BP's Buncefield fuel bid refused
27 September 2007
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| The devastation after the 2005 blast |
GLOBAL oil company BP has been dealt a blow to its hopes of resuming the storage of petrol and diesel at the Buncefield fuel depot following the giant blast and fire there in December2005.
Herts County Council decided it would not support the storage of volatile fuel on the site at a meeting last week following concerns which were raised by Dacorum Borough Council when BP submitted plans to reinstate part of the site, which fringes Redbourn, earlier this year.
The councillors felt that to use Buncefield, which was engulfed in the biggest fire in peacetime Europe, would be detrimental to the redevelopment of the surrounding area, particularly the Maylands industrial estate which was left largely a mangled mess of steel after the blast.
Since then some of the affected businesses have relocated permanently, about 25 per cent are still experiencing disruption and nearly 1000 jobs have been lost while a further 2,000 remain at risk.
A major fear is that the perceived risks of resuming fuel storage at the depot could damage local business confidence.
The county council also felt that to consider any planning application for the site prior to a Health and Safety Executive's verdict on their investigation into the safety surrounding oil depots, would be inappropriate.
Acting leader of the county council, Robert Gordon, said: "When you consider the scale of the damage caused to local businesses in the wake of the 2005 disaster, the concerns already expressed by the borough council are perfectly understandable.
"Maylands is absolutely vital to the local economy and the long process of rebuilding the industrial area is still underway - so anything that might raise further concerns at this delicate stage is not likely to help restore business confidence."
"A key factor to consider is that the Health and Safety Executive has still to conclude its work on safety around oil depots - the conclusions of which may well determine whether numerous companies on the Maylands development will stay put or relocate altogether."
But the council accepted there was a case for making best use of the underground infrastructure by providing supplies in aviation fuel.
A spokesperson for BP said the company was very surprised by the cabinet's decision because it did not have the opportunity to put forward its case as it did not know the issue was being discussed.
She explained that BP wanted to make improvements and repairs to the site to enable it to re-open as soon as possible for transferring jet fuel by pipeline to Heathrow. At a later stage it wanted to introduce a reduced level of petrol and diesel storage and distribution by tanker.
She added: "Safety is of paramount importance to BP and it is fully aware of the concerns by local businesses and the local residents. BP will not open the site until it has all the necessary permissions from the relevant authorities.
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