Cheshire Gas Plant challenged in high court

GAS PLANT
CHALLENGED IN HIGH COURT
THE FIGHT IS ON!

At 11.50 am on 29/6/04 RAP announced that a writ has been served on the Treasury’s Solicitors challenging John Prescott and Patricia Hewitt’s approval of Scottish Power’s gas plant. The case will come before the High Court in London at a date yet to be announced.

To comply with legal requirements, the writ was served by Cranage Parish Council, a long standing opponent of the gas plant, while RAP (Residents Against the Plant) will provide technical advice, and financial support, to deliver a powerful case against Prescott and Hewitt’s perverse decision to over-rule a fair and open public inquiry.

Said RAP John Halstead:
“We are delighted with this opportunity to fight on, and we’re full of confidence that justice will prevail. We now wait for the High Court to give a date for the case to be heard. Our lawyers say that this may not be for six months to a year, and in the meanwhile, Scottish Power’s plans come to a full stop! They can’t put so much as a spade into the ground until the High Court gives its judgment. Meanwhile, donations to our fighting fund have now exceeded £23,000 – a magnificent total, mainly in small sums from large numbers of angry Cheshire residents. But we still need more, to make sure we can finally drive a stake through the heart of Scottish Power and its wretched project. So I appeal to the people of Cheshire to keep the funds rolling in. Let’s kill the gas plant. Let’s kill it together!”

Secretaries of State Overturn Public Inquiry Recommendations

Gas Plant Approved

On 19th May, John Prescott (Deputy Prime Minister) (type in "john prescott liar into google to see the true history of this person) and Patricia Hewitt (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry) dramatically and incomprehensibly overturned the findings of Mr Robert Lyon – Inspector in charge of the December 2002 public inquiry – which found against the gas plant.

George Osborne MP, described this as ‘beggaring belief’

Lady Anne Winterton MP, asked in the House of Commons: ‘What is the point of a public inquiry if the Secretaries of State will simply overrule it?”

RAP’s response is fury and bafflement.

The public inquiry ran 5 weeks, and considered every possible aspect of the gas plant in meticulous detail. The inspector then spent 5 months writing a considered and detailed report. He found against the Gas Plant on the grounds of its adverse effect on the open countryside.

Despite this, Prescott and Hewitt claim there is ‘National Need’ for the gas plant, even though the inspector specifically stated there is no national need!

RAP SAYS: WE WON THE SCIENCE,
WE LOST THE POLITICS,
THE FIGHT GOES ON!

We have until the end of June to lodge an appeal with the High Court, against the incomprehensible decision of the Secretaries of State.

We are busy with our lawyers planning the next step.

Byley Gas plant: the fight continues

BYLEY GAS PLANT:
RAP FIGHTS ON!

Faced with an incomprehensible decision by John Prescott and Patricia Hewitt to overturn the result of the 2002 public inquiry on Scottish Power’s Byley gas plant, RAP has no option than to fight on with an appeal to the High Court. But not only does RAP have no option – RAP has the heart, soul and mind determination to fight on! This is not a reluctant fight.

Said RAP Chairman John Halstead: The details are now with our lawyers who are studying grounds for appeal. At first look we are greatly encouraged and see good grounds for challenging this perverse decision by the Secretaries of State.

We now have until June 30th to make our challenge in the High Court. RAP will deal with the details of the case, acting together with Councils Against the Plant, who will formally brief lawyers. But one thing we will surely need is money.

Our advice is that to be allowed to go to the High Court we will need about £50,000 in the bank. We are confident we can raise that, given assurances from a number of major backers of our campaign. But we need something else. We need a large number of donations from the public. We need this to show that the fight is on behalf of the ordinary people of Cheshire.

So we need your donations: however large, however small. We need donations from the public with names and addresses of the donors. It doesn’t matter if you are giving five pounds or fifty pence. We need the endorsement of your support.

So if you want to kill the gas plant, send your donations to:
The Treasurer,
Residents Against the Plant,
C/O Pump Cottage,
King’s Lane,
Cranage,
Cheshire, CW10 9LX.

Disaster at the cheshire gas plant

BYLEY GAS PLANT APPROVED:
WE WON THE SCIENCE,
WE LOST THE POLITICS
BUT THE FIGHT CONTINUES!

Following yesterday’s announcement by John Prescott and Patricia Hewitt’s departments that they have approved Scottish Power’s plan for the Byley Gas Plant – despite the gas plant being opposed by the public inquiry of December 2002 - John Halstead, Chairman of Residents Against the Plant (RAP) commented.

“RAP’s first reaction is tremendous pride that we helped win the public inquiry which was the definitive fair and open opportunity for all concerned to give evidence. It covered not only technical matters like equipment design and geology, but also Britain’s economic need for gas. The inquiry also noted that the people of Cheshire do not want the gas plant, with over 10,000 letters of opposition written by residents. We are therefore dumfounded that the secretaries of state have approved the gas plant, in a direct contradiction to the public will and the measured findings of a five-week public inquiry. We ask what is the point of a public inquiry, if politicians are going to overrule it in private? Indeed we ask what precisely is going on?”

RAP points out that on April 13th, the ‘Guardian’ newspaper published an article by David Gow, its city editor, stating that Scottish Power were:

“…trying to enlist the support of senior cabinet ministers to overcome local resistance…” to the gas plant.

John Halstead added:

“RAP can fight the good fight in daylight, but are we facing a lobbying campaign by a multi-billion-pound international giant, done on the quiet?”

