PDE Consulting Limited (PDE) were commissioned by Fortis IBA Limited (Fortis) to prepare and submit to the Environment Agency (EA) an application to vary an environmental permit for the A303 Enviropark, Drayton Road, Barton Stacey, Andover, Hampshire, SO21 3QS. The bespoke installation permit allows the storage and treatment of Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) to create IBA Aggregate (IBAA).
The proposals included the deconstruction and removal of the existing IBA processing plant and the construction of an upgraded, replacement plant (replant) within the current permit boundary. As well as a new, enhanced IBA recovery facility to be located within an eastern extension area, outside the current permit boundary.
The replant will be operated within a generally enclosed building for improved environmental management. A loading shovel will feed the IBA into a feed hopper, which will allow the IBA to flow through a number of conveyors, screens and separation processes to remove the ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Any oversize material will be crushed (within the replant building) and re-fed back into the process. A picking station will improve the recovery of any remaining metals. The residual material from each of the fractions produced forms the IBAA. The non-ferrous fraction will be transferred onsite to be further refined in the adjacent, enhanced IBA recovery facility.
The enhanced IBA recovery facility will take place within a fully enclosed building, comprising a material receipt and storage area, dry and wet separation plants and finished products storage area. The imported feed material (screened IBA / non-ferrous fraction) to the enhanced IBA recovery facility will comprise fine and coarse fraction sizes. The finer feed material will be processed through a dry separation plant, including various conveying and screening processes, using specialist de-dusting extraction equipment to liberate metals and maximise IBA recovery. The coarser feed material will be processed through a wet separation plant. The material is washed and the water removed via a de-watering screen. This water is recycled within a closed loop system, with water being stored in tanks within the building. Recovered IBA residue will be returned to the adjacent IBA recycling site for use in IBAA. The recovered metals from the enhanced IBA recovery facility are then ready for export and onward recycling.
The application was submitted on 19 September 2025. It was duly made as of 04 December 2025. The EA did not have the need to issue any Schedule 5 notices during the review period. The final permit was issued on 13 July 2026. The timescale for the permit being assigned for duly making, subsequently being assigned for determination, and issue of the final permit (total determination period just under ten months), was a distinct improvement on EA performance over the past few years especially for a complex application of this type.
