Island LNG plant given go-ahead

The company will start building work in 2008

Plans to develop a former chemical plant on Anglesey, creating 60 jobs, have been backed by councillors.

Canatxx LNG Ltd is to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at Amlwch, where 100 people lost their jobs in 2003 when the chemical plant closed.

It would mean offloading LNG from a platform 3km (1.8 miles) off shore.

The LNG would first be shipped by tanker from South America, Russia, and the Middle East and later be piped to Preston in Lancashire.

Some environmental groups have expressed concern about the scheme's impact, and members of Amlwch town council were worried about the site's location close to a housing estate.

But councillors were told on Wednesday that the Health and Safety Executive had concluded that the risks of an accident were so small that there were no significant reasons for refusing the application on safety grounds.

Around 300 construction jobs are expected to be created when work starts next year.

The site used to be owned by the Great Lakes Chemical Corporation, formerly known as Octel, which closed its plant after 50 years in the town in 2003.