Landfill fears grow after news of meeting emerges

Details of a meeting held last September have emerged, revealing ESCC officers were in discussion with a waste operator and the owners of the Turkey Road site at least five weeks before the official consultation.

Nick Hollington, chairman of Bexhill Against Landfill and Incineration (BALI), who made the FOI request of ESCC for all correspondence about the potential use of Ashdown Brickworks as a landfill site, said the document showed a "dangerously hasty" attitude towards the site which is the only named option in ESCC's waste plan.

He said: "Why are they having meetings with the site owners and waste contractors even before the consultation begins?

"East Sussex should be in a neutral position. It should not be actively progressing discussions with potential applicants for land disposal while a major policy review is taking place."

ESCC has refused to release all its correspondence about Ashdown Brickworks, claiming to do so would not be in the public interest.

When asked if similar meetings had been held to discuss other possible sites, an ESCC spokesman said the county had entered into correspondence with some landowners, but it was too early to speak with other operators because alterative sites have only been narrowed down to areas of search.

The document dated September 16, 2009, shows four ESCC officers, including senior members of the waste and minerals planning team, met with site owners Ibstock and a director of Cory Environmental waste disposal, as well as representatives from Scott Wilson, a consultancy firm hired by ESCC.

The group discussed key obstacles to overcome before Ashdown could be used for landfill, citing access and engineering issues but making no mention of the impact on Bexhill's population, or the nearby environment.

Ibstock, which have waste contracts with Cory Environmental at four other sites in the UK, are reported as "pleased that Ashdown is being considered".

The document concludes: "Preferred strategy consultation starts on 21.10.09, however ESCC would welcome ongoing dialogue with Ibstock/Cory regarding Ashdown."

One key question is whether ESCC has gone beyond its remit of ensuring all the options it has put forward are worth investigating. Actively helping one site progress towards a planning stage could weaken the consultation process.

MP Greg Barker said: "The documents I have seen do lend themselves to the suggestion that they could be some form of pre-disposal towards this site which would make a mockery of the alleged consultation process.

"I'm not happy that officers are withholding information and am seeking the advice of the House of Commons library as to whether they are legally entitled to do that.

"I'm determined to fight this proposal every step of the way."

An ESCC spokesman said: "In 2004 new government legislation was introduced, which directed local authorities to deliver new style planning documents, such as the Waste and Minerals Core Strategy. Government advice is that for local authorities to achieve this, they must talk to interested parties.

"We have, therefore, had in-depth discussions with a range of bodies and operators, including Ibstock, Veolia and Bretts.

"We met with Ibstock because the Ashdown Brickworks site has been proposed for landfill for some years. In 2006 the proposal reached the position of being formally allocated for land disposal when the Waste Local Plan was adopted '“ making it part of the statutory development plan, which is the document we judge planning applications against.

"We will continue to talk with any party that is relevant to the progress of the document '“ this includes BALI. Rather than weaken the consultation process, rounded discussions will help improve our understanding of the final document.

"We would also point out we are aware of the potential issues with landfill at Ashdown Brickworks, including impact on the local community."

To read the document click HERE for page 1 and HERE for page 2.

What do you think? Have ESCC jumped the gun? Or is this simply due process? Leave your comments about Bexhill's possible landfill site below.