News / Environment
Calls for Bristol to be a power plant no-go zone
Bristol should become a no-go zone for inner city power plants following the latest defeat for a company trying to install rows of diesel generators near a nursery in St Philip’s.
That is the opinion of city councillor Hibaq Jama whose campaigning helped bring down the latest planning application for a “dirty energy” plant in the city.
Plutus Energy saw its application to install 48 generators in Avonbank turned down by councillors on Wednesday – despite experts recommending approval.
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The company had tweaked original plans – withdrawn following complaints about pollution – to introduce “low carbon, bio-diesel powered generators” instead of diesel-only generators.
But campaign group Rade Bristol (Residents against Dirty Energy), supported by Labour councillors for Lawrence Hill Marg Hickman and Hibaq Jama, argued that the power plant would be able to “revert to fossil diesel” in the future.
Their objections were among 350 others – many of which complained the plant was too close to St Philip’s Marsh Nursery School, in Albert Crescent.
After the application was turned down, Jama told Bristol24/7 she would now be working towards a meeting with the mayor in the hope of banning all future applications.
“We need to step forward on this politically and make sure that Plutus and other companies don’t try and bring these types of plant to neighbourhoods across Bristol.”
At one point in November 2015, there were three applications for fossil fuel power plants on the table in Bristol – one each in St Phillip’s, St Werburgh’s and Lockleaze. Two were withdrawn and one was turned down.
The plants were designed to kick-in and feed into the National Grid’s subsidised Stor programme whenever electricity generation dipped below a certain level across the country.
In a statement after the latest plans were thrown out Hickman said: “Lawrence Hill cannot become a dumping ground for dirty energy.”
The Green Party also hailed the latest defeat of a power plant as a victory. Jude English, councillor for Ashley ward, said: “Bristol citizens have now successfully fought off unwanted dirty generators in both St Werburgh’s in Ashley, and today in St Philip’s in Lawrence Hill.
“A diesel power station in our city centre is not the right way for a green city like Bristol to generate energy.”
Bristol24/7 contacted the mayor’s office for a response.