" Naturally we are delighted with today’s decision. This will be an important strategic facility for managing Northumberland’s waste and we believe this is the best location for it. We have held exhibitions locally to consult local people and I believe that the revised proposals approved today show that their views have been taken in to account"
Charles Dupont, PFI Director for SITA UK
SITA UK has received planning approval for a new integrated waste management facility (IWMF) in West Sleekburn, Northumberland. Approval came from the Northumberland County Council’s planning committee yesterday (6/03/2007).
The West Sleekburn facility is a key part of the infrastructure to be developed for SITA UK’s 28 year, PFI agreement with Northumberland County Council.
The PFI contract is backed by £40.8m of Government funding which will help provide essential new and improved facilities across the county. The investment in facilities in Northumberland is being channelled through SITA Northumberland Ltd.
Ultimately under the PFI agreement:
- 45% of waste in the county will be recycled,
- 50% being used to generate electricity,
- Only 8% (sic) being disposed of in landfill sites.
Northumberland County Council has been set a target by Government of reducing the amount of waste it currently landfills to around a fifth by 2019/20.
It is expected that the project will create up to 80 full time jobs.
The West Sleekburn Facility
"Gaining planning permission is a massive step towards making Northumberland one of the greenest counties in the country in the way we deal with waste"
Paul Jones, Head of Waste Management with Northumberland County Council
The development will be located on an industrial estate at West Sleekburn which is bounded on its western edge by a railway and an embankment. The nearest residential properties are in excess of 300m away.
The company says that the ultra-modern £11m facility will process 50,000 tonnes a year of mixed newspapers, magazines, cardboard, cans and plastic bottles collected by the local district councils’ kerbside recycling schemes across Northumberland.
It will also handle up to 70,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste from Wansbeck, Blyth and Castle Morpeth that will be transported to Teesside, where it will be used to generate electricity.
It is anticipated that construction work will begin on the site in a matter of weeks and the integrated facility is due to be operational by the end of 2009.
The IWMF has two key components these being a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) and a Waste Transfer Station, each of which plays a vital role in Northumberland County Council and SITA UK’s plans to increase recycling and divert as much of the county’s waste away from landfill as possible.
Planning issues
Artist's impression of SITA's West Sleekburn Facility
SITA UK carried out a full consultation process involving a public meeting and letters to households and local businesses. Environmental and traffic issues were addressed and amendments made to take account of the small number of concerns raised.
Traffic
Yesterday's decision was the second time that the planning committee had considered the application. At a meeting in January the committee decided to defer making a decision so that the Council and SITA UK could review the access road to the site.
SITA UK and the County Council examined traffic issues but found the most appropriate way to access the site was from the A189 Spine Road via Brock Lane and the existing industrial estate access road.
Northumberland County Council will be putting a package of traffic management measures in place as part of the development works. The package will include:
- improved road safety at West Sleekburn Middle School,
- widening a section of road and increase parking provision on the industrial estate access road,
- strict controls to ensure site vehicles follow the agreed traffic routes that avoid local residential areas.
SITA says that all traffic, except traffic collecting waste from West Sleekburn itself, will access the IWMF via the A189/Brock Lane. It will not pass through local residential areas.
The option of building a new access road was discounted, as it would have had a negative impact on two nearby residential properties, cut across a popular footpath, reduce the land available for other new industrial developments on the estate and prejudice the potential future use of rail transport at the facility.
A new road would also cost over £1m to build, would delay the development of the waste facility and prejudice the counties ability to reduce its reliance on landfill disposal and meet tough recycling targets set for 2009/10.
Ecology
Great crested newts, a European protected species, were translocated into ponds approximately 240m to the south of the Sleekburn around 5 years ago. Great Crested Newts live and breed in water bodies but they are also known to use terrestrial habitats within 500 metres
Survey information indicated that it was unlikely that great crested newts would be present within the site due to the physical barriers between the ponds of the Sleekburn, the railway sleeper bridge and the railway embankment and this was accepted by the Planning Committee.
Check newt surveys are the subject of a planning condition.
There will also be a loss of existing vegetation and habitats on the site by construction work. However, SITA's application includes proposals for the creation of more wetland areas in the south west corner, the reseeding of disturbed area and additional tree and shrub planting.
The Planning Committee considered that this would improve the existing habitats on the site and mitigate the loss of the existing vegetation.
Comments
Charles Dupont, PFI Director for SITA UK, said:
“Naturally we are delighted with today’s decision. This will be an important strategic facility for managing Northumberland’s waste and we believe this is the best location for it. We have held exhibitions locally to consult local people and I believe that the revised proposals approved today show that their views have been taken in to account.
He added: “Providing these new facilities will enable the County Council to meet stringent targets for landfill diversion set by the Government. Failure to meet these targets will result in significant fines in the future.”
Paul Jones, Head of Waste Management with Northumberland County Council, said:
“Gaining planning permission is a massive step towards making Northumberland one of the greenest counties in the country in the way we deal with waste.
“The facility at West Sleekburn is the most important single element in achieving these aims. I am delighted we have been able to work with Wansbeck District Council and achieve the best interests for local residents and businesses and the people of Northumberland.
“Waste is a massive problem facing the UK. We all have to change the way we think about waste for the sake of future generations.
“Councils like Northumberland are working closely with the Government and playing our part. It is no longer acceptable to just bury waste in landfill sites, it should be treated as a resource and put to good use.”
SITA UK
SITA UK, a subsidiary of Suez Environment, serves over 12 million people and more than 35,000 businesses with a range of waste collection and treatment options. It employs over 5,000 staff and has an annual turnover in excess of £500 million. The company handles more than 10 million tonnes of domestic, commercial and industrial waste through a network of recycling, composting, energy-from-waste and landfill facilities.
Suez Environmental
Suez Environment, a branch of the Suez Group, supplies essential services, plant and equipment: drinking water production and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, waste processing and recycling. Backed by its experience in the water and waste sectors, Suez Environment has a wide-ranging portfolio, providing sustainable solutions for local authorities and businesses. The environmental branch employs over 72,130 people worldwide and generated EUR 11.1 billion in sales in 2005.