VILLAGERS say expansion plans at a green energy scheme are unrecognisable from its original conception.

People living in Castle Eaton are worried about proposals to expand the anaerobic digestion operations on land off the Droveway.

Biomethane Castle Eaton Ltd wants to put a fourth digester on site as well as an effluent lagoon for run-off from new silage storage bays it wants to build, as well as a rainwater pond, an office building and a weighbridge.

People living in the area say that would turn what was originally a small local recycling and green energy set-up – which took material from local farms and used it to produce gas and fertiliser for use nearby – into a much bigger operation.

Keith Mills, part of the village's digester working group, said: “It was originally a local farming project, but now these plans are for a large-scale industrial gas-generating plant.

“The access is down a narrow single-track country lane used by hikers, horse riders and local residents for recreation, the planning application submitted to Swindon Borough Council calls for over 11,000 two-way HGV truck movements to traffic raw materials to the plant and waste digestate materials from the industrial processing plant.

“When this was farming project, most materials were grown by local farmers, arriving directly across fields, and the digestant was spread as a fertiliser on the same fields.

The group takes issue with the company’s planning application which says: “The existing access to the site will be retained and the volume of traffic associated with the existing development will remain unchanged with the proposals.”

Mr Mills said: “This statement is completely untrue and in real terms represents a 500 per cent increase in traffic over what was originally sanctioned for the local farming facility through the planning process of just 2,774 vehicle movements per annum.

"The new application calls for 14,307 per annum.”

The group also say there isn’t a need in the local area for the gas produced by the new capacity, and that it will have to be taken away by truck – adding to the transport issues.

Mr Mills said: “All of the new HGV traffic will have to navigate the notorious accident blackspot where the A419 junctions with the C114 road to Castle Eaton.”

Biomethane Castle Eaton director Chris Brown said: "We’re aware of the concerns raised about the proposed changes to the anaerobic digestion plant at Castle Eaton.

“We’re committed to understanding these concerns and working with the relevant planning and highways authorities to adhere to the conditions set out.

“The proposed changes to the site are required to ensure the AD plant is built in line with the latest industry standards, which have changed since it was originally built nearly a decade ago, and to improve its operation to make it even greener for the environment.

“The improvements will create more green gas from the same amount of agricultural feedstock the plant is already authorised to process and will allow this green gas to be injected via an underground pipeline into the National Grid gas network that supplies homes and businesses.

“We’ll continue to comply with all permitting arrangements and planning conditions. This means no HGV movements will pass through the village, and we will be working solely with local farmers to source agricultural feedstock for the plant.”

What is anaerobic digestion?

REGULAR listeners to The Archers will be familiar with the words anaerobic digestion. 

A storyline about a farm wanting to bring in an anaerobic digester has reflected the reality for many farming communities across the country. It’s a way of diversifying and bringing in extra income for many farmers, as well producing green energy from organic material. 

Material such as farm waste and slurry or even domestic food waste is kept in large airtight containers. The absence of oxygen allows micro-organisms in the waste itself to start work breaking down the material. 

The process takes longer than if the piles of material were allowed to compost naturally – but what comes out of the digester is more useful. 

Digestion produces biogas, which is mainly a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide.

That can be burnt in generators which produce both heat and electricity. It can be fed into the gas grid or transported by truck to where it is needed. 

The solid material left is nutrient-rich and can be used as a fertiliser.