QUINN: THE  STORY SO FAR

1998 Quinn Group enters the glass market with plant in Derrylin, Northern Ireland.

2000 Decides to build a plant at Elton after considering a location in northern France.

2003 Construction begins on the site of the former Ince B power station that had closed in 1997.

2004 Submits a second planning application to the then Chester City Council and Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council to increase the size of the plant by 20%.

2005 Elton plant goes into operation. The council resolves to grant the new planning permission, but the application is the subject of an extensive public enquiry.

2007 Secretary of state for communities and local government refuses planning permission in January, but invites the firm to make a fresh application. Quinn challenges the decision in March.

2008 Makes a new application for the site in February and withdraws its challenge against the secretary of state's decision in October.

January 2009 Chester council says a four-year period during which enforcement action for the site has to take place expires in November. This period starts from when all activities at a facility are substantially completed, which in Quinn's case covers bottling and distribution as well as manufacturing.

March 2009 Ardagh challenges Chester City Council in the High Court over the planning permission to persuade it to serve an enforcement notice on the site. This delays the council's planning board from considering the most recent application, scheduled to appear in February.

April 2009 Judge Mole QC orders the newly formed Cheshire West and Chester Council to issue an order notice to stop work at Elton and says building the facility without full planning consent was a "calculated risk". He calls the development "unlawful" and agrees with a witness it would be "disgraceful" if the firm achieved immunity from correct planning procedures. Quinn says it will appeal the judgement.

May 2009 Quinn appeals the enforcement notice, which requires it to cease production within nine months, demolish unauthorised buildings and restore the site to its original condition within 24 months, on the grounds the council needs time to consider the planning application.

September 2009 The council's planning committee approves the 2008 application for planning permission after studying a 100-page report, which says the "benefits of the development are considered to outweigh the limited harm". The issue now passes to communities secretary John Denham who needs to confirm the existence of "exceptional circumstances" to justify awarding planning permission retrospectively. In the report, planning officers concluded the ‘exceptional circumstances' related to the redevelopment of a brownfield site, the 2003 planning permission and environmental assessments that had already been carried out.

Wrap reveals major glass savings

Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 19 May 2008

 

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) has claimed that its GlassRite scheme has kick-started a "major change in the wine industry" by making lightweight bottles a "regular feature" on UK supermarket shelves.

 

Presenting the results of the first phase of the GlassRite scheme at the London International Wine Fair at Excel today (20 May), Wrap will reveal that bulk importing and lighter-weight bottles have cut CO2 emissions by 28,000 tonnes per year.

 

More than 350 different wine labels have moved to lighter-weight bottles during the project, resulting in a saving of 11,400 tonnes of glass per year.

 

The amount of wine imported in bulk into the UK and bottled over here has increased by 79 million glass bottles each year.

 

The first phase of the GlassRite programme was undertaken from summer 2006 to March 2008 under the management of British Glass and backed by the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

 

Wrap has worked with retailers Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and Tesco, as well as brand owners such as Constellation Europe, on 10 separate bulk importing and lightweighting initiatives.

 

Glass manufacturers such as Quinn Glass, wine fillers including Kingsland Wine & Spirits and logistics specialist Trans Ocean Distribution have also been involved in the scheme.

 

Nicola Jenkin, Wrap's beverages category manager, said GlassRite "has worked with the industry to illustrate that sustainable business practices do not have to compromise commercial values or quality".

 

The second phase of the scheme will run until November 2009 and will assess the viability of sub-300g wine bottles and lighter-weight champagne and sparkling wine bottles.

 

Wrap is on stand F94 at the London International Wine Fair, which takes place at Excel on 20-22 May.