Plans to develop a new 'green' energy facility in Belvedere have taken a step forward as the planning application has been been accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate.

Energy company Cory Riverside Energy submitted their application to the Inspectorate back in November from which the planning authority had 28 days to decide whether or not to continue forward with it.

Running close to the deadline, the plans were accepted for examination last Friday, December 14.

According to Cory, the REP facility will take on 655,000 tonnes of landfill waste and use it to create energy, which will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 130,000 tonnes every year.

Documents submitted by the energy company state that the site aims to create enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 140,000 homes a year across London.

Cory Energy, which also operates a facility on Norman Road, wants to provide up to 30 megawatts of 'affordable energy' to houses in the area, and offer jobs to local people.

The power company estimates the construction of the new site will offer 6,000 jobs, with plans to put 100 full time jobs and apprenticeships in place when the site is up and running.

Speaking on the application, a spokesman for Cory said that they were pleased to hear the news and are eager to see the project push off the ground, under the guidance of nearby residents.

"The Inspectorate will now independently assess our proposals and there will be further opportunities for people to provide their comments directly to the Inspectorate as part of that process.

"Now that our application has been formally accepted, the application documents will be available to view via the Riverside Energy Park page of the Planning Inspectorate website.

"After this process has concluded, the Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who will make the final decision on whether to grant the project consent," he said.

Although the plans have been accepted, Cory failed to include a number of nearby councils in the pre-application stage and were advised by the Inspectorate to include them in the examination process of the application.

There were also some ecological concerns raised regarding the loss of important animal habitats which Cory are now advised to expand upon in further stages.

An examining authority will now be appointed to deal with the application and the Inspectorate has three months to prepare for the examination.