Table of Contents
Wirral West MP Matthew Patrick has said Peak Cluster's scaled-back plans for an above-ground plant on Wirral are still "a non-starter".
Peak Cluster, the company behind the £5bn carbon capture project, announced last week that it had significantly reduced its plans for Wirral, cutting the area needed for the site by 85%.
The scheme would carry carbon dioxide from lime and cement works in Derbyshire and Staffordshire through a pipeline across Wirral, to be stored in depleted gas reservoirs under the East Irish Sea.
In a statement reported by the Liverpool Echo, Mr Patrick said: "I am disappointed to learn that Peak Cluster believe their amended plans for a smaller above ground installation (AGI) are acceptable for the Wirral."
He added that throughout the year, he has been urging Peak Cluster to "drop this facility entirely" and added it is a "non-starter".
He said his concerns went wider than the plant, including "unanswered safety questions, the threat to irreplaceable habitats, and potential use of taxpayer money".
He added that if it became clear Peak Cluster would not address those concerns, "I will take a different approach".
Peak Cluster says the project would cut more than three million tonnes of carbon dioxide and create or safeguard more than 13,000 jobs.
Chief executive David Parkin said in his own statement that feedback from the first consultation had helped refine the design, and the company now wants views on "the proposed route of the buried pipeline and the location of other temporary and permanent infrastructure".
Wirral Council has objected to the plans across its parties, and last month, Wirral's four MPs issued a joint statement on the Peak Cluster.
Have your say: the new consultation includes an online webinar on 23 November and an in-person event at Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, on 3 December. Both need registration through Peak Cluster.
