Parish councils near a waste incinerator near Knaresborough have questioned whether a decision over setting up an asphalt manufacturing facility on the site should be taken out of a council’s hands.
The parish councils represent numerous villages surrounding the Allerton Waste Recovery Park off the A1(M).
They claim North Yorkshire County Council lied to them about the impact of the incinerator, and that its councillors had pledged the rural area would not see further industrial-type developments.
The comments follow numerous communities across the county accusing the Conservative-run authority of putting big business interests above those of residents.
They have been lodged in response to Tynedale Roadstone’s application to the county council to create an asphalt manufacturing plant across a 2.1-hectare grass and scrubland site at the waste recovery park.
The site, which is an existing and partially complete and restored landfill, features other uses such as a concrete batching plant and the processing of 320,000 tonnes of waste a year from York and North Yorkshire councils.
The firm said the site had been chosen because plastic from the waste recovery plant would be used in the production of the final asphalt road surfaces product, cutting transportation, while its proximity to the A1(M) meant vehicles could enter and exit the site without having to pass through villages.
Planning documents submitted by the firm said the site is “extremely well screened from view” and locating the plant there would “protect” other employment sites in the area.
Read more:
- Plans to build asphalt plant beside controversial Allerton Park incinerator
- Environment Agency calls for Allerton Park asphalt plant to be rejected
It said:
“The application proposes a land use that is wholly in-keeping with the nature of this site and complements those existing land uses currently operating on the park.”
However, some residents have said they are as concerned about the impact of the proposed asphalt plant, particularly due to the potential of dust unintentionally spilling from the site, while mixing of hot bitumen could allow the release of a pungent, acrid smell.
‘A one-off isolated proposal’
In objections to the scheme, parish councils said when the incinerator had been approved in 2014 they had been assured by the county council that it was “a one-off isolated industrial proposal” in what was acknowledged as a rural location.
In its response, Arkendale Coneythorpe and Clareton Parish Council has highlighted how councillors went on record to say the incinerator would not be the stimulus for further industrial ribbon development along the A1(M) corridor.
A parish spokesman said:
“If this development is allowed to proceed what the county council promised these local communities will have been proven to be false and we would be right to feel let down by the democratic process.”
In its objection, Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council said as the county council had past and present interests in the site, an independent consultant with no specific interest in the plant should be commissioned to assess its impacts.
The parish council’s objection said it questioned “the legitimacy of this planning application being reviewed and considered by North Yorkshire County Council planning authority”.
The parish council said:
“North Yorkshire County Council officers made a big thing about how little the nearby incinerator would impact visually, with it being located in a quarry.
“Plainly that was a lie or at the very least a highly optimistic assessment. The incinerator can be seen from miles away including the east side of Harrogate and up the Yorkshire Dales.”
In response, Cllr Derek Bastiman, whose executive portfolio includes waste disposal, said:
“The application for the Allerton Waste Recovery Park was thoroughly debated at the time and the planning process was rigorously followed. Full consideration was given to any environmental impact on nearby residents and the surrounding landscape.
“The application now submitted by Tynedale Roadstone is entirely separate and relates to an area of land separate to the AWRP lease area. Like any planning application, it will be considered in accordance with planning policy.”
