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Harrogate MP backs campaigners fighting asphalt plant

Wednesday, 22 November 2023 18:00

MP Andrew Jones has backed campaigners fighting against plans for a new asphalt plant next to the Allerton waste incinerator.

Harrogate MP backs campaigners fighting asphalt plant MP Andrew Jones has backed campaigners fighting against plans for a new asphalt plant next to the Allerton waste incinerator. The MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough has also warned developers ‘this is the wrong idea, in the wrong location’. Mr Jones met members of the Communities Against Toxins (CATs) group on Saturday at a packed Marton Cum Grafton Village Hall. Talking to residents, he assured them that he too was against the proposal, and that he hoped their voices of protest would be heard loud and clear at North Yorkshire Council. He said:

“I am joining the residents who are objecting to plans for the new asphalt plant down on the A168. “I share their concerns and I object to this proposal too. “The reasons are two-fold and to do with both head and heart. The heart brings the community together to show this is not welcome, and the head tells you that the dangers of pollution – both air pollution and water pollution – are major risks. “Campaigners have done an incredible job marshalling the arguments and I hope when councillors come to consider the application they act on these concerns and turn the application down."
More than 100 villagers from communities surrounding the proposed Allerton site turned out to protest against the plans, joining Mr Jones as they made their feelings clear to assorted TV and digital media. More than 1,000 residents have now signed objection forms calling for the plans to be rejected. It is feared that anyone living within a 3-9km radius of the site would be affected by numerous potentially harmful pollutants with the region’s air, land, and waterways exposed to a dangerous cocktail of chemicals. Submitted by Tynedale Roadstone Ltd, the plans would see the building of a large asphalt plant at the Allerton Waste Recovery Park, despite the company already operating two existing sites in Newcastle and County Durham. It includes a 22.5-metre exhaust stack which will spew out fumes associated with the production process containing known toxins, such as Carbon Monoxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Lead. CATs organiser Michael Emsley said there was still much more for the campaigners to do as they looked to step up their fight. He is particularly keen to put pressure on North Yorkshire Council regarding certain aspects within the proposal’s Environmental Impacts Assessment (EIA) which CATs believe have not been correctly addressed. He said:
“It was great to see Mr Jones come here and show his support to the campaign and meet residents who have serious concerns regarding this proposal. “We do not believe this plant should be built in this location and we will continue to do all that we can to fight it. “We will not stop. We will make sure that when North Yorkshire Council sit down to make its decision, they are in no doubt as to what the local communities think and that our concerns regarding the EIA have been addressed.”
Read more local stories from Your Harrogate here.

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