Energy plant to be demolished after 10-year fight

The demolition of an energy plant after complaints it was not meeting planning conditions marks the end of "an emotional nightmare", according to locals.

The Planning Inspectorate has ruled in favour of campaigners against the controversial scheme at Deal Farm in Bressingham, near Diss, Norfolk.

The ruling followed a nine-day public inquiry last summer into the anaerobic digester plant, first constructed seven years ago.

Inspector Diane Lewis dismissed Deal Farm Biogas' appeal and upheld South Norfolk Council's ruling, describing the plant as an "intentional unauthorised development".

South Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer said he was "very pleased" by the inspector's decision.

"We tried to help the applicant and worked with them," he said.

"But what they built bore no resemblance to the planning permission they were given and in order to support the local community we had no choice but to enforce.

"This is the end of a very sad story, but people must understand that there will be consequences if you try to flout the planning system."

The anaerobic digester plant uses organic waste and crops to create biomethane that can be used to produce power.

But when development started in 2018, neighbours argued that it was far larger than the plans approved in 2015.

Their main concerns included the impact on the landscape, the smell and noise of the plant - and the increase in lorries in the village.

The company's fresh application was turned down by the council's planning committee in 2022 after a campaign by locals.

Richard Bacon, when he was South Norfolk MP, and Liz Truss, when she was MP for neighbouring South West Norfolk, were among those to support the campaign on road issues.

The decision to refuse the application was appealed to the government's Planning Inspectorate, which rules in planning disputes, and a public inquiry was held to assess whether the correct ruling was made.

Work has now started to dismantle the site, although it will not be completed for another eight months.

Ms Lewis concluded that the plant would produce a significant amount of energy each year to heat more than 1,000 homes, but this was outweighed by its detriment to the safety of surrounding roads and residents' quality of life.

A founding campaign member, Sue Butler, lives next to the energy plant and says it has been a "long four years since the plant was built".

"The toll it has taken can only be described as an emotional nightmare," she said.

"We were called liars and Nimbys and accused of whipping up a frenzy.

"The developers thought they could ride roughshod over us all and pull the wool over our eyes.

"This just shows that people still have power over these decisions. We have achieved what felt impossible at times."

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