UK: BP’s Buncefield fuel bid refused

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.

Herts Advertiser