North London Waste Plan

Introduction

The purpose of the North London Waste Plan (NLWP), which is being developed jointly by seven North London boroughs (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest), is to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to manage the processing of household and other waste during the period up to 2027 without exporting a large proportion of it to landfill sites in other parts of the country, as currently happens.

Drafting of the NLWP was originally completed in 2012 and the completed draft was greeted with fierce opposition from a number of groups representing communities in North London, in particular by the Pinkham Way Alliance, which was set up originally to resist plans to build a large reprocessing plant on the Pinkham Way section of the North Circular Road in New Southgate.  The focus of the Alliance's campaign was subsequently broadened when it became clear that in addition to the threat to this particular area of undeveloped land the NLWP posed a threat to the economic well being of the North London boroughs because of the inflexible nature of the contracts envisaged with private companies.

Later in 2012 there were two significant developments:  the apparent abandonment of the main element of the proposed Pinkham Way scheme, and a ruling by the Planning Inspectorate that the NLWP as originally drafted was not legally compliant and that the planning and consultation process must therefore be relaunched.

For more detail see the Pinkham Way Alliance and North London Waste Plan websites.  See also the Pinkham Way section of this website.

[This introduction was last updated on 19 May 2013 and is in need to revision and updating to reflect later events.]


News Items

Karl Brown reports on a meeting last week organised by campaigners against the replacement of the current Edmonton incinerator by a much larger plant.

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Business and energy secretary Greg Clark has given the go-ahead to a new energy-from-waste plant at the Edmonton EcoPark. The plans were approved following an examination by the Planning Inspectorate which began in February 2016. It will replace Edmonton’s existing energy-from-waste facility (easily seen from the North Circular and many local spots with an easterly viewpoint) with a new plant which, unlike the old one, will produce heat as well as power. Site preparations are currently.......

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The Pinkham Way Alliance has now published the response it submitted to the consultation about the North London Waste Plan.  Following a fundraising campaign, the Alliance was able to employ a planning consultancy, Turley, to present arguments against the allocation of Pinkham Wood as a potential site for waste processing, and, more generally, to question the draft Waste Plan's assumptions about future waste volumes and required processing throughput. The Response and associated.......

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The Pinkham Way Alliance is asking supporters to sign an online form supporting the Alliance's response to the current consultation about the North London Waste Plan. By signing, you confirm that you are happy for the PWA to represent your views. The deadline to add your name is 5pm on Tuesday 29th September 2015. The Alliance has been campaigning to preserve an ecologically valuable green space adjacent to the North Circular Road and prevent construction of a waste processing facility on the.......

The redrafted version of the North London Waste Plan is currently out for consultation.  The previous version of the Waste Plan was withdrawn because it had not been properly consulted with affected authorities outside London. Any resident is able to comment, but clearly most people will not have the expertise to assess the validity of the data it is based on and the policies it proposes.  The Pinkham Way Alliance, however, does have the required expertise and is currently formulating.......

The public have until 30th June to comment on proposals to build a new waste incinerator in Edmonton, considerably larger than the current incinerator, which it would replace.  The new buildings would be on the northern side of the North Circular, to the north and south of the present plant, which would then be demolished, leaving a space in between.  Public exhibitions will be held in Enfield, Edmonton, Northumberland Park and Chingford. The scheme, which would cost £500 million.......

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A two-year campaign aimed at persuading North London councils to scale down their plans for building new waste processing capacity and at preserving a wooded area adjacent to the North Circular Road scored a significant victory this week, when the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) announced that it was abandoning its plan for an expensive long-term procurement. Since 2011 the Pinkham Way Alliance has been campaigning against the planned construction of a large facility at Pinkham Wood, close.......

In the face of a determined campaign led by the Pinkham Way Alliance, the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) remains set on building a large new waste processing facility at Pinkham Wood (between Friern Barnet and Bounds Green). In late July the Haringey Independent reported that the NLWA Chairman had rebuked Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone for signing a petition organised by the Pinkham Way Alliance and stated that "the Pinkham Way site remains central to NLWA’s future.......

North London residents are being asked to sign and promulgate a petition calling for a complete rethink about planning for the future of waste processing and disposal across the area.  The petition, organised by the Pinkham Way Alliance (PWA), calls on the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) to abandon its current plans to let out a 30-year contract for the handling of waste from seven North London boroughs and instead develop a completely revised waste plan which would not bind the.......

The Southgate Green Association is calling for members of the public to respond before Friday 7 June to official consultation on the redrafting of the London Waste Plan (see this earlier report).  It is recommending to its members and to the public across the whole of North London that they use or adapt the wording of a draft letter provided by the Pinkham Way Alliance. Some of the most important points made in the draft letter are: That the previous version of the Waste Plan does not.......