It never rains but it poohs.
No sooner has Forth Ports's hugely controversial proposal for a biomass plant in Leith Docks been seen off than a new scheme enters the earliest stages of the Council's planning system – this time in Bellevue.
Edinburgh-based Tynecastle Sustainable Futures Ltd has entered ante-pre-application consultations with City Planning officials. They aim to instal a temporary 'micro-biomass' plant at the carpark adjacent to Broughton Primary School on Bellevue Road.
Smaller than the abandoned Forth Ports scheme, it would still have sufficient capacity to power 'No. 3 caravan-housed hot and cold food preparation units incl. commercial oven array + grill platforms + beverage equipment & 24-hr refrigeration/on-site ligting [sic]'.
Nearby residents fear potential loss of amenity resulting from plant noise, increased traffic, and the developer's proposed fuel source: TSF intends harvesting urban faecal renewables – in this case principally North Edinburgh dog-mess.
'It's a win-win situation,' TSF's Simon Faherty told Spurtle on Thursday. 'Our work-experience volunteers will be scooping all over, and members of the public can also do their bit to make Edinburgh a foot-friendly inspiring city. Pet owners, pensioners, kids wanting a little extra pocket money, people coming home from work or a visit to the shops can all get involved – we pay 20p per kilo. It's a bit like returning lemonade bottles in the 1960s.
'Together, we'll make Broughton and beyond a much nicer place for walkers, cyclists and visually impaired stakeholders. Plus we'll be helping a Fairtrade catering/distribution hub feed hungry Edinburgh office-workers. Good news all round.'
Not everyone is so sure.
Blandfield Heights resident Hans Rimsinger fears the development could blight Broughton property prices. 'Who's going to want to buy a flat in the sh*tty centre? Where are they going to store all that stuff before burning it?'
Norah Smail of McDonald Mews – a marketing consultant – says 'I think a modern 45 or 50-foot flue like the one they want could detract from the neighbourhood. It kind of insults the listed chimneystack on McDonald Road and could lessen the area's tourism draw.'
'I'm worried about the whiff,' says West Annanadale Street's Douglas Duggan. 'If you're burning waste next to a bunch of basically maggot-wagons, what's it going to smell like?'
This was a question Spurtle had put earlier to TSF. Faherty says there would be no odour pollution and certainly no health impacts resulting from a professionally managed micro-biomass plant operating in series with output units.
'The only byproduct will be a smell like digestive biscuits and Marmite,' he told Spurtle. 'Mixed with the aroma of fried onions, it's actually quite appetising. It could even become a heritage magnet, like the smell in Shandon and Gorgie.'
Tynecastle Sustainable Futures's APAC Notice of Pre-Process Interest was formally registered online first thing this morning to meet the statutory noon deadline.
