This follows five days of loud ‘whooshing noises’ from the plant, which residents say impacted their livelihoods.
Earlier this week, Sutton Councillors blocked plans for an Anaerobic Digestion plant in the borough’s Beddington Lane industrial area.
If approved, the SUEZ-run plant would have seen 100,000 tonnes of food waste processed into fuel from all over London and would all be in close proximity to the local communities of Beddington and Hackbridge.
The application would have seen the derelict building at 79-85 Beddington Lane demolished and replaced with a new facility.
The proposal also included a two-storey office, staff parking, new access points for vehicles and HGVs, highway improvements to widen Beddington Lane for a right-turn lane, and parking for refuse collection vehicles.
On their website, SUEZ claim the plant would provide enough power to supply up to 8,200 homes through its food processing.
They added: “This would turn food waste into a renewable and reliable supply of biomethane gas, as well as digestate, a compost-like soil improver.”
However, the plant’s eventual rejection by four votes to 3 during Sutton’s planning committee on April 2 conflicted with the council’s recommendation to approve the plans.
Much discussion was had over the potential safety of the plant, with some committee members calling it a ‘clear and present danger.’
Beddington’s Independent councillors Nick Mattey and Tim Foster raised concerns that several of SUEZ’s anaerobic digestion plants across the country have exploded.
This concern was heightened by the presence of other big industries and the residents and schools that live alongside them.
Other concerns included the potential increased HGV traffic along Beddington Lane, which already experiences high volumes throughout the working week.
Much of this traffic is attracted by big retail outlets and the Beddington ERF (Incinerator), which would have sat next door to the new plant.
Councillors also highlighted residents’ concerns that the new plant would attract more vermin to the area, especially if the operator does not keep it clean. During a visit to the area last year, residents told the LDRS how the area already struggled with rats and foxes attracted to the nearby industrial waste.
During the meeting, Hackbridge resident and Labour councillor Dave Tchill lambasted the council for what he saw as the continued poor treatment of the Hackbridge and Beddington communities.
He said: “Why is it Beddington that gets the brunt of not only Sutton’s waste but also South West London’s waste? The community is often taken advantage of by these large ventures which are encouraged by the council.”
The neighbouring Beddington Incinerator is well known as being South London’s biggest waste burning facility.
Its operator, Viridor, was appointed to operate the incinerator on a £1bn, 25-year contract by the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP), which serves Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton as part of the South London Waste Partnership.
Since opening in 2019, the plant has experienced numerous outages, resulting in acrid smoke billowing into the local area.
However, local residents were also hit this week by ‘unbearable’ noise pollution coming from the incinerator.
The noise, described by locals as a ‘loud whooshing’ sound similar to that heard at an airport, lasted five days from March 30 to April 3.
The sound, which ran 24/7, was blamed on an ongoing ‘bypass’ at the Incinerator.
According to local campaigners, the bypass is causing the Incinerator to vent. This results in steam being released from the building by bypassing the turbines.
Councillor Mattey expressed his discontent on Facebook: “The noise from Viridor’s Incinerator has been so loud recently that people living nearby have been unable to even sit in their garden. Last night, I was in Hackbridge, and the noise closest to the incinerator was appalling.”
He was joined by other residents, including Alistair J Dawson, who said: “This venting noise is driving me crazy, it must be stopped.”
Fellow resident Liz Agewellyoga commented: “We are overloaded with waste management in this area. There must be other places that can share this burden on our neighbourhood?”
Tchill raised the issue of the noise pollution during the planning meeting, claiming: “The white noise emitted from the incinerator is blighting our lives, affecting our wellbeing and the nerves and emotions of many residents.
“The council is aware of this, and I raised this for the purpose of this application because when you invite new industry into an area without the ability to manage it or critique it or hold it accountable, and you lean on other agencies that are overstretched and do not themselves have the teeth, nor do they appear to be in regular communication with the local authority, you put us at risk and you demean our lives and the lives of the children and families living in our communities.”
Following the five-day incident, Tchill told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Viridor did not apologise or recognise the issue.
Despite the application’s rejection on Wednesday, it is expected to return through an appeal by SUEZ. Plans for the new facility were first proposed back in January last year.
A spokesperson for the London Borough of Sutton said: “Viridor, who owns and manages the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), is responsible for communicating with residents about any outages or changes to the operation of the site.
“In response to complaints made directly to the Council, Environmental Health Officers carried out a number of visits to the area.
“The Council will be writing to Viridor asking them to review and improve their communications to residents.”
Viridor were approached for comment but failed to respond in time for publication.