Also, a major plank has fallen out of Scottish Power’s arguments since energy expert Niall Trimble, has just executed a spectacular U-turn by contradicting the evidence he gave at the 2002 public inquiry, when he argued for the gas plant to store gas against national need. At the 2002 inquiry, Trimble said Britain faced a medium term shortage of gas, but on BBC’s ‘Working Lunch’ of May 18th, he declared that in the medium term ‘we will be awash with the stuff’ which nicely demolishes his own case.

John Halstead concluded:

“We have won the science and lost the politics, but the fight continues. We - and our lawyers - are going through the statement from the secretaries of state, and the report of the public inquiry. We already see good opportunity for an appeal against the approval of the gas plant, and RAP is undiminished in enthusiasm to fight on. We have the people, the money, and the will to win. Scottish Power should not yet open the champagne.”

ScottishPower running scared?

ScottishPower running scared?

Latest information on ScottishPower’s attempt to install the ‘gas plant’ - a major chemical-industrial complex - in Byley, Cheshire, despite massive local opposition, indicate ScottishPower may be running scared and seeking an unfair advantage.

‘Guardian’ financial editor, David Gow, reported in that national newspaper’s 13/4/04 edition that: ‘ScottishPower, the energy group, is trying to enlist the support of senior cabinet ministers to overcome local resistance to its plans to build a £100m gas storage plant in old salt mines in rural Cheshire.’

John Halstead, prominent champion of the fight against the gas plant, and chairman of action group Residents Against the Plant (RAP), immediately commented: ‘If ScottishPower really are trying to lobby ministers this is grossly unfair, since a full and proper public inquiry on the gas plant was held at Cheshire County Hall in December 2002. The public inquiry was the definitive, fair opportunity for everyone to have their say, and a report on the inquiry findings was written by Mr Robert Lyon, the inquiry chairman, and sent to John Prescott (Deputy Prime Minister) and Patricia Hewitt of the Department of Trade and Industry, for the final decision. We await their decision and are outraged at the possibility that anybody might seek unfairly to influence ministers. We have therefore written to John Prescott, asking whether or not he – or other ministers – have been approached by ScottishPower, and asking that RAP should be given equal opportunity to make our case, if ScottishPower have been given a hearing. We shall pursue this matter with vigour, and our friends in ‘Councils Against the Plant’ – 21 local Parish and Town Councils united against the gas plant – are also writing to John Prescott, just as we have done.’

RAP’s Press Spokesman, Dr John Edwards added, ‘I’ve spoken to journalist David Gow, who was straightforward and open-minded, but who had been given some inaccuracies by ScottishPower, such as the erroneous suggestion that ‘old salt mines’ would be used to store gas, rather than artificial salt cavities of technically-dubious design. I also stressed the truth that the UK does not need the gas plant. It’s a device to enable ScottishPower to make money: it’s greed not need.’

Finally, the question must be asked: if it is true that ScottishPower are attempting to lobby ministers, then why would they do it? Is it because they’re afraid they’re going to lose?

Who are RAP

RAP (Residents Against the Plant)

Is a non-political protest group formed by Byley and Cranage residents in 1999, to oppose the building of Scottish Power's Byley Gas Plant. RAP represents thousands of local people, and is organised into an action group of about 60 volunteers, led by an Executive Committee.

RAP is official representative of the following local councils, to oppose the gas plant:

Allostock,
Brereton,
Byley,
Cranage,
Goostrey,
Holmes Chapel,
Knutsford,
Lower Withington,
Middlewich,
Sandbach,
Somerford,
Sproston,
Sweatenham.

RAP is fighting for everyone, not just Byley, not just Cheshire - because if Scottish Power can build their gas plant deep in rural England, and in contempt of local opposition, and the democratically agreed local plan,
then any monster, money-driven project could be planted anywhere.

RAP Executive Committee members shown:

Centre:
John Halstead, (Chairman) Chartered engineer, lived in Allostock and Cranage the past 20 years. Married with 2 sons.

At the back, left to right:
Dr Jamie Atherton, retired GP, worked with pleasure in the NHS for 20 years. Married with three daughters. Special interests: environmental care, a good book and a decent malt. He was sent ,as usual, to a public school where a little learning was painfully beaten into him, and from thence to the university, where it was carefully taken out of him.

David A. Ord, BSc (Chem.), Management Consultant, has lived in Cranage for 10 years.

John Oakley, Chartered Electrical Engineeer of 30 years experience. Managing Director of an electronics company. Married with four children.

Dr John Edwards, (Press and Media Spokesman) Molecular biologist, worked 26 years for ICI Pharmaceuticals/Zeneca. Now freelance TV writer/producer. Married with one son.

THE POLLUTION RISK REMAINS

Scottish Power now say they will use electric powered compressors at the Byley Gas Plant, not gas turbine compressors.

They want you to believe this means the plant will be pollution-free. Well it won't. In the first place there will be 5 GAS FIRED BOILERS at the plant, pouring out pollution: greenhouse-gas carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides that will drop acid rain downwind of the site. Also there will be further pollution, produced at the power sites generating the power needed by the gas plant's electric compressors.

After that, don't fall for Scottish Power's second line of defence, which is to say that there will now be less pollution. They're like the vandal who says he's not going to smash all your windows - just some of them.

And remember that the only reason for this pollution is Scottish Power's profit.

Britain doesn't need the Gas Plant! Latest Information