Derbyshire County Council planners have given the go-ahead for a recycling facility at a controversial landfill site close to two north Derbyshire villages after residents have complained that they have already suffered with the waste tip for many years and they want the land restored.
The council’s planning committee unanimously approved the planning application during a meeting on July 15 for Valencia Waste Management Ltd to build and operate a Material Recycling Facility with infrastructure on approximately 37,673sq ft of grassland and car parking at its Erin Landfill site, on Markham Lane, Duckmanton.
Residents from nearby Duckmanton and Poolsbrook have repeatedly complained about foul smells, flies, gulls, dust and noise at the landfill site and they had hoped that by now the site would have been restored into a nature reserve rather than being further developed.
Poolsbrook resident Jacqueline Blackwell said: “I feel really let down because the council’s ethos is all about the community but they are not caring what the community feels and they are not focussing on the community.”
Staveley Town Council and Derbyshire County Cllr Anne-Frances Hayes, who represents the Staveley area, have also objected to the application on similar grounds as well as concerns over an increase in the use of lorries for Poolsbrook and Duckmanton and the town council wants to see the landfill site closed.
County Cllr Hayes told the meeting: “While I appreciate the landfill has been there for some years, I don’t believe a new application would have been passed to have this site so close to homes.”
Land to the north, south and west of the proposed 0.35 hectare site is currently used as the landfill in the Staveley area by Valencia and the proposed recycling facility would sit 500 metres north of Duckmanton, between Poolsbrook, Staveley town, and Woodthorpe to the north, Long Duckmanton to the south, and Brimington to the west with Shuttlewood to the east.
Cllr Hayes argued that the site is too close to two primary schools and she accused Valencia of failing to keep residents fully informed during the planning process.
Ms Blackwell also told the meeting that she is very concerned about pollution and the significance of methane gas and more rubbish coming into the area not least because of the nearby Poolsbrook Country Park.
A county council officer stated in a report that they were satisfied that a need for the facility to extract recyclable material prior to going to landfill has been demonstrated and that the development is considered to be appropriate at the site.
Valencia’s planned recycling centre site would involve a large building on land that has been deemed by the Coal Authority to be a “high-development risk area” due to the history of opencast mining and it has been reported that there is potential for asbestos on the land.
But the council has stated that the risk of contamination is deemed to be low with a negligible flooding risk and that a report has indicated there is no evidence of coal seams of significant thickness and the risk of unrecorded shallow workings is low.
The Coal Authority advised the applicants to undertake a thorough ground investigation before going ahead with any development.
Valencia’s new recycling centre aims to treat up to 250,000 tonnes of mixed, non-hazardous waste per year and recover metals, plastics, lights and other products for recycling before they are sent off-site for energy recovery and any residual waste would be placed in the existing landfill facility.
The centre will be 72m in length, 49m in width with an eave’s height of approximately 9m and a ridge height of approximately 12.5m and it will have a steel portal frame built on breeze blocks and would house plant and equipment used in the recycling process.
And the application also includes the installation of a 2.5m high, and 10m long, and 8m wide quarantine bay against the wall of the facility along with plans for the installation of a cycle shelter.
Valencia has stated that there will be a dust management plan with operations taking place inside a building and staff will be trained to keep dust under control and vehicles entering and leaving the site will be sheeted or enclosed and should make use of a wheel-wash, and any dust emissions will be noted and resolved.
It is also hoped by Valencia that the site will provide an economic benefit to the area and support employment during the construction period with subsequent jobs for site workers.
Valencia stated it expects to operate the Erin landfill site until 2035 with a possible further two years for any subsequent restoration work when the area may be subject to possible remediation.
The company added the site is surrounded by agricultural land and it does not breach any environmental thresholds with the M1 motorway to the east and Markham Vale Business park nearby.
However, it has stated there are properties along East Crescent, North Grove and Poolsbrook Road and the closest properties there are within approximately 500m south-west from the site boundary and there are also residential properties along Cottage Close in Poolsbrook, with the closest property there being approximately 385m from the northern site boundary.
