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09
Jun
Knaresborough MP reveals position on Allerton Park asphalt plant
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Tom Gordon, has said he would vote against a controversial asphalt plant between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge.
Durham-based Tynedale Roadstone plans to build the plant next to the Allerton Waste Recovery Park off the A168.
The proposal has been recommended for approval by North Yorkshire Council officers at a meeting in Northallerton tomorrow (June 10).
Councillor Robert Windass, a Conservative whose Boroughbridge and Claro division includes the plant, said he objected to the scheme and asked the Liberal Democrat MP for his opinion at a meeting of Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee on Thursday last week.
Mr Gordon said:
My view on it is that I can understand why people would not want that in close proximity to their house. I do think on balance having it next to the A1 is much better than having it in the middle of a town centre.
I think there is pros and cons on both sides. If it was down to me and I had a vote on the planning committee I probably would be inclined to vote against it. But as an MP, I have no formal involvement in the statutory planning process. My voice and my objections is given the same weight as a local resident.
The guidance that I would offer councillors and local town and parish councillors in the area is to contact North Yorkshire Council and planning officers and make sure their voices are heard. As I say, if I was living there, I would probably be inclined to not want a plant on my doorstep too.
His comments come after former Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, reiterated his opposition to the plan.
Mr Jones, who campaigned against the plant during his 14-year term as MP, urged councillors to reject the proposal and said it was “simply the wrong location” for the scheme.
Andrew Jones (right) with protestors at a demonstration in 2023.
Knaresborough Town Council, Marton-cum-Grafton Parish Council, Great Ousebrn Parish Council, Whixley Parish Council, Kirk Hammeron Parish Council, Little Ouseburn, Kirby Hall, The Parish of the Dunsforths and Thorpe Underwood Parish Council have also objected to the plant.
They have cited concerns about toxins, dust and smell, as well as noise and traffic congestion.
The 15 councillors on the strategic planning committee, which was set up to deal with major applications in the county, will vote whether to accept the council officer’s recommendation to approve the scheme on Tuesday.
Case officer Sukaina Devraj’s report says the application “represents a sustainable form of development with having a direct link to a waste recycling use on site, proximity to the strategic road network and its proposed purpose for the provision of a source of locally produced asphalt for use in road surfacing and other construction works in the locality”.
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