Personal, political and economic interests are in play at the planning inquiry into the Quinn Glass bottle plant near Chester, north-west England, which has opened at the Queen“s Hotel in the city.
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Personal, political and economic interests are in play at the planning inquiry into the Quinn Glass bottle plant near Chester, north-west England, which has opened at the Queen“s Hotel in the city. Quinn Glass has opened the case in favor of retrospective planning permission for its plant at Ince which is already producing containers for the food and beverage industry. Inspector J. Stuart Nixon will hear evidence from both parties before making a recommendation to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on whether the factory should be allowed to continue. The planning application was “called in” by Mr Prescott“s office before the general election in May 2005 on the grounds that the project had “more than local significance”. Labour MPs in South Yorkshire, where rival firm Rockware is based, had lobbied for the inquiry. Rockware, which controls 40% of the UK glass bottle market, has most to fear if the Quinn plant is saved and has hired a top lawyer to put the case for closure. The battle is also personal, with reported animosity between Sean Quinn, managing director of Quinn Glass and his fellow Irishman, Paul Coulson, who heads Ardargh, the owner of Rockware. The outcome is also important for Chester City Council: the authority originally approved planning permission but was successfully challenged by Rockware in the High Court, incurring a GBP 45,000 legal bill for local taxpayers. In October 2005, the council lost another battle when Judge Andrew Gilbart QC overturned its decision to grant an operating permit to Quinn and condemned its “unacceptable and lax” approach. Opening the case for Quinn Glass, Neil King QC, said: “This application is of great importance to the economy of the region and to the UK glass industry as a whole. “That is signified by the fact that it is supported by both the local planning authorities within whose area the application site lies and by Cheshire County Council, but is opposed by one of the UK“s existing glass manufacturers, Rockware Glass, whose focus of objection, in seeking to have the application called in by the Secretary of State, was on economic grounds. “That focus has now shifted to the more local impacts of the development about which those bodies with local planning functions and local democratic accountability are satisfied, and which have no direct relevance to or effect on Rockware“s interests at all.” The inquiry is expected to come to a conclusion early in the New Year.