Tuesday, December 04, 2007

SHARE THE GAIN?

The County Council has been "invited" to "share the gain" of having the fortunate siting of a huge CEMEX CO-INCINERATOR in Rugby town's smoke control area, (and also an Air Quality Management Area) and to sign a contract with Cemex to burn the County's household and commercial waste. Otherwise WCC will have to "export" its waste while Cemex imports waste from elsewhere - possibly Holland as they do at their South Ferriby plant, because "British made RDF is not as good as imported waste for burning", so we are told, and causes all manner of problems.

The Environment Agency has recently given Cemex permission to burn up to 30 tonnes an hour of RDF, known as CLIMAFUEL, and also to double the tyres to 6 tonnes an hour. And to increase the 600-800 juggernauts each day that smash our streets to bits and poison us with emissions.

GAGGING AND OPENNESS CONCERNS?
At a meeting, from which I was unceremoniously ejected by the renowned county councillor Gordon Collett for simply making a few notes, it was revealed that they have secret plans and clever tricks that they did not wish to see "splashed over the newspapers." This has caused great consternation in Rugby where the Editor of the Advertiser has remarked on the attitude of arrogance and superiority displayed by those who are employed to serve the best interests of the Rugby and County residents, and not simply to serve themselves. "I think councillors should remember that they are ultimately there to represent their constituents, not to gain power and lord it over everyone!"

CASH FOR COMMUNITY YET AGAIN.
Looking back through our articles you will see that Gordon Collett recently received the keys to a £22,500 minibus from Cemex - a charitable donation to help elderly villagers do their shopping?
Also when the first meeting about the burning of household waste was held in June 2006 it fell to Councillor Collett to "warmly" thank Cemex for their wonderful presentation and to make the infamous closing remark - "if we don't get hysterical we can get this through!"

WESTERN RELIEF ROAD UPDATE.
Now he says that he doesn't want any lorries through his village of Dunchurch before 9.00 am on Saturday mornings. And the Parish Councillors at the meeting do not want 140 daily through their villages of Long Itchington, Marton and Princethorpe. They suggest they leave them all in Rugby where the residents are used to it! So much for the Western Relief Road - planners do not seem to have considered what would happen at the Potsford Dam end of it.

CEMEX IN WIN-WIN SITUATION.
A row is going on now as the public have finally woken up to the fact that the WRR is being built in a circuitous route merely to get the Cement plant lorries in and out, and to open up the MALPASS reclaimed Cemex land for industrial development. WCC sold out the people of Rugby in 1996 for a promised £660,000, the interest on which has been paid to Rugby Cement for ten years before that cash had to be given back in February 2006 - SECTION 106 EXPIRED! But due to the "friendly relations" between Cemex and WCC they renegotiated it and got the princely sum of £660,000 back again. BUT then WCC have had to build a new tunnel under the new road solely for Cemex to access its old disused quarry, because the "existing tunnel is not strong enough to take the new road." And no prizes for guessing who will pay £330,000 for that! Well done the great British Public - as Rugby residents face a LOSE-LOSE situation.

RUGBY CEMENT COMMUNITY FORUM UPDATE. Rugby Borough Council, Cemex and the Environment Agency all got together behind the backs of the Forum members and decided RBC would not fund the secretariat for the meetings, basically in effect shutting down the lines of communication in July 2007.
Since then there have been no meetings to discuss all the planning applications, LAPPC applications, doubling of tyre burning, household waste burning, changing of raw materials to waste, increase in lorries etc etc. Plans are afoot to "engage with the community in a positive transparent and open way, and to move forward together!" It is not certain that the community wishes to move where Cemex is taking us! In the meantime it was a clever idea to keep the RCCF initials, but call it the RUGBY COMMUNITY CEMENT FORUM.

However the way things are going on a more appropriate name would be: RCCCF:
RUGBY CEMEX COVERT CO-INCINERATOR FORUM!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Monstrous Plumes in Rugby tonight! One huge one, and then two lower level plumes from the cement mills. It is fascinating - how the authorities let them get away with it, mind you the UK is the dirty man of Europe and the stack cam gives out ample proof. Have they never heard of abatement in the UK, and dry process plants?

Can you folk breathe over there?

Plume gazer.