Controversial plans for an asphalt plant that local residents fear will be a danger to public health could be given the go-ahead by councillors next week.
Officers at North Yorkshire Council are recommending that the application for the facility at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, beside the A1(M) between junctions 47 and 48, should be approved.
The plans have been submitted by Tynedale Roadstone Ltd, which wants to build a facility to reuse a by-product from the adjacent waste recovery plant to make road surface products.
The applicant says environmental and technical assessments have confirmed that the site is capable of supporting the proposed scheme with “no significant impact on the environment” and that there will be no breaches of national air quality objectives.
Supporting documents submitted with the application add:
“This application proposes a land use that is wholly in-keeping with the established land use profile of the site and complements those existing land uses currently operating within the wider waste recovery park.”
But almost 200 objections have been received by the council from local residents, parish councils and the then MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones.
Critics of the plans have identified a wide range of concerns, including fears over pollution, dust, noise, smells, ground contamination and traffic problems.
In its response, Kirk Hammerton Parish Council said:
“This represents a risk to public health in surrounding villages and is an obvious concern for residents of Kirk Hammerton.”
Goldsborough and Flaxby Parish Council also submitted an objection, stating:
“Why is a ‘dirty’ process such as this even considered at Allerton?
“Why is it even needed at all? It should not be in a rural location and should not be allowed to be erected next to an incinerator that is already spoiling a rural location.”
A petition containing more than 1,000 signatures has been submitted against the scheme.
Campaign group Communities Against Toxins (CATs) has also called for the application to be rejected, describing the scheme as “an environmental disaster waiting to happen” at a public meeting held.
Members of North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee will be recommended to approve the scheme when they meet on Tuesday next week at County Hall in Northallerton.
Planning officer Sukaina Devraj said in a report to members ahead of the meeting:
“It is considered the proposed development complements existing land uses currently operating within the wider Allerton Waste Recovery Park site; whilst moving waste up the waste hierarchy, manufacturing materials for secondary aggregate and enhancing the local environment through off-site biodiversity net gain.
“Overall, the proposed development, when taken as a whole, is considered to be in compliance with the development plan for the area.
“The proposal is considered to be sustainable, and approval is recommended subject to conditions to suitably mitigate any effects.”
The Environment Agency had initially objected to the application, but has now removed that objection as long as various conditions are met.
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