Plans for waste processor next to M4 to be decided

Plans to construct an anaerobic digestion facility next to proposed giant inflatable greenhouses near the M4 will be decided next week.

Eco Sustainable Solutions wants to build the £25 million anaerobic digester at Park Grounds, Royal Wootton Bassett.

Wiltshire Council planning officers are recommending that planning permission is granted.

However, the council’s director of planning, economy and climate says the planning application should be determined by elected councillors rather than officers.

The matter will come before members of the council’s Strategic Planning Committee next Tuesday, June 16.

It comes as the council is due to roll out food waste collection – and is looking at the best ways of disposing of biodegradable material.

Under the plans, 75,000 tonnes of food waste that would otherwise go to landfill annually would produce bio-gas for the gas grid to power homes – and could even be used to fuel the next generation of waste collection lorries.

Meanwhile, the leftover matter would be used as organic fertiliser.

However, councillors will have to weigh the environmental benefits against lorry movements on and off the site as waste is delivered.

Park Grounds Farm is a seven hectare site about a mile northwest of Royal Wootton Bassett, close to the M4. It is north of the existing waste management facility which is operated by Crapper & Sons.

As well as the digester, the application seeks permission for a digestate storage lagoon and biomethane refuelling station.

The digester tank itself would stand at 16 metres (53 ft) tall. There would also be desulfurization stacks standing at over 13 metres, and a feed barn at 12.5 metres tall.

The facility would run around the clock, although deliveries would be limited to 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 7am to 3pm on Saturdays.

Wiltshire Council’s expert consultees – ranging from highways and drainage to ecology and public protection – raised no technical objections.

However, they want to see robust construction and operational traffic management plans, noise and odour controls, and carefully designed lighting and planting to protect bats and local landscape character put in place.

Consultation responses reflected a mix of local concern and support.

Objections focused on potential increases in HGV movements, landscape and odour impact, as well as the precedent for permanent development on previously greenfield land that was due to be returned to nature.

However, technical assessments showed the site would operate below the ridge line, minimising the visual impact of buildings.

Both the Environment Agency and public protection officers confirmed that odour and pollution risks would be addressed through design and a further Environmental Permit process.

Planning officers say the proposal aligns strongly with Wiltshire’s development plan and national priorities for waste, climate change, energy resilience, and biodiversity.