A Valencia spokesperson has explained the aim of the development is to intercept commercial and industrial waste heading for landfill and to extract recyclable materials which would then be removed from site for recycling, re-used or recovered by third parties and that any domestic, putrescible waste would by-pass the facility to landfill.
Although an increase in traffic is expected with the development, Valencia claims its existing routes do not pass any residential properties and that assessments conclude that ‘residential amenity’ will not be affected and the council has stated that the proposed development would not result in unacceptable impact on highway safety.
Valencia has also stated the development may mean removing some trees but it hopes to eventually leave the site in a better condition for wildlife and claims any noise will be low impact and be below standard levels and no neighbouring properties will be affected.
Derbyshire County Council’s highways authority, Chesterfield Borough Council and the Environment Agency raised no objections to the application.
Cllr Hayes has argued Poolsbrook and Duckmanton primary schools are located too close to the proposed development and she believes this will have a detrimental effect on the health of the pupils.
She has stated that the nearest part of Poolsbrook would be barely 500 metres away from the development and the village centre would be only 1,000 metres away.
Cllr Hayes said: “The residents of Duckmanton and Poolsbrook have suffered long enough with the disruption caused to their daily lives by the Erin Landfill site.”
Others have submitted comments to Derbyshire County Council highlighting concerns including dust, noise, the impact on the environment, its location near properties, a feared flood risk and that it may be used for construction waste, among claims of bad smells and flies from the existing site.
The county council had also received a petition with 453 signatures which had stated: “Residents are not persuaded that Valencia will be mindful of their concerns during day-to-day operations.
“It is essential that Derbyshire County Council listens to residents’ voice[s] about this planning application before the landfill site causes any further strain on the mental and physical well-being of the local community.”
But the council stated the facility would serve a defined need and relate directly to the ongoing use of the Erin Landfill site for landfill.
A council report stated: “On the basis of the site’s location within an established landfill, it is considered that the proposal accords with the exceptions in spatial strategy and the principle of development would therefore be acceptable.
“It is therefore considered that in principle, this type of facility is likely to be supported at the site, subject to compliance with other policies.”
The council added that any unacceptable noise pollution, odour and dust or air pollution impacts that may arise could be suitably mitigated against and that the council is not convinced the development would lead to an increase in vermin nuisances because the facility would be fully-housed.
A council officer stated: “The proposed location of the MRF (Material Recycling Facility), quarantine bay and cycle shelter would not be within a sensitive locality regarding landscape, heritage or ecological designations.”
Planning consultant Richard Kevin, who spoke on behalf of Valencia, said legislation requires the pre-treatment of waste before it goes to landfill and the new recycling facility will help divert waste from landfill sites.
He added that the council has stated that is satisfied that there is a need and any objections or concerns can be mitigated and the site will operate with certain conditions.
County Cllr Mick Yates said: “I am concerned because I honestly cannot find a planning reason to object, but I am concerned listening to what has been said.”
The council’s planning committee subsequently granted planning permission for the waste recycling facility subject to conditions including that there should be no more than 185 heavy goods vehicle visits carrying waste, or 370 vehicle movements, on any day.
The Erin landfill site was previously owned and operated by Viridor Waste Management Ltd but the operation has since been taken over by Valencia Waste Management Ltd.
In April, 2021, the previous Erin Landfill owner Viridor was granted a 14-year extension until May, 2035, by the county council allowing the waste tip to remain open and to be filled for the foreseeable future, despite residents’ complaints about foul smells, flies, gulls, dust and noise and hopes that by now the site would have been restored into a nature reserve.
Following the commitee’s decision, Cllr Hayes, argued that Valencia have created a ‘blot on the landscape’ because she claims they are building upwards and the site can be seen and they not employing local residents.
She said: “They are supposed to be closing it down – they have an extension to 2035 – and they are supposed to be going and leaving but they are not going to invest this money and leave.”
Cllr Hayes added that Valencia has a site in Greater Manchester and another in Cantebury, which is subject to a retrospective planning application, and that the situation is a case of ‘where there is muck, their is brass’ and she feels ‘this will come back to bite this committee’.
