Approval for a biogas facility near Anwick sparked an angry scene at a Lincolnshire planning meeting, where a man was escorted out after shouting that he was "disgusted"; opponents say the village already lives with odor, noise, and traffic from nearby industry.
Here's what to know
According to the BBC, Lincolnshire County Council has approved the final planning conditions for Stream BioEnergy UK Ltd's biogas plant beside the existing chicken processing site outside Anwick, near Sleaford. The plant is intended to handle up to 132,277 tons (120,000 tonnes) of chicken waste and similar material a year.
Plans call for eight digester tanks standing 82 feet (25 meters) tall, with the development located about 656 feet (200 meters) from the nearest homes. For residents, that proximity has raised major concerns about how it could affect daily life.
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Mervyn Head, who represents the village, said, "I still believe it's in the wrong location. It's not a good day for Lincolnshire." He added, "It will be a disaster, particularly for the people living closest."
More background
In comments to the BBC, Head said villagers' concerns stem from conditions they already face because of the neighboring Pilgrim's Europe factory, formerly Moy Park. "The issue is people in Anwick already have the odours, noise and traffic from the existing Pilgrim's Europe factory," he said. "That's a fact of life and there is an odour issue quite regularly from that factory."
From his perspective, the anaerobic digestion plant would add another source of disruption for the village, especially through smell and road traffic. Head said the development would bring increased traffic into what was "effectively the heart of the village."
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Tension in the meeting room became clear when a man in the public gallery shouted, "Can you look people in the eye and tell them they won't be affected by the smell?" before being escorted from the chamber.
What's being done?
Stream BioEnergy said it had worked with Lincolnshire County Council and introduced "robust controls" to protect residents' quality of life while better managing waste already produced next door.
The company said processing waste from the neighboring factory at the plant would remove roughly 50,000 heavy goods vehicle trips through the village each year.
The developer said landscaping would soften views of the site and that odor would be tightly controlled. Those measures were presented as a response to two of the biggest concerns raised by locals: the visual scale of the eight large tanks and the possibility of persistent smells reaching nearby homes.
Residents opposed the project despite those mitigation measures, arguing that a development can meet technical requirements and still be unfairly sited when a village is already dealing with the cumulative impacts of nearby industry.
"The whole thing for me has been a complete farce from start to finish," Head said. "No matter how good you are at controlling smell, it's never 100%. Anaerobic digestion plants always leak."
Where can I learn more?
Anwick is far from the only place where residents push back on nearby energy and industrial projects, as these articles show.
• In Western Pennsylvania, an 8-year fight ended with plans for a gas plant abandoned.
• In Channelview, residents said it should not be accepted as LyondellBasell sought expansion.
• In Kenya's Kilifi County, residents said they have limited information about a nuclear plant.
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