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Video: Monton protest on Eco park-incinerator
by Tom Rodgers
The campaign against a new waste management plant in Monton was stepped up at the weekend. 40 locals met in the Queens Arms, chaired by Hazel Blears MP, to talk about the prospects for gathering reliable traffic and air quality data to take to Sky Properties, who own the 19 hectare space on Green Lane. Inside the pub, the Salford MP was personally aggreived at the way information battle going on between Sky Properties and the protesters: "I feel personally angry that Sky have tried to draw me into this and say that I'm behind [the proposal]." "Sky's coverage has been very partial, very partisan, I'd like it made clear that not a single person stood up for this." To be fair, though, Sky Properties head Anthony Hirsch has led the community consultation, long before any planning applications have gone to the Council. And when asked whether the Mitchell Shackleton site, on which the engineering company produced heavy machinery, was open to other possibilities beyond the 'Eco Park', Sky replied that "there is no rush to submit an application". And it won't be until November until any decision is made on this issue. For your own investigation, reliable air quality data is available if you look for it. And it is this which would be affected most by the waste management/recycling plant/incinerator, and the increase in heavy traffic it would bring. On the Salford Council website, the latest “Air Quality news” dates from February 2005. This is not promising. Next, to the monitoring stations. Salford Council has three stations where they measure the atmosphere for certain levels of pollutants. These are Broughton, Worsley and Eccles. The latter two have real-time statistics you can get your hands on atGreat Air Manchester, either click to the left or follow the related links below. The government has decided these are the most harmful pollutants to general health: Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Particulates (PM10), Sulphur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Ozone and Benzene. Of these, the two most harmful are NOx and PM10s; those produced by road traffic emissions. As before, the mood amongst the consultation group was dead set against the industrial proposals. Donal Eaton, from Pine Grove in Monton, told us: "I hope they're successful in stopping this ridiculous scheme. I think it's crazy, with so many private dwellings and the traffic it'll cause. As Spock would say, it's illogical." The next meeting is on 25th February at the Queen's Arms. Interviewees: Dean Rawlings-Brown, Jeff Hamilton
For the protesters' view of Green Lane Eco Park click here To visit the official Green Lane Eco Park website click here Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
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