MoreThanWaste.com - Seghill landfill planning application called in by NE Government Office (22/09/2008)

Maidenhead, England: The Government Office for the North East announced on Friday that it has called-in the planning application for the Seghill landfill site which was passed by one authority, but rejected by another.

The applicant SITA has expressed its disappointment at the planning refusal previously (see MoreThanWaste article), though it is confident that its proposals will be vindicated at a local public inquiry.

Of the thousands of applications made annually, the Secretary of State calls in only around 150. The general policy is that normally, only applications that have issues of more than local importance are called in.

Examples given by the Planning Inspectorate for call-in, are "development that may conflict with national planning policy on important matters; development that could have wide effects beyond its immediate locality; development that raises significant architectural and urban design issues; development where the interests of national security are involved, or the interest of foreign Governments; and development where there is significant regional or national controversy". This latter example may 'fit the bill' in this case.

The Seghill landfill call-in follows the conflicting acceptance of the planning submission for the site by one planning authority, but the rejection by an adjacent authority. This result arose because the site straddles the boundary between the two authorities Northumberland County Council - passed the proposal on 29 July - and North Tyneside Council which rejected the application on 14 August.

The landfill operations are within the county of Northumberland, whilst much of the screening and landscaping, together with the planned new access road, are in the borough of North Tyneside.

The planning application was submitted to extend the area of landfill activity and also to extend the life of site operations by 15 years.

SITA UK provides a waste management service to over 12 million people and handles more than 10.9 million tonnes of domestic, commercial and industrial. The company employs over 5,500 staff and has an annual turnover in excess of £750 million.

John Grainger, SITA UK’s General Manager for the North East said:

“We were naturally disappointed that one of the participating authorities did not support our plans and are equally disappointed that this matter will now go to a public inquiry.

“However, we are confident that the Secretary of State will acknowledge the strategic importance of our case and the robustness of this particular planning application.

“This is not a matter of a company wanting to expand for commercial reasons: its about the regional waste strategy and the need for ongoing landfill capacity in this region.”

Further information

SITA UK initially submitted its application in 2005. The 50-hectare Seghill site has been used for landfill since the 1960s and is currently operating to a planning consent granted in 1989, at which time tipping operations were anticipated to continue until 2014.

The proposed landfill extension would cover 19 hectares of agricultural land to the east of the existing site, which would be shielded from the surrounding area by a 49 hectare landscaped buffer zone. SITA UK has also proposed a new access road, which the company says would dramatically reduce the amount of site-related traffic through the village of Seghill.


	Seghill landfill planning application called in by NE Government Office (22/09/2008) Maidenhead, England: The Government Office for the North East announced on Friday that it has called-in the planning application for the Seghill landfill site which was passed by one authority, but rejected by another. The applicant SITA has expressed its disappointment at the planning refusal previously (see MoreThanWaste article), though it is confident that its proposals will be vindicated at a local public inquiry. Of the thousands of applications made annually, the Secretary of State calls in only around 150. The general policy is that normally, only applications that have issues of more than local importance are called in. Examples given by the Planning Inspectorate for call-in, are "development that may conflict with national planning policy on important matters; development that could have wide effects beyond its immediate locality; development that raises significant architectural and urban design issues; development where the interests of national security are involved, or the interest of foreign Governments; and development where there is significant regional or national controversy". This latter example may 'fit the bill' in this case. The Seghill landfill call-in follows the conflicting acceptance of the planning submission for the site by one planning authority, but the rejection by an adjacent authority. This result arose because the site straddles the boundary between the two authorities Northumberland County Council - passed the proposal on 29 July - and North Tyneside Council which rejected the application on 14 August. The landfill operations are within the county of Northumberland, whilst much of the screening and landscaping, together with the planned new access road, are in the borough of North Tyneside. The planning application was submitted to extend the area of landfill activity and also to extend the life of site operations by 15 years. SITA UK provides a waste management service to over 12 million people and handles more than 10.9 million tonnes of domestic, commercial and industrial. The company employs over 5,500 staff and has an annual turnover in excess of £750 million. John Grainger, SITA UK’s General Manager for the North East said: “We were naturally disappointed that one of the participating authorities did not support our plans and are equally disappointed that this matter will now go to a public inquiry. “However, we are confident that the Secretary of State will acknowledge the strategic importance of our case and the robustness of this particular planning application. “This is not a matter of a company wanting to expand for commercial reasons: its about the regional waste strategy and the need for ongoing landfill capacity in this region.” Further information SITA UK initially submitted its application in 2005. The 50-hectare Seghill site has been used for landfill since the 1960s and is currently operating to a planning consent granted in 1989, at which time tipping operations were anticipated to continue until 2014. The proposed landfill extension would cover 19 hectares of agricultural land to the east of the existing site, which would be shielded from the surrounding area by a 49 hectare landscaped buffer zone. SITA UK has also proposed a new access road, which the company says would dramatically reduce the amount of site-related traffic through the village of Seghill.