Tewkesbury backs Wingmoor extension
The council’s planning committee decided not to object to Grundon Waste Management Ltd’s application to continue running the site, near Bishop’s Cleeve and Cheltenham.
Although the application will be determined by Gloucestershire County Council, possibly in March, the borough was asked for its view.
Committee members decided not to object but drew up a list of conditions that they hope the county will impose on Grundon if the application is approved.
Following concern from residents about the impact of the site on Bishop’s Cleeve, borough councillors want changes to be made.
They want it made clearer when the lifetime of the operation will end. It had been due to end in May 2009, but Grundon now wants to carry on running it and only restore the land to its original condition in 2030.
Councillor Peter Richmond (LD, Cleeve West) said Grundon should be forced to begin winding down operations.
He said: “There has been ‘development creep’ and the site is now running, frankly, on an industrial scale. It was supposed to close in 2009.
“There’s a considerable loss of residential amenity. The odours coming from it are considerable. If we’re going to be reducing waste, we should be talking about the closure of this site.”
The borough wants access to the site and the roads around it to be upgraded to take into account the increasing number of lorries going there.
Members will also tell the county that it must take into account a study, which is under way, into the effect the site may be having on the health of villagers.
The committee was told that 148 letters of objection to the application had been lodged by people worried about noise, smell and dust pollution issues. The parish councils in Bishop’s Cleeve and Elmstone Hardwicke had also objected.
Councillor Allen Keyte (C, Oxenton Hill) said: “Most people are of the belief that these things have to be dealt with somewhere. What has gone wrong are the highway issues. They’ve never been handled properly and they jolly well should be.”
Bishop’s Cleeve-based Safety in Waste and Rubbish Disposal (SWARD) group said it was dismayed by the borough’s decision.
Spokeswoman Barbara Farmer said: “After the council objected so strongly to the materials recovery facility application in 2006, we feel betrayed and bewildered that it should recommend that this appalling burden on the local environment can possibly continue for a further 20 years.”
Grundon says that even if its application is refused, it would take 10 years for the site to be restored.
The county council says the application may be considered on March 11.
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