'˜Room for change' call on Tongue End digester bid

A feedstock-to-gas plant proposed for two-and-a-half acres of land in Tongue End is 'too close' to people's homes, according to the area's MP.
PLANT COMPROMISE: People from Tongue End protest against a proposed anaerobic digester plant on land off Counter Drain Drove in the village.  Pictured are (back) Nick Garner, Bill Marshall, (front) Jill Nutt, Helen Eve and Jen Bates, with her dogs Meg and Galcha.  Photo by Tim Wilson.PLANT COMPROMISE: People from Tongue End protest against a proposed anaerobic digester plant on land off Counter Drain Drove in the village.  Pictured are (back) Nick Garner, Bill Marshall, (front) Jill Nutt, Helen Eve and Jen Bates, with her dogs Meg and Galcha.  Photo by Tim Wilson.
PLANT COMPROMISE: People from Tongue End protest against a proposed anaerobic digester plant on land off Counter Drain Drove in the village. Pictured are (back) Nick Garner, Bill Marshall, (front) Jill Nutt, Helen Eve and Jen Bates, with her dogs Meg and Galcha. Photo by Tim Wilson.

John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings, has entered the row over a planned anaerobic digester plant off Counter Drain Drove, Tongue End, opposed by both Deeping St Nicholas and Baston Parish Councils.

Tongue End villagers against the plans by W D Branton and Willow Tree Potatoes Ltd, of Deeping St Nicholas, met with Mr Hayes on Monday before holding a public meeting in Pode Hole to update people on their campaign.

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Jill Nutt, a member of the Tongue End action group opposing the plans, said: “I asked Mr Hayes whether he would want an anaerobic digester plant in his back yard and he said ‘no’.

“So I then asked him ‘if it’s not good enough for his back yard, why should it be good enough for ours?’

“The plant would be so close to the houses and Mr Hayes said he would go back to the Brantons to seek a compromise.

“But we’re trying to use anything we can to stop it and make sure that it doesn’t happen.”

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Mr Hayes said: “I’ve had a meeting with the Tongue End residents and they raised a number of issues, including traffic, visual impact, noise and smell.

“No one is really against the principle of anaerobic digestion and I’m looking to see if we can find a compromise.

“I’m in favour of anaerobic digestion as a principle, but it has to be in the right place and so I want to see if there’s room for change by moving the plant further away from the houses.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to go ahead with the plant in its current form because it’s too close to residents’ properties and the traffic issues would be significant.

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A spokesman for W D Branton and Willow Tree Potatoes Ltd, said: “The proposed plant does not involve any waste processing, there is no bio-gas filling station proposed for the site and most of the vehicle movements will be on private, internal farm roadways in much the same way as the farm currently operates.”