Plans to build gas plant on abandoned mushroom farm in Great Bowden - which was site of illegal raves

An abandoned mushroom farm hit by a wave of illegal raves could be used to turn chicken manure into gas.

An anaerobic digestion plant would be built at Marigold Farm, off Welham Way, near Great Bowden, under the proposal.

Applicant Great Bowden Green Energy Ltd says the farm is derelict, and illegal raves have previously been held there. The company says the gas plant would bring Marigold Farm back into use and contribute towards green energy production.

Anaerobic digestion is a process which ferments raw materials, or feedstock, in a large, airtight tank to create biomethane and CO2. In this instance, the applicant is proposing to use a mix of poultry manure, straw and maize. Under government guidelines, half of the feedstock should come from waste materials. Leftover products from the process can then be used as fertiliser.

Biomethane produced at the site would be transported via pipes to the main National Grid pipeline, Great Bowden Green Energy said. CO2 would be ‘used in the food and drink industry’, but no further details were given in the application documents.

The applicant said there would be one, covered heavy goods vehicle arriving per day with manure. The maize would be harvested and transported to the site over a 30-day period in October and November, it added. The straw would be delivered as needed, operating on what the developer described as a ‘just-in-time basis’.

Great Bowden Green Energy said the fermentation process itself would create no odour as it needed to be done in the absence of oxygen. The deliveries of feedstock would be covered, it added, as exposing it to air lessens the quality of the final product. Similarly, the tank and storage would stay closed as much as possible, again minimise exposure to oxygen. All of these factors mean there should be very little smell leaking out to the surrounding area, the developer said.

But some people have raised concerns about the proposed location of the plant. Harborough MP Neil O’Brien believes the mushroom farm is the wrong place for it.

He said: “According to the planning application, trucks carrying 9,000 tonnes of poultry manure would be arriving every year, along with 24,000 tonnes of solid digestate [the substance produced by anaerobic digestion], 30,000 tonnes of liquid digestate and over 15,000 tonnes of straw. In the peak period during October and November, they would also be bringing in about 500 tonnes of maize every day, and I am concerned we will get some lorries coming through Great Bowden.

“Where such things have been built elsewhere in the country there have been problems with bad smells for nearby residents, and I know a number of residents in Great Bowden are concerned about that too.”

Mr O’Brien has launched a petition, which can be found on his website, against the plan and is calling on residents to sign it.

Update: The residents of Great Bowden will be joined by Harborough MP Neil O’Brien for a gathering this weekend to demonstrate their objection to the biomass power plant

They will be meeting at 2pm on Saturday January 27 at the entrance to the Hursley Park housing development on Northfield Avenue on Welham Road, Great Bowden, Leics, LE16 7GP.