Villagers set for crunch meeting in waste plant battle

RESIDENTS FIGHTING an “industrial-sized” waste plant close to an East Yorkshire village are expected to turn out in force at a crunch meeting this week.

More than 130 objections have been made over an attempt to change conditions on a planning application for the anaerobic digestion plant at Park Farm, off Market Weighton Road, Holmeon-Spalding-Moor, which was approved earlier this year.

Residents say increasing the amount of waste from 30,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes – a rise of 167 per cent – will mean a “massive” increase in smell, disturbance to residents and movements.

Holme-on-Spalding-Moor parish council said residents felt they were being “ringed by waste plants” and this increase in quantities was the “final straw”.

Officers are recommending deferral at a planning meeting traffic on Thursday for the signing of a legal agreement for an annual £20,000 community fund to offset the plant’s negative impact. But the parish council suggests if approved, the committee should raise the figure to £54,000 reflecting the large increase in its size.

Ward councillor Victoria Aitken, who will be speaking on the day, said: “The application came in for a small unit for onfarm requirements and now they are trying to make it an industrial-sized operation. This is not an East Riding designated industrial site. It should be on an industrial site in my opinion.”