Airdrie to get new heat and power plant

The Sunday Times
May 10, 2009
Construction is expected to create some 550 jobs and firm Airdrie North is rerouting section of Lanark to Cumbernauld road

Ian Fraser

A combined heat and power plant capable of creating sufficient energy to heat 30,000 homes, and possibly also Monklands Hospital, is to be built near Airdrie in North Lanarkshire.
Airdrie North, a division of Gillespie Investment Group, has secured permission to supply energy from a waste plant at Greengairs, near Airdrie.
The facility will process 300,000 tonnes of household waste per year and recycle a further 50,000 tonnes, diverting significant volumes of rubbish from landfill sites.
Construction is expected to create some 550 jobs and Airdrie North is also spending £40m to reroute a mile-long section of the A73 Lanark to Cumbernauld road, as part of a ‘planning gain’ deal with North Lanarkshire Council.
In the second phase of the development, which has yet to receive planning consent, Airdrie North intends to build a 185-acre business park, light industrial units, housing and nearly 50 acres of leisure space near the site.
A report into the economic impact of the plans by the development economists Roger Tym & Partners showed that the proposed second phase would create more than 4,000 permanent and 1,400 construction jobs.
Scott Gillespie, Airdrie North’s managing director, said: “The area is crying out for investment and employment. We are delighted to have received planning permission for the recycling centre which will create a significant and lasting benefit to the local area.”
He stressed that he wants to create an “exemplar centre” that will be among the best such facilities in the world. Gillespie also insisted that it would be run according to the strictest environmental regulations as laid down by local and national government.
However, many local residents remain sceptical about the plans, and North Lanarkshire council has received more than 1,000 objections to the proposed plant.
Campaigner Ann Coleman of Greengairs said: “There’s no justice, socially or environmentally, for this corner of North Lanarkshire if this incinerator is placed right across the road from the landfill site.
“Health is one of our main concerns; we’re concerned that there are no safe levels of pollutants for children.”