Occidental Refinery
At the public inquiry objections were raised by opponents of the development about air and water pollution; the impact on health; the loss of amenity; the risks of fire and explosion; and problems of traffic congestion.
[4] Crude oil was to be delivered to the refinery from ocean-going vessels of up to 100,000 dwt (deadweight tons) via a mile long jetty extending into the deep water of the river Thames from Hole Haven creek.
[7] It built about twenty oil and product storage tanks, a 137-metre high concrete chimney for the furnaces and a deep-water jetty.
[14] Castle Point District Council refused planning consent in November 1977 on the basis that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) were undertaking an analysis of the overall industrial hazardous risks on Canvey.
[14] In August 1978 Occidental announced it was not proceeding with this development, partly because of the increased costs associated with HSE's report;[9] the project again went into abeyance.
In 1964 the Italian oil company AGIP (Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli), a subsidiary of the Italian state-owned Eni (Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi) S.p.A., was granted an Industrial Development Certificate (IDC) by the UK Board of Trade to build an oil refinery on a 94 ha site in the north-west of Canvey (51.5367°N 0.5500°E).
[20] The IDC was introduced in 1947 as a means of influencing the pattern of industrial location throughout Britain and was required before seeking planning permission.
Over 20,000 local people signed a petition opposing the development; the principal concern was air pollution and fumes from the refinery.
[24] He noted that residents 'would be exposed for short periods to high concentrations of sulphur dioxide’ and 'the additional nuisance of the oily smell which arises from the mercaptan products of refinery operations'.
Braine had previously raised the issue of air pollution from the Thameside refineries firstly in 1953 during a Commons debate and in 1958 had presented the Minister of Housing and Local Government with a petition signed by 6,000 Canvey residents protesting about atmospheric pollution from the Thameside refineries (Shell Haven and Coryton).
Following the 1965 public inquiry the Ministry inspector upheld the planning refusal on the grounds that the refinery would 'seriously diminish the value of the green wedge separating the Thameside industrial belt from residential areas between Basildon and Southend’.
[28] Crossman succeeded in delaying the decision as it was revealed that AGIP wanted to sell their British interests to Esso on the ground that 'there wasn't enough market in the UK for them to worry about'.
[33] In late 1970 URL applied for planning permission to build a four million tonnes/year oil refinery on Canvey Island.
Bernard Braine claimed that Murco had joined the venture because they had been refused permission to build a refinery in Glasgow, Scotland.
Sargeant MA FRICS, concluded that permitting the refinery would be a 'serious environmental mistake',[34] but also said that a similar proposal would not necessarily be ruled out if a site could be found to which there were not 'such strong amenity objections'.
[36] Having considered the inspector's recommendations from the two inquiries the Secretary of State, Peter Walker, granted permission for the Occidental refinery on 23 November 1971 but refused the URL application because of the effect the development would have on the local environment, specifically the need to leave an area of open land between the Occidental refinery and South Benfleet.
[36] The Secretary of State for the Environment, Geoffrey Rippon, considered that local amenity objection were not strong enough to outweigh economic advantages of the refinery.
[36] In 1974 the new Labour Secretary of State for the Environment, Anthony Crosland, announced an exploratory inquiry into revoking the planning permission for the URL refinery.
[38] Ward concluded that the planning permission for the refinery should be allowed but only if the British Gas Corporation methane terminal on Canvey was shut down or a source of ignition installed at its perimeter.
[40] Wade's recommendations gave rise to another inquiry which was held by the DoE in January – May 1982 on the discontinuance of the operation of the methane terminal under the chairmanship of Alan de Piro QC.
