Wrexham’s planning committee will meet next week to consider whether to reject an application for a biomass boiler to be installed on land next to a primary school. The proposal relates to a site at Thorncliffe Building Supplies on Queensway, reports Wrexham.com.
When the committee meets on Monday, councillors will only be able to decide whether to refuse the plan. They will not be allowed to approve it at this stage because the Welsh Government is considering stepping in to review the application under planning laws.
The applicant has sought permission to install a biomass boiler that would run on waste wood pellets, along with a flue and a fuel storage area measuring about five metres square. Biomass boilers are seen as a lower-carbon option because they produce less carbon dioxide than traditional heating systems. However, they can also release other pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide.
Concerns have been raised by Caia Park Community Council, which has warned that possible pollution could affect nearby areas, including the Gwenfro Valley and Gwenfro Community Primary School, both of which are close to the site. Local residents have also objected, expressing fears that emissions from the boiler’s exhaust could pose health risks to schoolchildren.
Planning officers noted in their report that the site lies within a Smoke Control Area and would need to meet strict conditions if permission were ever granted. They said the equipment would have to comply with clean air laws and that the proposed boiler meets government standards required for use in such areas. Officers added that releasing smoke from a chimney in a Smoke Control Area is not allowed, except for a short period when a system is first started, and that other laws exist to deal with any ongoing smoke problems.
Despite this, the Welsh Government has issued a formal direction preventing Wrexham County Borough Council from approving the application for now. A senior planning official said ministers have the power to limit a council’s ability to grant permission while they consider whether to take over the decision themselves. The direction, he explained, only blocks approval and does not stop the council from continuing to assess the application or from refusing it outright.
