Call to action over coal depot recycling plant
Firm went back on its pledge not to develop site
WEST Drayton campaigners are calling on the public to get behind opposition to a proposed recycling plant near the High Street.
Hillingdon Council is set to decide on the planning application on Tuesday June 21 after Powerday Plc promised last year they would not pursue the project.
Powerday submitted a planning application in December last year to demolish the existing Old Coal Depot buildings and construct a ‘Materials Recovery Facility’ (MRF), despite a pledge in early 2015 not to develop the site.
Councillors and residents have since banded together to oppose the plans in a five-year battle and are calling on the public to attend the meeting next week to voice their concerns.
Resident of nearby Wimpole Road, Dave Robins, said the issue is one of the biggest in the area.
The 68-year-old said: “They think they are going to wear us all down eventually. The area is on the up. The last thing we need is this thing causing noise pollution and traffic.
“It’ll effect everybody for miles around. It would ruin the town really.” Mr Robins, a retired librarian, said he would be attending the meeting of the major applications planning committee at the council offices next week.
Since being submitted the plans have been opposed by politicians and residents, including the MP for Hayes and Harlington and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
In February, Mr McDonnell penned a letter to Hillingdon Council pledging to oppose the scheme, saying it would have a ‘detrimental impact’.
The site just off Tavistock Road, which will incorporate a recovery and recycling building, storage bays and associated car parking, landscaping, fencing and infrastructure, will recover recyclable materials such as plastics, glass and cardboard from businesses and households. The site was previously rejected by the council after a 4,000-signature petition.
Residents have since been campaigning again and seven petitions have been put together, the largest of which has over 3,000 signatures. The site covers around 13 acres, or the same as around seven football pitches.
West Drayton ward councillor and secretary for the Garden City Estate Residents Association, Jan Sweeting, said: “This is the largest campaign in the south of the borough ever, apart from Heathrow. [Residents] are really really up in arms about it.
“Most of the transport will be coming through the High Street. It’s already gridlocked for many parts of the day. The noise pollution is going to be substantial. We’ve got residences only 50 metres away from the plant.”
Cllr Sweeting said she hoped the council would reject the plans, and urged locals to turn out next week to oppose the application.
No one from Powerday Plc was available to comment.
The decision is set to be made by the committee in the Council Chamber in the Civic Centre in High Street, Uxbridge, starting at 6.30pm on Tuesday next week.