Blow for incinerator campaigners as Judicial Review refused
Plus, a round-up of Calderdale folk in King's Birthday Honours.
Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead.
Despite the miserable weather, it was brilliant to see how busy two of our towns - Hebden Bridge and Todmorden - were yesterday as I was out and about.
In today’s edition we’ve got the latest on the campaign against the council’s decision to grant a permit for a controversial waste incinerator in the borough.
Plus, a round-up of all the local folk who got honours in the King’s Birthday Honours.
So, on with the news…
Incinerator campaigners to appeal after Judicial Review fight rejected
By Andrew Greaves and John Greenwood
Campaigners say that they are to appeal a decision by a High Court judge to deny them a Judicial Review into Calderdale Council’s decision to allow an environmental permit for a controversial incinerator.
Malcolm Powell – who had successfully been given permission for a review of a previous permit granted by Calderdale Council to Calder Valley Skip Hire – had sought permission from the High Court to apply for a Judicial Review of the latest decision.
But Mr C. M. G. Ockelton, sitting as a judge of the High Court, has refused his leave to apply, it has been revealed this morning.
Ward councillor Adam Wilkinson (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) posted a copy of the Judge’s decision on social media groups for campaigners against the company being allowed to run a small waste incineration plant (SWIP) at its Belmont, Sowerby Bridge, site.
Alongside copies of the document, Coun Wilkinson said: “A high court judge has refused permission for a judicial review into the granting of an environmental permit for an incinerator at Calder Valley Skip Hire’s Belmont site.
“The claimant can make a request for reconsideration.
“This is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Sowerby Bridge community following a decade-long fight against these plans.
“As ward councillors, we will be meeting with local campaigners to better understand the reasoning behind the decision and discuss next steps.”
The council’s decision was made by officers using delegated powers, while opponents of the incinerator had pressed for it to be made by Cabinet councillors.
Applicant Mr Powell sought the permit to be quashed, arguing the council had failed to give “adequate and intelligible” reasons for its decision and failed to reach a conclusion on many of the issues raised.
The council was the defendant in the case.
But in the reasons given for his judgement, Mr Ockelton said: “In my judgement it is wholly unarguable that the defendant’s decision-making process, as publicly available in the form of the Officer’s Report and the delegated Decision, does not meet public law requirements of giving adequate reasons.
“The matters that require to be set out in such a document are not those chosen by the claimant: they are those that on a fair assessment are sufficient to show why the decision was made, taking into account any representations to the contrary that have real substance.”
Mr Ockelton said the matters underlying the decision “clearly” entitled the defendant – the council – to make the decision it did.
“It undertook the necessary assessments and took into account all the relevant material available, as the decision documents demonstrate.
“It was for the defendant, not the consultant, to decide what weight to give each element of any competing factors, and whether to grant or refuse the permit.
“Nothing identified by the claimant discloses any reason why the defendant should not have granted the permit.
“In reality, the grounds merely seek to press for consideration points that were made earlier, and evaluated by the Officer and the decision-maker, but not considered weighty enough to count against granting the permit,” he wrote.
Objectors to the incinerator have expressed their disappointment over the judge’s decision on social media.
Now, Celia Cullen has posted in the Say No To Waste Incineration In Ryburn Valley Facebook group to say Mr Powell was ‘disappointed’ by the judge’s decision.
She said: “Following discussion with his legal team, the Claimant has decided that he will submit a request for reconsideration of the judicial review application.
“This will mean that the application will be reconsidered at an oral hearing at which the Claimant's barrister will present the case for permission to be granted.
“The money received through the previous fund-raising request will be enough to cover the costs of the Court Fees and legal representation of this further application.”
A complicated history has seen Calderdale Council refuse planning permission for the incinerator, and that decision being overturned on appeal to the planning inspectorate.
However, companies also have to have an environmental permit to run the incinerator, and following the company’s initial 2021 application, objectors went to law and won the right to a Judicial Review of the council Cabinet’s decision to grant the permit.
After this the permit was quashed, following which the status of the permit application was deemed to be “undetermined” and the company appealed the non-determination.
But Planning Inspector John Woolcock, citing risk to health, dismissed this after an inquiry, effectively refusing it – however, as the law stands, companies can lodge further applications, and this second application was granted by the council late last year.
Gongs aplenty for Calderdale folk in King’s Birthday Honours
By Andrew Greaves
While the headlines and column inches over the last couple of days have largely been about David Beckham ‘finally’ getting the knighthood he’s always craved, there’s plenty of extraordinary ordinary folk who have also been honoured by the King.
Here in Calderdale, we’ve had several people pick up gongs from His Majesty, recognising the work they do in public services, with people with disabilities, helping to keep people safe and more.
Here’s everyone from Calderdale (or a Calderdale connection) who has been honoured:
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Alison Margaret Knight. Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service. (Halifax, West Yorkshire)
Dr David Gordon Naylor. For services to People with Disabilities in Bradford and Calderdale, West Yorkshire. (Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Stephen Frazer Rhodes. For services to the Environment and to Emergency Response. (Halifax, West Yorkshire)
Joanne Wood. Senior Digital Product Manager, HSBC Bank. For services to Financial Inclusion and Vulnerability in Digital Banking. (Halifax, West Yorkshire)
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Stuart Bradshaw. Founding Trustee, Slow the Flow. For services to Flood Risk Reduction and Sustainable Land Management. (Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire)
A huge congratulations to all those honoured.
That’s it for this edition.
I hope you have a good rest of the weekend, and I’ll be back in your inboxes on Wednesday.
Andrew