Northacre Energy from Waste Facility, Stephenson Road, Northacre Trading Estate, Westbury , Wiltshire, BA13 4WD

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• The need for the proposed facility.
• The relevance of the 'fallback position'.
• Whether the proposed development would not assist in the reduction residual waste arisings.
• The extent to which the proposed development is consistent with Government policies for meeting the challenge of climate change.
• The effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.
• The effect on the operation of adjacent businesses.
• Any benefits of the proposed development to be weighed in the planning balance and any implications of not proceeding with the scheme.
• Whether the proposed development would provide for sustainable waste management in the context of local and national policy objectives.

What decided it

The clear and substantial need for additional waste recovery capacity, combined with significant weight attached to the extant 2019 fallback permission and the economic and climate benefits, outweighed the identified landscape, visual and heritage harms.

The substantial waste management benefits, significant economic benefits, limited climate change benefits and significant weight given to the fallback position outweighed the moderate landscape/visual harm and the less-than-substantial heritage harm to Brook Farm, such that the benefits outweighed the adverse impacts.