Pebsham fuel plant to shut down

PEBSHAM has smelt the last of the controversial waste-derived fuel pellet plant that has been a source of complaint for years.

The fire-damaged plant will not re-open for pellet production. Remaining staff at Pebsham have been given two week's notice.

East Sussex County Council announced on Wednesday that it is ending its contract with plant operators Reprotech to turn county waste into fuel pellets.

The news has been greeted by Pebsham Residents' Action group chairman Ken Patterson as "A good day for Pebsham."

But Reptrotech say they are now exploring new uses for the building, including waste recycling and reclamation.

The initiative for ending the contract came from Reprotech itself, says county council leader Cllr Peter Jones.

Reprotech announced only last November that it was dropping its bid to generate electricity from waste at Pebsham.

At the time, managing director David Watts said the company was focussing on getting the fuel pellet plant back in action following the disastrous August 2002 fire which wrecked it.

Reprotech announced a multi-million pound repair programme following the fire. Spontaneous combustion among 2,000 tonnes of unsold pellets in storage in the plant was blamed for the fire, which sent a pall of dense smoke over the eastern end of Bexhill.

The pollution sparked public outcry and a demand for the plant to be closed down.

A second fire involving stored pellets later severely damaged a warehouse at Rye Harbour.

A four-paragraph county statement on Wednesday read: "East Sussex County Council has terminated its contract with the waste treatment company Reprotech (Pebsham) Ltd. This means that domestic waste collected by local councils will no longer go to the Pebsham Waste Treatment Plant.

"Reprotech has a lease on the plant until 2016 and can continue waste operations there if it chooses but the County Council has no further involvement there.

"The local council waste, a total of 75,000 tonnes per year, is now delivered to the adjacent Pebsham landfill site, which is operated by Biffa Ltd. and this arrangement will continue until June 2007. After this date it will be dealt with by the County Council's contractor, Onyx.

"If the Pebsham landfill site were to close before June 2007, which is unlikely, the County Council would have to make alternative arrangements."