A PUBLIC consultation on plans to build a £30 million waste plant in Kidderminster has been reopened by the county council.

Power Generation Midlands (PGM) is the company behind plans to develop a new 'Energy and Resource Park' on land next to the Liberty Aluminium Foundry in Stourport Road.

The firm intends to use commercial and industrial waste to generate energy and build a plastics recovery plant to turn plastic waste into a material that can then be recycled into new products.

Energy produced at the park would be used to supply electricity and heat to the foundry next door.

The park itself is expected to create 60 construction jobs and 25 permanent jobs once complete, while the power provided to Liberty Aluminium would allow the foundry to expand its operations in the town - investing £8 million and creating a further 100 jobs.

PGM says the park will generate low carbon energy and recover plastic waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, but campaign group Wyre Forest Against Incineration (WFAI) says it would make Wyre Forest the "Midlands epicentre of a polluting waste industry", drawing in waste and plastics for processing in the district from miles around.

Campaigners are concerned the proposed 50-metre-high stack and 21-metre-high buildings will be a blight on the landscape and say property prices in the area could be affected.

The cross-party action group also says it isn't clear what CO2 emissions will come from the plant and insist the park cannot be classed as "renewable" when that applies to only a portion of the waste coming through the site.

WFAI welcomed the reopening of the consultation, which gives members of the public until April 1 to have their say, and spokesman Stephen Brown said: "Reopening the consultation vindicates the objections raised.

"It also helps cuts right through the PGM propaganda which was designed to green-wash it by presenting it as an environmentally sound plan when it isn’t.

"I’d urge people to send in their objections again, including any updated points you want to make. This environmental folly can and must be stopped.”

PGM's Damian Courtney said: “The proposed Energy and Resource Park is primarily designed as a low carbon development which will sustainably manage waste that is generated by businesses within the county.

"It will help to meet the waste management shortfall that the County Plan and annual monitoring reports have identified.

"The facility has the added benefit of generating partially renewable energy from waste that cannot feasibly be reused or recycled. This energy will allow local businesses to thrive and grow

“The plastics recovery plant will help to manage the global crisis associated with plastics and their disposal, not only ensuring that this material does not pollute our planet but also offsetting the need to produce more plastics from raw materials.

“As part of the planning application, we undertook assessments of noise, carbon, visual impact and ecology, amongst others.

"Additional information has been provided to further assess these issues as requested by consultees in the process. These assessments have found that the proposed facility will not impact the local area with mitigation measures in place.”

To comment on the plans, visit worcestershire.gov.uk/pawyreforest.