‘Unlawful’ waste site is ordered to shut down
COUNCILLORS VOTE TO REFUSE PERMISSION FOR FACILITY
A waste site set up and operated illegally in the countryside will be made to close after councillors voted unanimously against its continuation.
The “unlawful operation” at Bracknell Farm, Earl Shilton, was discovered by Leicestershire County Council after it received noise complaints from people near the site.
The council ordered the firm to cease all work as it had not obtained planning permission, but the owners of the site continued operations while they sought the necessary consent.
The council’s development control and regulatory board met on Thursday to decide its future.
Councillors voted unanimously not only to reject the application but also to authorise enforcement action to ensure the operation is shut, all equipment removed and the land returned to its previous state.
It was the second time the board had rejected the application for the plant to operate.
A meeting was held in April where the original application was refused permission, but the vote did not carry as it was not formally moved.
Applicant Winstay Aggregates wanted to import 75,000 tonnes of non-hazardous soil and aggregate waste from building sites each year.
The site, if it had been approved, would have been operated between 8am and 4pm on weekdays, 8am and 1pm on Saturdays and would have been closed on Sundays.
Heavy goods vehicles would have only been able to visit outside peak times – 8am to 9am and 5pm to 6pm – with an estimated 24 two-way trips a day.
Planning officers had recommended the scheme for refusal, saying there were other suitable sites in Leicestershire companies could use for their waste.
The applicant also failed to demonstrate the waste being transported to the facility would have had to have travelled significantly further if the centre was not there, they said.
Bracknell Farm is not a suitable or sustainable location, officers added.
Waste facilities can be set up in or close to Loughborough and Shepshed, Hinckley and Burbage, Coalville, Leicester, Melton or Market Harborough. This site is not within one of the nominated areas defined by county policies, they said.
However, Councillor Maggie Wright came out in support of the application. The site is within her ward of Fosse Normanton.
She said the scheme had substantial merit and was only recommended for refusal because of a technicality that meant it breached planning policy – it is simply on the wrong side of a road.
“Why would you want to move such a site closer to the urban areas of Hinckley and Burbage?” she said.
“Here, mitigation would have to be put in place to restrict noise and dust due to close proximity of residential properties. The roads would not be suitable.
“Conversely, the farm stands alone and really is an ideal location to provide minimum disruption.
“What is the real-world harm to allowing this development?”
The board also heard from Marc Harrison, the director of Golden Sites. The company has said it would be interested in using the site if permission was granted.
The company has to take materials to landfill sites in the county or to recycling centres in the West Midlands, Mr Harrison said.
Neither of these options were environmentally friendly, he added, and the Winstay Aggregates site would allow it to meet sustainability goals.
The motion to reject the application and to proceed with the enforcement action was moved by Ibstock and Appleby councillor Dan Harrison.
He said: “I’m concerned the company involved has spent a lot money, time and energy setting this up, but nobody has said ‘here’s a list of five,
10 or 20 people who have said they would use us.’
“It’s about the laws in planning and the policies. It’s not about who spoke the best or is the most convincing. I think there is a breach of policy.”
The farm stands alone and is an ideal location to provide minimum disruption. What is the real-world harm? Coun Wright