CHAIN – UPDATE April 2019

We promised in our previous update a few weeks ago that there would be further news later in the month and this is it.

Killing the planet

Many will have seen the recent brilliant documentary by David Attenborough about climate change or read about the protests by Extinction Rebellion around the country and wondered what impact the two planned waste incinerators in Northwich (TATA and OWM) will have on the most important challenge facing our planet. The answer, I’m afraid, is brutally simple. The total amount of Carbon Dioxide emissions that will belch from the plants will be approximately 800,000 tonnes per annum. What an awful legacy to inflict on future generations.

Wastetown

This is the name of the new campaign video produced by CHAIN. Even after nine years campaigning against the TATA (previously Brunner Mond) Northwich waste incinerator our informal polling shows that the majority of residents know very little about it or the disastrous impact it will have on the town. This ignorance, in our view, is mainly due to the efforts by TATA, CWAC Council, local estate agents and developers to keep it as secret as possible combined with naïve denial by some people that something so awful and damaging would be allowed to happen.

The video can be seen on the CHAIN website or directly on YouTube by keying in Wastetown or clicking here. The plan is to produce several more including one on the coverup of the inevitable traffic chaos on the A530 that will be titled Carnage on King Street.

The video has now been on YouTube for a week and has already had over 500 views via various methods.

The TATA Incinerator – The Shocking Facts – 2019 Edition

The previous edition of this CHAIN information sheet proved very effective in explaining the truth behind the PR lies of what the TATA plant will actually look like and how grotesquely enormous it will be. We have therefore updated it and intend to distribute copies to every household in Lostock and Rudheath so local people will know what they are facing and, even at this late stage, will attempt to prevent it.

We also intend to publish a similar fact sheet about the planned OWM incinerator when the information is available but, unfortunately, OWM and CWAC Council are apparently determined to keep it secret from the people of Northwich.

Too Late?

A number of local residents have contacted CHAIN following the publication of Liam Byrne’s article about the projected lethal level of HGV traffic on KingSt/Griffiths Road in the current edition of OurTown. They wanted to know if it is too late to prevent what they see as a disaster for themselves and their families. The simple answer is that the council has an unambiguous responsibility to protect the lives of the public that can never be abrogated and is accountable for the consequences if it fails to act. It cannot stand aside and allow road users to perish. The other relevant point is that officers must act to implement the legitimate decision of a majority vote of elected members. Which is where the forthcoming local elections are relevant. The record shows, however, that the council bigwigs in Chester are unwilling to upset TATA.

Finally…

Please remember that it is not inevitable that Northwich is turned into Wastetown. Our town and its people deserve far better than that and they deserve the full unequivocal support of their borough council in preventing it.