Crowborough rubbish tip's extended weekend opening hours are refused

Proposals to extend weekend opening hours at a rubbish tip in Crowborough have been refused by county council planners.
Household Waste Recycling SiteHousehold Waste Recycling Site
Household Waste Recycling Site

The proposals – for the Household Waste and Recycling Site (HWRS) in Farningham Road, Crowborough – were refused at a meeting of East Sussex County Council’s discretionary planning committee on Wednesday (October 10).

The application had been put forward by Veolia, a private company which runs the waste site on behalf of the same council.

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It would have allowed the site to be open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons as well as bank holidays.

While the council supported the application as a waste authority, committee members heard how planning officers had recommended the application be refused as the benefits ‘would be far outweighed’ by the impact on nearby residential properties.  

During the meeting Godfrey Daniel (Lab. – Hastings: Braybrooke and Castle) expressed disappointment that measures to reduce noise had not been put forward as part of the application.

He said: “I would of thought it would have been in their interest to recommend mitigation measures to allow for any potential harm to the amenity of residents.

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“It does strike me a little bit that they are not making any real effort to mitigate for the proposal.

“On this basis I can understand the recommendation, because really there is no gain there for the local people.

“But, that said, there are very few properties actually next to it and it is actually on an industrial estate. When you live next to an industrial estate, there are inevitable consequences of it. This part is part of the package, if you like.

“At this moment in time I’m happy to support the recommendation, but I would be interested to see if there were mitigation measures available,  which might balance the situation in future.”

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Other committee members, including Bob Bowdler, also expressed frustration over the lack of mitigation highlighting the recent closures of two other HWRSs nearby.

Cllr Bowdler (Con. – Hailsham Market) said: “I’m slightly disappointed because Wealden are closing two tips relatively close to this at Forest Row and Wadhurst.

“I think Crowborough is one of the tips that people have been directed to so it would have been nice to see the hours extended.

“I understand the officer’s recommendation, but I too think it would be better to extend the hours and implement mitigation rather than deny this extension, which is an amenity not just for Crowborough but for the surrounding area of Wealden.”

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The application was unanimously refused by the committee following a short discussion.

A similar application to extend weekend opening hours at a HWRS in St Philip’s Avenue, Eastbourne was also refused planning permission at the same meeting.