Villagers oppose power plant on green belt

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition against plans to build a new gas-powered electricity plant in a village.

Residents in Dobb's Weir, near Roydon, Essex, have united with neighbours in other parishes to oppose plans by energy firm Statera.

Campaigner Sue Rumbol said: "There are lots of places this could be sited that do not inflict on residents and villages."

Statera said the plant would only be switched on by National Grid when there was demand, such as "when the wind is not blowing, and the sun is not shining".

It said the "peaking" plant, close to the Essex-Hertfordshire border, would operate as "flexible energy infrastructure", designed to support the UK’s transition to renewable energy.

Mrs Rumbol, 55, of the Dobb's Weir Foundation, said opposition to the plant was growing across villages in the area, including Nazeing and Roydon.

"We have an online petition that has had over 1,000 signatures and every meeting we have upwards of 60 to 70 people," she said.

"There’s lots of people who are really unhappy about this.

"This is the green belt; we’ve got ecology here, we’ve got wildlife that needs protecting. This is not the right place to put it."

The area is home to the greenhouses of the Lea Valley Growers Association and describes itself as the country’s "cucumber capital", producing some 500 million cucumbers, peppers and aubergines every year.

Gary Sando, 73, a Roydon resident for 40 years, said: “This sort of thing should be on an industrial estate or far away in fields, not interfering with people and residents.”

Marina Vrahimi, 54, from Nazeing, said residents had not realised what was being planned, adding: “Everything has gone in as a small planning application and not anything to the great scale that it should have been. Residents are very concerned.”

Epping Forest District Council, which will decide on the application, said it would welcome responses to the plan before consultation closes on 30 August.

A spokesperson said: "Planning officers will be reviewing all the information, including public responses, when drawing up their report and recommendations."

Statera, which had a previous planning application rejected in 2020, plan to erect 11 4.5MW engines and says the plant would only operate for 2,250 hours a year.

In a statement, it said the plant could provide power for 110,000 homes and "energy security and resilience for the UK".

Oliver Troup, development lead for Statera, added: "This plant will provide up to 50MW of flexible power generation to complement the UK's transition to a renewable-led energy system.

"It will normally only run for short periods, during times of system stress.

"Impacts such as air quality, noise, visual impact and highways will all be assessed by the local authority to determine its acceptability."

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