WARRINGTON Borough Council has received more than 100 objections to plans to use open land at Culcheth for the composting of organic waste to produce agricultural fertiliser.
The plan comes before the council’s development management committee on Wednesday – and officers are recommending it be approved, subject to conditions.
They point out that an earlier application which was refused, is the subject of an appeal to be heard in November.
The new scheme at Diggle Green Farm, Wilton Lane, Culcheth has been scaled down – and if approved it is likely that the appeal against the earlier proposal would be abandoned.
Conditions would relate to working hours and the number of lorries allowed to visit the site
Residents main complaints relate to smells, flies and increased traffic caused by existing composting on the site. If the new proposal is approved, waste materials would be brought by road from a wider area for composting on the site.
Areas where waste could be imported from include Cheshire West and Chester; Cheshire East; West Yorkshire; Merseyside (Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Knowsley and Wirral boroughs), Halton; Warrington; Greater Manchester Authorities (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan boroughs); and Derbyshire.
A report to be considered by the committee indicates that 103 individual letters of objection have been received, including many from the Doeford Close and Kenyon Lane areas.
Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council has also expressed its concern over the scheme. They are calling for more information and say Kenyon Lane and Wilton Lane are not suitable for the large vehicles use to bring the waste to the site.
Officers point out the scheme would reduce the need for artificial fertilisers on land at Diggle Green Farm, which would also have to be brought to the site by road.
They also note that no new buildings will be required on the site – unlike the previous application which was refused.
Machinery used for composting on the site
2 Comments
This place already operates clandestine late hours traffic moments most probably un monitored by any council officials even during this sensitive consultation period, imagine what they will be once approved. whats even more amazing is that the same planning officials who approve of this commercial manure site whilst refusing applications not 50 yards away from residents who want to add small extension to their kitchens to protect the supposed green belt, quite bizarre !
WBC pays scant attention to enforcing conditions specified in many of its planning consents, so there is little hope of them monitoring this scheme during the sensitive consultation period. All the more so when “officers are recommending it be approved, subject to conditions.”