PLANNING bosses have called a special meeting to consider the long-awaited plan to extend the operational life of Warrington’s giant Arpley Landfill site by 12 years.
The borough council’s development management committee will meet at the Parr Hall on Wednesday, January 30 to accommodate the large number of people expected to attend the meeting.
More than 6,100 people have signed a protest petition, there about been 388 letters of objection and there
have been objections lodged by Appleton, Culcheth and Glazebury, Great Sankey, Lymm, Penketh, Rixton with Glazebrook, Stockton Heath and Walton parish councils.
Seven individual members of the borough council have also made representations.
Planning officers are recommending plan, submitted by site operators Waste Recycling Group (WRG), be refused..
They say the extension would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, would have potential impacts on protected species and impact on nearby homes through its impact on air quality and dust and through smells
But the Merseyside Environmental Advisory Service and Cheshire West and Chester Council are supporting the application because of the regional importance of the landfill facility.
If approved, the application would mean Arpley would continue as a landfill site until 2025.
The site has been operating since 1988. It is divided into five phases, two of which have been restored and landscaped and one which is to be restored once settlement has taken place. One phase is currently active and one not yet affected.
WRG say no increase in the capacity of the site is proposed. Landfill operations would be moved further away from residential areas, but would extend the lifespan of the facility by 12 years and also significant affect the height of the site.
The number of vehicles accessing the site would be capped at 250 a day next year, reducing to 184 by 2021.
But recent traffic counts indicate that the actual number of vehicles is notably less than this cap proposes
|Borough planners point out that since planning consent was given for Arpley in 1986, 339 houses have been built at Saxon Park. Residents quite reasonably expected the landfill site would cease operations this year.
They accepted lower levels of amenity than might be expected on the basis that waste disposal would end this year and if permission was granted the less than acceptable levels of amenity would continue for another 12 years.
Planners believe this provides a basis for refusing the application – along with Green Belt considerations, traffic issues and smells, noise, dust and pests.
