High Court decision deferred till New Year

The High Court case concluded at 1pm today, with the Judge Wyn Williams adjourning his decision until some time in January.  Yesterday, we had good coverage on BBC Wales and today an article in the Echo:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/cardiff-council-attacked-over-city-6415351

Barrister Alex Goodman whose acting on behalf of CATI’ Pauline Ellaway told the Judge that Cardiff council had flouted regulations and allowed waste management firm Viridor to build in Splott when it should not have done so.

Dubbing the council’s actions “procedurally inept” he claimed the authority’s reports and consultation process were flawed and that it failed to stop work when it should have.

Mr Goodman said CATI’s “submissions fell on deaf ears because work was allowed to proceed.  No robust action was being taken in respect of development that was continuing apace.” 

Best thanks to our Pauline for staying the course!

CARDIFF INCINERATOR FIGHT GOES TO HIGH COURT

CARDIFF INCINERATOR FIGHT GOES TO HIGH COURT

Cardiff campaigners against a giant incinerator at Trident Park, between Splott and Cardiff Bay, have renewed their fight at the High Court.

  Acting on behalf of local residents, environmental law firm Buxton's of Cambridge have submitted fresh applications to stop building work on the site by multinational corporation Viridor.

  In particular, Cardiff Against the Incinerator (CATI) campaigners want a High Court judge to quash the recent decision by Cardiff Council not to enforce planning consent conditions after six months of unlawful work on the site. Their original submission has been reformulated in the light of recent council decisions.

  CATI chair Robert Griffiths today accused the Cardiff Council of undermining the law by allowing building work to proceed without the necessary permits and permissions.

  'The whole planning permission process has been an undemocratic shambles. The wishes of local people and businesses have been ignored and councillors have tied themselves in knots as officials have tried to steamroller Viridor's scheme through the council', he declared.

  CATI have already secured agreement from the High Court for a swift judgement on its application to halt building work and enforce planning conditions on the company.

  But now campaigners have to raise £3,000 towards the costs of the court challenge. 

  'We are confident that local residents and businesses will respond generously to our appeal, knowing that an incinerator presents major health, safety and environmental hazards', Mr Griffiths insisted.

  He dismissed recent claims by Viridor and Cardiff Council that the scheme could bring extensive and cheap piped hot water to the city as 'a pipe dream full of hot air', pointing out that similar pledges have rarely materialised in relation to other incinerators across Britain.

END

1]  The request to the Cardiff High Court lodged on 26^th  March is for the following:

a)      An order quashing the grant of subsequent applications approval dated 25 February 2013;

b)      A declaration that the decision of the Council to treat the subsequent applications approval as retroactively permitting the unlawful works and rendering enforcement action inexpedient was unlawful;

c)      An order requiring the Council to reconsider enforcement action against the unlawful works;

d)    An order directing the Council to issue an enforcement notice and/or stop notice prohibiting further continuation of unlawful development;

 [2] 25-year contract for £600million between the 5 Local Authorities, of which Cardiff will pay ~£250 million.  The Council voted through the Labour Cabinet recommendation, without referring it to the Scrutiny Committee and with Labour and Tory groups supporting it en bloc.

 [3] Entirely unsuitable for the Splott and Cardiff Bay site on grounds of lorry traffic, flood risk, hazard to health and processing  hazardous ash. It's also unsuitable for use of the huge quanities of waste heat, because the claims for a city-wide pipe network are unviable fantasy, not part of a full district heating scheme meeting the big seasonal variations in demand.

Appeal for our Community Legal Action fund 

Please contribute to our £3,000 legal action fund. You can do this by:

Making a donation by cash or cheque (made payable to 'CATI') and sending it to CATI, 58 Janet St., Splott, Cardiff CF24 2BE.

Donation to an accredited CATI representative (who will have proper ID).

Phoning David Prosser on 029 20791993 (h), 07504 323422 (m) or emailing us at cardiffagainsttheincinerator@gmail.com  to arrange a visit.

Paying online into our account (The Cooperative Bank, Sort Code 08-92-99 Account No. 65423583) or at the Bank in High Street, central Cardiff.

Paying online via PayPal at www.ukwin.org.uk (add “for CATI/Cardiff” in the comment box on second page, called 'Review Donation').

Notes to editors:

[1] The applications to the High Court have been submitted by Richard Buxton and Partners on behalf of local resident Pauline Ellaway.

[2] The case will be heard in Cardiff and a judgement is expected within the next six weeks.

[3] The applications are to quash as unlawful the decisions of Cardiff Council on February 13 and 25, 2013, retroactively permitting unlawful work and declaring enforcement of planning consent conditions 'inexpedient'; and to issue a court order requiring the council to reconsider its actions and whether to an enforcement and/or stop notice in relation to unlawful development at Trident Park.

[4] Robert Griffiths can be contacted on 07790 8841337 (m) and Pauline Ellaway on 07837 346114 (m)  029 20318519  (h)  

High Court challenge lodged to stop work on Splott incinerator site

• By James Al-Mudallal, WalesOnline
• Mar 29 2013

Read more: Wales Online http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonline/cardiff-news/2013/03/29/high-court-challenge-lodged-to-stop-work-on-splott-incinerator-site-91466-33080967/#ixzz2OwICSbR8

The fight goes on - The Prosiect Gwyrdd Scam

Prosiect 'Gwyrdd' TOXIC Terrace leading to Dead End

The Prosiect Gwyrdd Scam

The unprincipled partnership board blunders on in choosing Viridor as preferred bidder.

# P Gwyrdd ignores this company's “grave misconduct” in building their Cardiff/Splott incinerator unlawfully – Cardiff Council is complicit in Vriidor's law-breaking.

