TATA Chemicals Europe’s plant at Lostock Gralam will be developed ‘in one go’, the company has stressed.

Work could begin later this year to clear land paving the way for the building of an energy-from-waste plant on land occupied by the old Lostock Power Station.

It will take between 12 and 18 months to divert the services crossing the site and to demolish the old power station, and then three years to build the new plant.

Consent for the plant was granted in 2012, and it expires in October.

Tata spokesman Fraser Ramsay said: “We would like to correct a fundamental misunderstanding that has been raised by some people in relation to the Lostock energy-from-waste project.

“The misunderstanding is that it is Tata’s intention to build the Lostock EfW plant in two separate phases, which they believe would require a new planning consent.

“Tata will construct the Lostock EfW in a single build programme.

“This is summarised in the application to discharge pre-commencement planning condition 5: Construction Traffic Management Plan, which can be viewed on the CWAC planning website.

“The development schedule indicates 13 distinct construction activities from site clearance through to final construction and completion tests.

“The single build programme is envisaged to take over three years to complete and is in line with the planning consent.

“We believe the misunderstanding has come from people reading the environmental permit application submitted by our former partner, Eon Energy from Waste, in August 2012.

“Whilst it was always the intention to construct the Lostock EfW buildings in one go, the environmental permit application in 2012, which is entirely separate from the planning process, did propose a two-phase approach to the installation of the power generating equipment lines within the building.

“This was Eon’s proposed approach at the time, but is no longer necessary. The project will be built in one go in accordance with the planning consent.”