The public have until next Wednesday to submit
comments to Environment Agency Wales (EAW) about Swansea Drydocks Ltd's plans.
The agency, which has already issued the company a
draft permit, will then assess the responses before making a final decision.
If it awards a full permit, Swansea Drydocks will
be ready to start its dismantling and repair operations at the city's Prince of
Wales Dry Dock.
Despite bringing jobs, it would not be a popular
move with the Maritime Quarter Residents' Association, which discussed the
plans at its recent meeting.
Chairman Keith Evans said people were unaware of
the potential hazards and risks he claimed the plans could pose to local lives,
and accused the EAW of failing to consult the people of Swansea
"The consultation process meant that EAW
inserted an announcement in the Evening Post that an application had been
received to operate a shipbreaking yard," he said.
"They also made documents available at their
offices in Llandarcy and at the Civic Centre, hoping that people would find out
about this contentious application. Such actions could hardly, I believe, be
called consultation with the people."
Mr Evans said the EAW would be better off
fulfilling its vision of creating "a better place for people and wildlife,
for present and for future generations" rather than awarding such a
permit.
He felt there were concerns about how the impact of
the operation would be measured, claiming the EAW would base any environmental
impact on "baseline figures" compiled by Swansea Drydocks during the
first shipbreaking contract.
Posters are being distributed to flats and homes in
the marina and to businesses in SA1.
An EAW spokeswoman said: "The views of the
community are important to us. We are currently in the middle of the second
phase of consultation to give people the opportunity to highlight any issues
which they feel we have not yet considered. As part of the initial
consultation, we consulted with a number of local organisations and received
over 50 comments from local residents. These have been considered in our draft
decision.
"We have made a thorough assessment of this
application and have set the highest environmental standards to make sure that
the proposed facility will not pose a threat to local people or the
environment."
Swansea Drydocks has spent money refurbishing the
dry dock and has said it will create 85 jobs and launch a world-class recycling
and repair facility. The firm declined to comment further.
Source: South Wales Evening Post. By
Richard Youle (richard.youle@swwmedia.co.uk).
18 November 2011.
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Residents-ship-breaking-bid-intensify-battle/story-13883688-detail/story.html
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