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Peak Cluster has formally requested permission from Wirral Council to access council-owned land as part of its highly controversial £5 billion carbon capture pipeline project.
The proposed underground pipeline would transport carbon dioxide from lime and cement manufacturing sites in Derbyshire and Staffordshire offshore to be stored beneath the Irish Sea. The planned route would see the pipeline traversing the entire length of the Wirral Peninsula before heading out to sea.
The pipeline has proved to be highly controversial, but the council has maintained its steadfast opposition to it.
According to Birkenhead News, the request for land access will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of the council's Policy and Resource Committee.
A council report explains that while these requests are handled by officers, the decision has been moved to elected councillors because of the public interest in the project, and they want to create "the maximum amount of transparency regarding the decision".
Committee members will be asked to approve or reject the access to land. However, even voting against the access doesn't stop the powers of the Peak Cluster.
The report makes it clear that the company "will be in a position to authorise staff and contractors to access the land and if the council were to in any way impede access, then Peak Cluster would be entitled to seek a warrant from a magistrates court."
At an extraordinary meeting of Wirral Council in March, councillors of all political persuasions unanimously voted for motions raising serious concerns about the scheme. Protesters also gathered to voice their objections. Hundreds of protesters gathered ahead of that meeting to voice their objections.