# P Gwyrdd was biased to incinerators from the start; now incinerators are proving more costly and outdated.

# P Gwyrdd partners agreed to limit recycling and composting, to guarantee 35% of waste goes for incineration, yet incineration is more costly than recycling.

# P Gwyrdd was set on a 25-year contract from the start and refused to look for normal shorter contract periods (eg. Bristol's 9 years at Avonmouth); they would bind Council taxpayers to Viridor even though better and cheaper waste treatments and recovery are being developed.

# P Gwrydd falsely says they will only burn "waste which cannot be practically recycled or composted" when they are guaranteeing waste volumes (or payment in lieu) equal to 35% of the municipal waste.

# P Gwyrdd's proposed guarantee of 172 000 tonnes per annum ignores the Welsh government target for reducing municipal waste (by 1.2% per person per annum), which means 30% too much by the later years of the contract.  In fact, waste volumes have been decreasing faster than this since 2005.

Max Wallis protests Prosiect Gwyrdd at Senedd

Max Wallis of CATI says "it's a great scam.  Council officials claim Councils  are bound into this contract, when independent QC advice says not.   Russell Goodway (chair of PG) refused to challenge the project - this needs to be overturned by the other Councils as well as his Cardiff colleagues."

Cardiff Labour Cllrs  falsely say Viridor has planning permission for the Splott incinerator.  Cardiff Council officials themselves say (report to 9th Jan Planning Committee) the current construction is "unlawful".

Worse they pretend the incinerator ash is non-toxic and can be re-used, yet Cardiff Council's own consultants (Atkins) reported in October that some ash is so toxic that it's classed as hazardous waste. 

Cynically called  Project Gwyrdd (Green), Cardiff Council and Councillor Russell Goodway - are locking themselves into a 25 year PFI-style contract, bribed by 25% subsidy from the Welsh Government.

High Court Action launched against Viridor's unlawful 

development of an incinerator in Splott/Cardiff Bay.

Finance costs and the Business Case have completely changed since P Gwyrdd drew up their outline business case in 2009-10.  Waste volumes have decreased and recycling has soared.  Yet the revised Business Case has been kept secret.  Russell Goodway and P Gwyrdd officials hope to bounce it through all 5 Councils with minimal scrutiny before end of March.

Where is the scrutiny! The fight goes on!

Cardiff ignores the fact that the Viridor incinerator is being built illegally.

CATI Cardiff against the incinerator High Court Action launched against Viridor's unlawful development of an incinerator in Splott/Cardiff Bay.

The unlawful development started in July last year, and Cardiff council has repeatedly refused or delayed taking any action.

The High Court application seeks an Order that Cardiff issue a Stop Notice and/or issue enforcement proceedings, with a hearing within 22 days, with expedited substantive hearing of the case within 8 weeks.

Dirty business

Splott residents were 'assured' by Labour candidates who told them they were against the incinerator. But they have been pretty quiet, accepting officials' pretentious barring of their participating in votes and discussions on the Viridor incinerator.

And the the Splott residents will be distressed to find there neighbourhood full of lorries from all over south-east wales to feed the massive incinerator.
Residents of new luxury flats in Cardiff Bay will get toxic smoke from the incinerator drifting past their windows and balconies...happy days!!

Dodgy advice!!

Business advisor to Councillor Russell Goodway is Tara King, who led the Prosiect Gwyrdd team at £70k pa before moving to a higher-paid council post.  She assured the Council committee that Viridor's incinerator ash is "non hazardous", despite CATI's evidence to the contrary; then the Council's consultants (Atkins) agreed with CATI that the ash is potentially hazardous and Viridor's claim of it being "inert" is wrong.

Guide on the new ‘consultation’

Cardiff Against the Incinerator

Guide on the new ‘consultation’

Dear Friend,

CATI and our lawyers have found formal errors in the new 'consultation'; as we wait for the Council to correct them, the 26th December deadline for responses is invalid. But we'd like our supporters to write/e-mail back short responses, using points below.

Most important is that the Council conceded in response to our lawyers' deadline, that 'enforcement' to stop Viridor is on the Agenda for the 9^th January Planning C'ttee Meeting.

We have to pay for our lawyers so far and expect they'll have to take legal action after 9th January. They set us to raise £3000 (not as much as other groups).  CATI would be most grateful for donations, as below, and will need to fundraise further in the New Year

Points to make in responding

1. welcome the prospect of the Council taking enforcement action to halt Viridor's unlawful building works

2. note that Viridor's 23^rd Nov. responses do not address all the issues raised by the consultants Atkins (on the paper file but not the e-file), particularly that potentially hazardous bottom ash could not be processed as the planning consent requires, and that health hazards of fugitive dust from processing/handling the bottom ash have not been assessed.

3. note the site is in a flood-risk zone (B - low risk) and Viridor accepts there's a risk of storm flooding, contrary to the officers' report that flooding is not an issue.

4. point out possible impact on the Severn Estuary resulting from accidental discharges has not been assessed,despite legal requirements, including flooding of the incinerator site

5. point out the Council's letter to Viridor (2^nd November, wrongly omitted from the e-file) said the Council would require responses based on the Atkins analysis, but responses on hazardous bottom ash and dust blown from this ash are not available

6. say the Council should formally write to Viridor demanding full responses and defer determination of the Subsequent Applications. 

Responses to Cardiff Council, Development Manager, City Hall CF10 3ND].

E-responses to developmentmanagement@cardiff.gov.uk; view documents on-line (no easy read!) athttp://planning.cardiff.gov.uk/online-applications/ ref. 10/00149/E, Trident Park.