Western Daily Press (Saturday)
MoD objects to bigger plant due to bird strike fear
THE prospect of birds hitting the world’s most expensive military aircraft has led to objections to an extension to a proposed anaerobic digestion plant in Wiltshire.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has written to Swindon Borough Council over proposals for a site at Castle Eaton, which is about a mile from RAF Fairford, across the border in Gloucestershire.
The airfield has one of the longest runways in Britain and regularly hosts visitors from the United States Air Force.
It is the USAF’s main airbase in Europe for heavy bombers including the B2 stealth bomber which cost a whopping $2 billion each.
Military bosses are concerned more birds will be attracted to an expanded waste plant in the village north of Swindon, increasing the possibility of engine strikes.
Planners at Swindon Borough Council are working through an application by Biomethane Castle Eaton Ltd to expand the existing anaerobic digestion plant in Castle Eaton.
The company wants to put a fourth, much larger, digester on site and an effluent lagoon for run-off from new silage storage bays that it wants to build, as well as a rainwater pond and an office building and weighbridge.
The plans have drawn significant opposition from many people who live in the village concerned about the increase in lorry traffic they say will be needed to keep the plant fed with digestible material.
And because the site is close to RAF Fairford, the MoD has also written about its concerns,
The letter from the ministry to the borough council says: “The principal concern of the MoD is the creation of new habitats may attract and support populations of large and/or flocking birds close to the aerodrome.
“The principal concern in relation to this development in the vicinity of RAF Fairford relates to the potential increase in bird strike risk to aircraft operations.
“The addition of new silage clamps has the potential to result in an additional food source for hazardous birds such as rooks. The rainwater and effluent lagoons likewise have the potential to attract birds such as gulls.”
The MoD has asked planners at the council to ensure if the scheme is approved the silage is covered when not in use, and the rainwater and effluent lagoons should be as small as possible, with steep sides and surrounded by a bird proof fence.
The MoD is also worried about the use of cranes when building the new plant and how that might endanger aircraft and has asked that the applicant must submit a plan for how tall structures will be used during construction and get it signed off before starting work.
The application is expected to come to the council’s planning committee later this year.
The principal concern in relation to this development in the vicinity of RAF Fairford relates to the potential increase in bird strike risk to aircraft operations THE MOD