Representation by Thames Blue Green Economy (Thames Blue Green Economy)
- Date submitted
- 16 June 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Why does Cory want to build on precious nature reserve land when a suitable brown field site is available? Surely nature reserves are protected in perpetuity from development. They should be. The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Destroying a thriving patch of nature contradicts the aspiration of the Environment Act 2021 and the Climate Change Act 2008. We depend on nature for our survival. Carbon Capture & Storage technology is as yet unproven at scale. Therefore this project has the potential to be a costly nature-destructive failure. Nature Based Solutions for carbon sequestration must instead be used, for example, a constructed wetland in partnership with the Thames Water sewage treatment works at Beckton, regenerative farming, replanting of native forests and rewilding. Taking a wider perspective, why is there a need for another incinerator and CCS facility? Because we throw ‘away’ too much stuff. There is no ‘away’ place. Humans need to consume more carefully and create a circular model of waste where it is unavoidable. This means eliminating food waste which is a significant proportion of incinerated waste currently burnt in the existing Bexley incinerator (approximately 40% of LB Wandsworth’s incinerated waste). It means renew, reuse, repair and upcycling of goods and possessions. It means buying secondhand wherever possible. It means eliminating all but the most necessary plastic which is destroying nature everywhere and which will inevitably end its life incinerated, perhaps down-cycled first but then incinerated or degrading into harmful microplastics in the natural environment. What science has been done on the air pollution effects of burning so much plastic? This planned facility must be rendered unnecessary. It is a sticking plaster on another symptom of our extractive, exploitative disease - consumerism. It is a symbol of our destructive throwaway society which - anyone prepared to accept the blinding reality can see - is leading to our demise through climate and nature collapse. Cory must be a part of the process of re-education away from uncontrolled waste processing not a willing enabler. None of the planning applications, proposals and strategies concerning the Thames River and Basin can proceed UNTIL the legal challenge to the legality of the Government's river basin management plans is resolved (end of 2024 likely). The river basin management plans underpin the Government's whole approach to ensuring that our rivers and all water resources reach the good ecological standards by 2027 in line with the Water Framework Regulations 2017 ( the Regs ). Therefore, all decisions and plans concerning our rivers and water must be based on a lawful river basin management plans. In the High Court, the Judge found that Defra had erred in law by failing to appreciate that the programme of measures to achieve compliance with the Regs by 2027 needed to have measures for specific water bodies. The Judge also concluded that there was an error in law in the consultation because the river basin management plan did not contain the legally required information. As the Government took the same approach for the other river basin management plans, the Thames River Basin Management Plan cannot be considered legally compliant with the Regs nor can any planning application be decided nor strategy formulated without a lawful Thames River Basin Management Plan in place.' Thamesbank Emily Shirley Legal Director June 2024