A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build a biogas plant on a farm in Wotton, near Dorking, has been thrown out by councillors.
At a packed meeting on Tuesday evening, the Mole Valley District Council planning committee heard the case for and against installing an anaerobic digester plant at Coast Hill Farm in Sheephouse Lane.
Members then quizzed planning officers over several aspects of the plan, which would see organic material produced on the farm – including maize and cattle manure – fed into storage tanks to create gas to drive an electricity generator.
Several concerns were raised, including possible nuisance noise, the risk of toxic substance leaks and switching many fields to production of fuel instead of food crops.
But after two hours and 40 minutes of discussion, councillor's decided the site's location – beside the busy A25 and just 160m directly uphill from houses at The Rookery – was the most serious issue.
Sixteen of the 18 committee members voted to reject the application, with two abstaining and none in favour.
See next week's Dorking Advertiser for more on this story, including local reaction to the decision.
