Subscribe to trusted local news
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
- Subscription costs less than £1 a week with an annual plan.
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
04
Jun
‘Wrong location’ for asphalt plant, says ex-Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones
Former Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has urged councillors to reject plans to build an asphalt plant at Allerton Park.
A North Yorkshire Council officer has recommended councillors on the strategic planning committee approve the scheme when they meet next week.
Durham-based Tynedale Roadstone, which produces bituminous macadam and asphalt products for road surfaces, wants to build the plant just off the A168.
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 are among those who objected.
They have cited concerns about toxins, dust and smell, as well as noise and traffic congestion.
There are also fears that locating it alongside the waste incinerator at Allerton Park, between Knaresborough and Boroughbridge could lead to “industrial creep” along the A168 by breaking the promise of no future development in the area.
Mr Jones campaigned against the plant during his 14-year term as Conservative MP, which ended last year.
In comments made yesterday, Mr Jones said:
I was very disappointed to see the proposal for an asphalt plant may well be approved. The local community have run a strong campaign and the points they have made about environmental impact are powerful. This campaign has been very widely supported locally with neighbouring villages showing support too.
I went to join a demonstration and spoke out at a protest meeting first. The points I made then are my views now. This is simply the wrong location for such a plant. It is a large heavy industrial plant proposed for the countryside. There are simply better more appropriate locations. There are plenty of brown field industrial sites across Yorkshire and that is where the unit should be located.
The local community has been a farming community for generations and they have already taken more than their fair share of development with the Allerton waste plant. I hope this application is rejected and the council then works with the applicant to help them find a better site on empty industrial land
Campaigners in Marton-cum-Grafton in November 2023.
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 next week (June 10).
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”.
It added:
The proposal in this location would provide environmental and economic benefits by avoiding the need to source necessary asphalt materials for construction from further afield.
The applicant, working positively with the council, has addressed the concerns of those consulted on the application as well as those who made representations, through amendments, additional information and discussions to ensure that the proposal would not give rise to any unacceptable impacts, and any effects are mitigated against.
Therefore it is considered there are no material planning considerations to warrant the refusal of this application.
It would not result in any unacceptable impacts on local amenity, the character of the surrounding area and landscape, the local highway network, ecology or the water environment or result in an unacceptable impact on air quality or climate change.
2