwich.
Some of it would used to generate renewable energy. The scheme submitted by BH EnergyGap is recommended for approval by planning officers and is expected to create more than 250 jobs over three years while the development is being built, alongside 50 permanent positions.
Concerns have been raised by councillors Tim Oliver and Shaun Fitzpatrick regarding emissions and traffic generation from the site, and 11 letters of objection from residents and businesses have been received.
Transportation officers and the highways department have raised no objections.
Operations would take place in a main process building which will include a tipping hall, waste processing hall, furnaces, boiler area flue, gas treatment area and turbine hall. Waste would be collected by companies and delivered to the site where it would be weighed and delivered to a tipping hall.
It would then be sorted and separated recyclable materials would be stored in the building prior to export for reuse at recycling facilities in the local area.
Residual material would be shredded and prepared as a fuel feedstock prior to an advanced thermal treatment , called gasification, which is part of the process used to produce electricity which is then exported into the National Grid.
During the construction phase of the plant, in excess of 250 roles in administration, construction, instrumentation, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering would be created. Around 50 full and part-time workers would be required when the facility becomes operational, of which 20 would require specialist skills and 30 could be recruited from unskilled or semi-skilled backgrounds.
A report, which is due to be discussed at a council planning meeting on Thursday, says the scheme is expected to 'bolster' the local economy and address a shortage of waste processing facilities in the region.
In the report to the committee, head of planning David Elsworthy said: "Having carefully considered all the material planning considerations and the concerns of residents and local businesses, the proposals are considered acceptable."
The facility would operate on a 24-hour basis,with deliveries between 7.30am and 7pm on weekdays and 7.30am to 1pm on Saturdays.
