Uniper is delighted with the decision by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, not to call in our planning application for the East Midlands Energy Re-Generation (EMERGE) Centre.
The decision by the Secretary of State follows a resolution to grant planning permission, subject to conditions, by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Planning and Rights of Way Committee in June 2021.
Andy Read, EMERGE Centre Project Manager for Uniper, said: “We are very pleased with the decision by Nottinghamshire County Council to approve the EMERGE Centre plans.
“Uniper has worked extensively with the relevant bodies to provide them with the information required to determine this application, which is why we positively welcome the decision by the Secretary of State not to call in the County Council’s decision to approve the proposals.
“With the required planning consents in place, we are now in a position to move forward with the project and start to deliver our wider vision for Ratcliffe – to move towards becoming a zero carbon technology and energy hub for the East Midlands region.
“The planning approval will enable £330 million worth of capital infrastructure investment to be realised, and the creation of up to 600 temporary construction jobs, with around 45 permanent jobs, once the EMERGE Centre is operational.”
Andy Read added: “The EMERGE Centre will be the first significant new development at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in over 50 years, and the first step in delivering a lower carbon future for the site.
“This facility will deliver much needed residual waste management recovery capacity in Nottinghamshire and Nottingham; making better use of non-recyclable waste by converting it into useable energy capable of powering up to 90,000 households, avoiding the need for around 500,000 tonnes of this type of waste to be sent to landfill or exported outside of the UK each year. Uniper will continue to work with the local community and stakeholders as the project progresses and moves towards the construction phase.”
Councillor Richard Butler, Chairman of the Planning and Rights of Way Committee, said: “I am pleased that the Secretary of State has chosen not to intervene in the decision taken by the Planning & Rights of Way committee, and that all parties can now proceed with finalising the application by Uniper.
“The committee gave very careful consideration to this planning application, as we do with everything that comes before the committee, and the Secretary of State’s decision validates the detailed assessment we undertook before voting for approval.
“The last task for the county council’s planning team is to finalise the legal agreement with Uniper for the £330m energy recovery centre; an important piece of infrastructure which will create jobs, provide investment and offer regeneration opportunities.”
The next step will be to finalise the legal agreement with Nottinghamshire County Council for the EMERGE Centre. Over the coming months, we will confirm the commercial arrangements for the EMERGE Centre, and begin a competitive procurement process for the construction and installation of the energy recovery facility, as well as the residual waste contracts that will supply it.
Construction is expected to begin in late 2022, with the facility expected to become fully operational in 2025.