Surrey County Council has refused permission for the Weylands Waste treatment plant in Walton citing:
"The applicant has failed to demonstrate factors which either alone or in combination demonstrate ‘very special circumstances’, which clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt by virtue of the harm to openness, inappropriate nature of the development and the other harm from noise, traffic and air quality impacts. The applicant has not produced a robust alternative site assessment or demonstrated that the site would be well related to the source of waste arisings it would receive. The proposal therefore does not accord with the National Planning Policy Framework 2012, Policy CW6 of the Surrey Waste Plan 2008 and Elmbridge Borough Core Strategy 2011 Policy CS1."
It is interesting to note that the County Authority is using in its grounds for refusal the same objections as were advanced by Spelthorne Council and its residents to the construction of an incinerator at the Charlton Lane Recycling Centre, (aka the 'Eco Park'). The Weylands waste treatment plant would have been more efficient than Charlton Lane; and would have used tried and tested technology, unlike the untested, experimental technology approved for Charlton Lane.
It seems that there are two different standards being applied, depending on which side of the river you live.
