THE appeal against the decision to refuse consent for a waste-fuelled power plant at Fourstones will take place at Newbrough Town Hall next month.

Alternative energy company JFS Park Shield Farm Biogas Ltd wants to establish an anaerobic digestion and combined heat and power plant facility close to the existing electricity sub-station on the outskirts of Fourstones.

The application was refused by Northumberland County Council planners in July last year, but the company will challenge that decision at the appeal on July 22, as well as the fact the council took too long to reach a decision on the application.

At the public inquiry, the company will argue that the proposed plant, which operates by turning a combination of farmyard manure, slurry, chicken manure and grass silage, into biogas - primarily methane - which is then burnt to generate heat and electricity, is an appropriate form of development for the site.

The company argues: “The proposed development is acceptable and entirely compliant with existing national and local policies, and will also benefit the rural economy, and promote the Government’s aim to diversify farms as opportunities present themselves.”

When the application came to the council, it attracted 91 objections and only five letters of support.

Permission was refused on three separate grounds, including the fact the plant was located remotely from any farm complex which was against policy requirements.

Councillors also felt the plant would have “significant and unacceptable adverse impacts” on visual amenity and the character of the local landscape and insufficient information had been submitted to enable a proper assessment of the impacts on noise from the facility.

In its statement to the Planning Inspectorate, the council says it recognises that the principle of renewable energy developments was supported at national and local level, but in this case it felt the benefits of renewable energy were outweighed by the disadvantages.