A Government planning inspector has dismissed an appeal against a council refusal to grant permission for a waste processing facility near to a gypsy and travellers’ site.

Councillors rejected the proposal for a disused motocross site in Old Station Road, South Bank, in October 2020 which would have involved the crushing and screening of mixed stone for use as aggregates, along with the processing and composting of soil and vegetable matter.

Residents living at The Haven, a designated travellers’ site which lies on land directly to the east, had claimed there would be problems with dust and noise as well as potential issues with smells, flies and vermin.

There were also concerns about congestion from HGVs which would be visiting the facility and poor visibility for drivers in both directions when exiting Old Station Road.
Teesstone Group Limited appealed the decision, but this was rejected by inspector Alison Scott, who visited the location in February.

The company had anticipated a maximum of a hundred vehicular movements to the site per day across the hours of operation from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am until 1pm on a Saturday.

Agent Gordon Henderson previously told Redcar and Cleveland Council’s planning committee that it had worked closely with the local authority and “implemented all their suggestions to arrive at a scheme which ticks all the boxes”.

In her judgement, Ms Scott said there was only one vehicular access and egress into the site and no designated internal standing area identified for vehicles to wait before entering a weighbridge facility included with the proposals.

She said: “There is insufficient evidence provided to demonstrate that vehicles arriving at the site would not back up along the access road. 

“In addition, there are no details regarding the effects of vehicles arriving at the site before it opens.”

The planning inspector added: “On the basis of the operations that would be carried out on site and the logistical arrangements I have noted, I conclude that there are insufficient details of the potential for noise arising from engines idling within close proximity to the Haven site and the consequential effect for residents to experience increased noise levels and dust emissions from these waiting wagons with their heavy loads.”

She said there would be a “significant amount” of waste being processed on the site and the potential for dust emissions, for which no suppression measures had been submitted.

Ms Scott said Teesstone had suggested revisions to the plans, relating to the entrance gates to the site and the location of operations within it.

But she said she had no details of these and could only consider what was before her, also making the same point in respect of an acoustic screen adjacent to the Haven site.

The planning inspector said she had considered the potential for jobs to be generated and the benefits associated with waste recycling.

But she concluded that there was no evidence presented to demonstrate that the development would not lead to harm arising to the living conditions of local residents and this outweighed any other factors.

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