Supermarket developers voice their objection to wood recycling plant proposed on neighbouring site

Industial estate, Benwick Road, Whittlesey, where wood recycling plant is proposed (Image: Archant)

Principal planning officer Helen Wass is recomming the plant for approval but will the county planning committee on Tuesday that Harrier Developments Ltd has tabled strong objections.

“Harrier has been granted planning permission for a supermarket and petrol filling station on land at the junction of Station Road and Benwick Road to the southwest of the proposed wood waste recycling site,” she will tell the committee.

“They consider that the proposed use will produce unacceptable and adverse levels of dust, noise, vibration and fire risk.

“They feel this will have a negative impact on the customers and employees of the food store and petrol filling station and their operating conditions (e.g. drains, air conditioning, filtration and rainwater harvesting equipment). “

Ms Wass added: “They also believe that the adjacent nature reserve will be adversely affected.

“They do not believe that fugitive dust can be limited to levels that can be effectively monitored or subject to an enforceable planning condition.”

The proposal is to develop a temporary waste food wood recycling centre which will store waste wood in stockpiles up to four metres in height, with mechanical diggers on site to sort it.

There will also be mobile plant to shred the wood to create products for use in panel board manufacturing or as biomass fuel.

The facility would be capable of handing up to 15,000 tonnes of waste each year on five and a half a day working week.

Neither Whittlesey Town Council nor Fenland District Council has objected, although the latter wants noise, lighting and dust kept to a minimum.

Woodacre is a Whittlesey based property company run by Andrew Millar.