Plans to install a landfill gas powered generator on a waste tip in Cullingworth have received the go-ahead.

Shipley Area Planning Panel approved the proposed installation of the generation plant on land at Manywells Quarry.

The plant will use landfill gas generated by the waste matter in the tip to power an estimated 1,000 homes over a 15-year period.

The gas will be collected through a network of boreholes and pipes within the site.

The compound, measuring 29m by 12.7m, will be located on land to the south west of the waste tip and will be surrounded by a 2.7m-high steel fence. A 5m flare stack will also be erected as part of the project.

Within the compound will be a generator, gas pump, an enclosed gas flare used in emergencies and a workshop.

Bradford council planners say the visual impact of the site will be reduced by the presence of a wooded slope, as well as a bund and trees to the north of the development.

They have also analysed the engine emissions and noise data from the proposed generator and are satisfied it will not be harmful to people and the environment and will not disturb residents in nearby Sutton Drive and Manywells Crescent.

However, they are recommending the construction of a 4m high noise barrier to alleviate any potential noise nuisance to the neighbouring properties.

Submission of a planting and landscaping scheme, as well as specific details of the access route, are part of the conditions of approval.

Planning permission has also been granted for the re-grading and reclamation of agricultural land next to the waste tip.

Shipley planning panel has granted the use of imported inert materials to fill in land to the west of East Manywells Farm. The previously quarried site, which comprises of approximately 9,000 square metres of land, will be filled in with 20,000 cubic metres of inert waste to cover old mine workings.

It is anticipated that the site will be filled within six months and then graded to provide natural drainage before it is finally restored to agricultural land.

Concern has been expressed regarding the safety of people using the bridleway to the north of the site, which trucks will cross to deliver the inert waste.

Proposals to deal with this include a concrete vehicle crossing, with security gates on either side, that will be manned during operational hours to ensure public safety.

The number of vehicle movements has also been limited to 60 a day (30 in, 30 out) as one of the planning conditions. Other conditions include the reinstatement of the bridleway after infilling is finished and all operations to cease on March 18, 2001 (the closing date of Manywells waste tip).

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.