Asphalt plant near village gets go-ahead despite residents’ objections

PLANS for an asphalt plant near an East Riding village have been approved despite hundreds of objections from locals.

East Riding Council’s Planning Committee voted to approve Newlay Asphalt’s plans for the plant in the Catfoss industrial estate, near Brandesburton.

Resident and objector, Jackie Suthenwood, said the plans threatened the local tourism industry which was vital for the economy of the area.

Matthew Good, of Newlay Asphalt, said they had operated a plant in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire for more than 10 years closer to residents’ homes without issue. The approval of the plans marked the third time that they appeared before councillors since 2022.

The massing of machinery has been scaled back and the height of an onsite chimney stack has been lowered from 20m to 15m to try and lessen its impact.

There are also plans for landscaping including planting trees to screen it from view. Plans have also been updated so that aggregates would be stored in internal bays and they stated the plant would fit in with other industry in the area off Catfoss Lane.

The plant would have the capacity to process up to 100 tonnes of material an hour, with 30 lorries travelling to and from the site for collections and deliveries. There would also be an estimated 15 visits from smaller lorries.

The plant would operate from 5am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, from 7am to 12pm on Saturdays and it would be closed on Sundays and bank holidays. Bodies including the Environment Agency raised no objections and council planning officers recommended it for approval.

But a total of 347 residents objected over noise, odours and emission and their impact on residents, the local tourism industry and farming.

Ms Suthenwood said the area was already served by an existing asphalt plant in Hull. The objector said: “Tourism is economically vital to the Brandesburton area. There’s already traffic issues in the area.”