The Crouchland Biogas Scandal

By Paul Homewood

 

h/t MrGrimNasty

 

 

Crouchland Farm

The regional BBC South news programme reported on the strange case of a West Sussex biogas plant on Wednesday. Unfortunately the episode is no longer available in i-Player, but Farmers Weekly have also reported on the case:

 

West Sussex anaerobic digestion (AD) business Crouchland Biogas has been ordered to stop importing feedstock and dismantle parts of the industrial-sized plant it developed unlawfully.

Crouchland Biogas has been producing energy from a plant at Crouchland Farm, near Billingshurst, since 2010, generating more than 106GW hours of electricity.

Planning permission was originally given for an on-farm AD plant so the 186ha dairy farm could comply with nitrate vulnerability zone regulations requiring the storing of slurry and dealing with the disposal of farm waste.

But the AD plant has been enlarged into an industrial-sized plant, without planning permission, and feedstock is imported from outside the farm.

Three appeals by the company against a refusal to grant retrospective planning permission by West Sussex District Council, and enforcement notices issues by Chichester District Council, were heard at a 10-day public hearing earlier this year.

The company argued it could expand its on-site farming operation to feed its AD plant, but this would have an even greater impact on the surrounding area.

But planning inspector Katie Peerless dismissed this argument, saying it would constitute a change of use, as the farm would become secondary to the AD operations.

Safety

Ms Peerless has now dismissed all appeals on the grounds of highway safety, the living conditions of nearby residents, and the local character of the surrounding area.

In her decision, she acknowledged the benefits the AD plant would have on farm diversification and employment and said it was conveniently situated for accepting feedstock from other farms.

But she added: “The scale of the operation is such that it would amount to an industrial process to which the original farming enterprise would then be subservient.

“The development plan policies resist the location of such industrial development in the countryside.”

Feedstock

Crouchland Biogas must cease imports of feedstock within one month, and dismantle unlawful development within 18 months.

Since the end of the public enquiry, both Crouchland Biogas and the company running the farm have gone into administration.

Local action group Protect Our Rural Environment said of the ruling: “This is a very positive decision for our community.

“The inspector recognised the harm and detriment to our rural environment and the safety issues of the unlawful operation.

“[Crouchland Biogas] can still operate the original, permitted, small-scale on-farm AD which the community supported,” it added.

https://www.fwi.co.uk/livestock/west-sussex-biogas-business-loses-planning-battle.htm

 

This is (nearly) the end of a long battle for the local residents, as the CPRE reported last year:

CPRE Sussex is supporting ‘Protect Our Rural Environment’ (PORE) and voicing concern about the Crouchland Biogas plant in Plaistow, West Sussex.

Although the plant is supported by millions of pounds of subsidies for renewable energy, it is not compliant with environmental and planning laws and highlights failings in our current regulatory systems. Despite repeated pollution events due to management failures and the permanent lack of compliance with the Environment Agency (EA) Permit, the EA has been unable to stop the site operating. Crouchlands has an OPRA rating from the Environment Agency of ‘F’ – the worst score possible.  Three significant pollution events in the last 4 years have killed all aquatic life in several kilometres of waterways. Crouchland Farm has pleaded guilty at Worthing Magistrates Court in relation to the pollution of the River Kird in December 2013. Pollution events in 2015 and 2016 are still being investigated.
The plant was originally created to process waste generated on the farm itself, however over recent years it has started to take waste from other locations. This has led to a significant increase in vehicle movements, particularly large tankers which struggle to turn on the small, rural roads surrounding the site.
Although the site does not have complete planning permission, a national gas company (SGN) have agreed a 20 year partnership. PORE, and the Planning Inspectorate believe that  the site should only be used to process farm waste generated on the site (not importing from a wider area or using animal feed to produce gas) and that the site should be properly managed in accordance with EA permits to prevent future pollution incidents. CPRE Sussex supports this view.
A key question is – should this, the fourth largest biomethane-to-grid gas refinery in Europe – and probably the largest in the UK, be located at Plaistow?

http://www.cpresussex.org.uk/news/news-from-sussex-districts/chichester/item/2728-crouchland-biogas-is-this-sustainable-development

 

 

The problem that the locals still face is that, with Crouchland Biogas in administration, who is going to clear up the mess and dismantle the plant illegally built?

In particular, who will empty this huge lagoon full of digestate, and return it to the original state of a pasture field.

 

In a way, Crouchland is a microcosm of the burgeoning biogas industry in the UK, which has seen several instances of environmental pollution.

It is apparent that generous government subsidies via the RHI scheme have led to far too many corners being cut.