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You Are Here >> QUINN-group Home >> Latest News >> Update on QUINN glass, Elton Judgement

Further to the Judgement on the 8th April QUINN-glass has, this morning, received the anticipated enforcement notice together with the associated timescales. In the Judgement, Ardagh lost their argument in the High Court that retrospective planning permission cannot be granted for the QUINN-glass Elton plant and we are pleased now to note that the Local Authority have stated that they are again considering when to bring the application before their planning committee. The Leader; Mike Jones, of Cheshire West and Chester Council said "We now anticipate considering this complex application based strictly on its planning merits".

The enforcement notice was issued by Cheshire West and Chester Council by way of protecting their regulatory powers under the four year immunity rule. However QUINN-glass will be appealing this in view of the fact that a comprehensive planning application has already been with the local authorities since January 2008. Consideration of this application had been delayed by the most recent challenge brought by Ardagh just days before the Local Authority were due to determine the planning application. This comes on the back of the long running legal battle between Ardagh and the Local Authority concerning the granting of planning permission for the Quinn facility. The enforcement notice does not take effect until 29 May and in the meantime QUINN-glass will be appealing in order to allow time for a full and proper determination of the planning submission.

By way of background; Ardagh is a competitor of QUINN-glass and has made numerous attempts to prevent the granting of planning permission for the Cheshire plant over the past five years. The plant is the most environmentally friendly glass facility in Europe and is built on a brown field site which was previously a coal fired power station. The development has therefore greatly enhanced the environmental sustainability of the site from its previous use which we trust will be recognised in the final assessment.

Ironically whilst Ardagh have been challenging the QUINN-glass facility, they have received at least five enforcement notices themselves from the various Local Authorities that regulate their operations. The latest enforcement notice issued to Ardagh relates to their Barnsley plant emitting untreated waste gas from their furnace on an ongoing basis since the beginning of March of this year. Unbelievably, Ardagh have indicated that it may require up to 15 weeks to resolve the breach. It is also interesting to note that while they claim to have the interests of the local residents in Cheshire at heart they continue to ignore the interests of their own neighbours and the UK’s pollution control regulations.