Residents stand firm on biodigester application

Irish-owned Stream Bioenergy Ltd is planning to build an Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant in Tully Quarry that would generate electricity from poultry litter.

A special meeting was held on Friday at the Braid between Ballymena and District Concerned Residents Association and Area Planning Manager John Linden.

He heard that one of the major issues for the residents is the untested nature of this project.

In a statement they said: “There is no such facility anywhere in Ireland where the single biomass source is chicken litter.

“Therefore, the community here in Ballymena do not want to be the guinea pigs in such a programme. To even contemplate what appears to be a pilot programme of mass processing of chicken waste, within a quarry, situated in such a densely populated area is shocking. Furthermore to do so without full public consultation is unacceptable.”

A petition against the application has already achieved 360 residents since the plans were made public.

Planners are looking into the issues raised and are yet to make a final decision.

The residents association called on the application to be refused completely, they added: “Ballymena and District Concerned Residents Association respectfully request that South Antrim Area Planning Department do not proceed any further with the proposed development.

“There are so many issues which must be addressed and independent risk assessments must be conducted on all areas of concern.”