The House of Lords has backed a controversial permit issued by the Environment Agency allowing a
This morning, the lords rejected local resident David Edwards’ bid to overturn a Court of Appeal decision that upheld an April 2005 High Court ruling that, in granting a permit to Cemex UK Cement, the agency had not breached European or domestic air requirements.
In June 2006, Cemex, formerly Rugby Group, won Court of Appeal backing for its proposal to burn chopped tyres as a substitute for coal in the kiln at its
On that occasion, Auld LJ held that the agency’s failure to disclose two expert reports, which had been compiled by its air quality modelling and assessment unit, during the consultation exercise was now “water under the bridge”.
He said: “Given the judge’s finding of no environmental harm from the plant, it would be pointless to quash the permit simply to enable the public to be consulted on out-of-date data.”
Dismissing Edwards’ subsequent appeal to the House of Lords, Lord Hoffmann said: “To this pointlessness must be added the waste of time and resources, both for the company and the agency, of going through another process of application, consultation and decision.
“In my opinion, therefore, the judge and the Court of Appeal were right to exercise their discretion against quashing the permit,” he added.
R (on the application of Edwards and another) v Environment Agency and others House of Lords (Lord Hoffmann, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood and Lord Mance) 16 April 2008.
David Wolfe and Tessa Hetherington (instructed by Richard Buxton, of
