STIFLE has not changed its objectives at all - we were established to fight the plan to site a waste management facility on a greenfield site at Ernesettle which is valued for its location and former (and current) recreational use.

The Ernesettle site:
your suggestions invited

Any kind of waste facilities built here would be in full view of Saltash.

The council still say they want to use the Ernesettle site for waste, but not an Incinerator.

Have you any views on what this land should be used for? Email your suggestions to ernesettle@gmail.com

June Roadshows

The South West Devon Waste Partnership is holding a series of roadshows in June. The events are open to all and will take place on the following dates:
14th June 4pm - 8pm Weston Mill Community Primary School
15th June 4pm - 8pm St Budeaux Community Centre
17th June 4pm - 8pm The Watermark, Ivybridge
3rd July 10am - 2pm Plymouth Guildhall

Final Plan Dates

Please note that the final plans for dealing with waste are aiming at these dates:
Submission of Final Bidders Contract (FBC): September 2010
DEFRA Approval of FBC: Early 2011
Contract Awarded & Financial Close: Mid 2011
Operational Commencement: 2014/2015

So if you have any concerns about this, then let us know! Once they sign on the dotted line, then that could be that. If they changed their mind after they sign, then there could be millions of pounds in compensation, since the contract is for 25 years.

It looks like they will be making their mind up very soon.

Dr Paul Connett spoke at the University of Plymouth on Wednesday 12 May on Zero Waste - a key stepping stone to sustainability. The PowerPoint presentation he used is available in our Downloads section.

SUCCESS! 15th March 2010
Plans for an incinerator at Ernesettle have been dropped by MVV UMWELT

The STIFLE committee would like to thank all the members for making this happen as well as MPs and some Councillors. It has been a big effort that has united people from both sides of the Tamar, but there is still work to be done to ensure the Ernesettle site is protected from waste development.

The waste partnership still say that they may use this land for alternative waste schemes, but not for an Incinerator, so we still have to be vigilant. See the Plymouth Evening Herald article.

We have been trying since 2005 to persuade, initially the City Council and subsequently the Partnership, that the Ernesettle site was completely wrong for a major waste management facility, for many reasons. They seemed to plough on regardless simply because the council owns the land. It is the bidders themselves who have come to the same conclusion as STIFLE that this site is unsuitable. How sad that our own City Council, who surely know the area so much better than outside companies, could not have listened to the practical issues being raised and realised themselves that this site should not have been on the list at all. However, the risks to the nearby sites at Weston Mill and also at Lee Mill go on.

NEWS FOR MAY

As we hope you are aware, the South West Devon Waste Partnership are no longer focusing on the Ernesettle site for an incinerator, although they tell us that it will remain an allocated site for waste until at least 2013, unless replaced by another site.

The STIFLE committee were organising a fund-raising quiz night at the Parkway Social Club on Ernesettle Lane, when we received this news. We have decided instead to have a "fun" evening by way of celebration of the decision by MVV Umwelt not to proceed with the Ernesettle site. We will have a light-hearted quiz, music and a prize draw as a way to bring the community together once again. This Quiz Night will be on Sunday 9th May at 7.00 for an 7.30 start. Please come along so that we can thank you for your support, without which there could have been a very different outcome. We are hoping that we can pass on some more good news about the Ernesettle site!

We also want to let you know that the highly-respected chemist, Dr Paul Connett will be speaking at the University of Plymouth on the following Wednesday 12th May at 7.00 pm. This event is hosted by the University's Centre for Sustainable Futures, and will be a full version of the speech about Waste and Sustainability that Dr Connett is making at the United Nations in New York on 5th May. He is a very interesting speaker of world renown and this is an opportunity not to be missed. There is no charge for attendance. The talk will be in the Jill Craigie Cinema in the Roland Levinsky Building at Drake Circus. Please try to come along and bring your friends and neighbours - the more people in Plymouth who are aware of the implications of incineration and the better options that are available, the more chance that public opinion will ensure that the Council doesnŐt continue down a dangerous route we (and more importantly) our children and grandchildren will regret.

We do hope to see you at one or (hopefully) both events.

Background

Devon Waste Partnership have been granted funding by DEFRA to proceed with plans to secure a bidder for a waste management scheme for Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon. A Government inspector has accepted Plymouth City Council's plan to offer land it owns at Ernesettle on the banks of the River Tamar as a suitable site for an incinerator.

Residents on both the Plymouth and Cornish sides of the River Tamar are united in their total opposition to this scheme for many reasons:

• Proximity to housing - the nearest homes will be less than 200 metres away
• Adjacent to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and county wildlife site
• The location at the most westerly point of the county means very long journeys for waste; a more central location would be less-environmentally damaging
• Location in a fog-prone river valley which will inhibit dispersal of the pollution
• High proportion of cardiac and respiratory illness in the local population
• The site was originally earmarked for a community sports facility in an area of deprivation
• The site is adjacent to an armaments store
• The road network is unsuitable for the heavy goods vehicles

You can read more about these concerns in our Further Information section.