10:22am Wednesday 23rd September 2009
By Rachel Wearmouth
A MULTI-MILLION pound eco project predicted to bolster the County Durham economy has been recommended for approval.
The scheme to create Eastgate Renewable Energy Village would transform the site of the former Lafarge Cement works near Stanhope, County Durham, which closed in 2002 with the loss of 200 jobs.
The applicant, Weardale Task Force, hopes the regeneration plans will attract “next generation” businesses and create an estimated 350 jobs.
The project, dubbed by some as “Eco-Disney”, will feature all five forms of land-based renewable energy available in the UK – wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal.
A hotel and spa, 65 homes, and workshops are proposed along with outdoor sporting facilities.
A report to Durham County Council by case officer Sarah Eldridge recommends permission be granted when the scheme goes before the planning committee next Tuesday.
She said: “Weardale has, for many years, suffered severe pockets of multiple deprivation.
Over the past decade, the area has had to grapple with the after-effects of the footand- mouth epidemic and subsequently a series of closures of key employment sites.
“It is considered that the proposals have a direct positive contribution towards addressing the current education, skills and labour deficiencies that exist within Weardale and the wider county.”
The scheme has attracted 112 objections. Some people said the number of jobs to be created was “grossly overestimated”, while the Task Force has been criticised for failing to analyse its impact on health and education.
Others fear the biomass plant will emit pollutants and will weaken local businesses.
One objector said: “It will impose a major breakdown in the social structure of this small community and Weardale as a whole.”
Another said: “There is a paucity of hotels in the area for the very good reason that they have insufficient customers.
All a new hotel would do is to finish off some of the existing ones.”
A Task Force statement said: “We believe there will be numerous benefits and it will place Weardale on the map.”
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