The Society repeats its objection to the application to re-site the Beverley Household recycling facility to Ings Road. It agrees that the present site on Weel Road is 'not fit for purpose' with very many fundamental problems which preclude making improvements to the site. An alternative site needs to be found. It is in agreement with the design of the new facility which improves traffic circulation and removes vehicle conflict within the site. The 'over the wall' disposal method is widely used and proven to be effective elsewhere. 

 

The current repeated proposal site though is inappropriate for very many reasons.

 

At the March 30th Planning Committee meeting, councillors voted to defer the proposal until further work was undertaken by the council to allay widespread fears over the impact of the proposal on the local highway network. Local people were shocked when the council resubmitted almost identical plans in August and were not surprised when Humberside Police issued a detailed holding objection against the proposal.

The slightly amended plans for access to the site actually make it worse; 2 lanes that are being proposed for exit would mean those exiting the site and turning right would have their view obscured by those in the left lane. The previous proposal would make this exit highly dangerous, the amendments simply add to this potential fatal plan.

Beverley residents were left further frustrated with the cancellations of the ERYC Planning Committee’s visit to the proposed site of their new tip on Monday 6th November and Monday 4th December, and the further delays in submission to the Planning Committee.

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Having received a record 2500 objections to their proposal, councillors were due to view the greenfield site earmarked for development. The Ings Road location is outside of the town’s development zone and strangely does not feature in the council’s own current Local Plan. Amongst the objections is a strongly worded document from Beverley Town Council which emphasises concerns over traffic and the destruction of a green site beyond the town’s northern boundary.

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Residents of Carr Road, which runs into the single-lane Ings Road, will suffer the greatest impact if councillors give officers the go ahead for the tip. Amongst those residents are five school-age children whose daily trips to school will coincide with the peak movements of skips on and off the site. In addition, two on-call doctors who live off Carr Lane are concerned that their egress will be compromised.

Widespread concern has been expressed about the safety of the Ings Road junction with 50mph Grange Way, which is part of the ‘National Wide Load Network’ and is a key route for coast-bound traffic. Particularly worrying for residents is the prospect of traffic turning right across the highway, especially when there will be a huge increase in the number of journeys involving lorries and vehicles with trailers. Local people worry that the tip will force drivers into using Lockwood Road as a rat run.

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Objections from across Beverley have expressed concern at the destruction of the green boundary to the north of the town. The proposed site is adjacent to the Hudson Way trail and is used by hundreds of dog walkers, runners, walkers, and families every day, as their gateway to the countryside.

Further objections have focused on the council’s process for selecting its chosen site and numerous errors, anomalies and contradictions have been put to the council. At the time of writing, residents have been frustrated by the lack of response to many of these questions.

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While tree planting etc might create a green protection belt, the additional noise, lighting, height of buildings etc will cause a nuisance to the housing south of Grange Road, and the children's nursery. Wildlife, including deer, would be adversely affected.

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We do not believe that a fair and thorough assessment of the other 34 proposed sites has taken place, in fact 2 sites that have been suggested by objectors as potential alternatives have been ignored by Planning Officers. The Society would have appreciated seeing the detailed results and a thorough explanation of the scoring of the survey of the 30+ alternative sites referred to.

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To summarise the main areas of concern:-

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Highway Safety, Traffic Management and Access 

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• Impact the increase in traffic will have on residents and emergency services on the already busy Grange Way.

• The introduction of a ‘new’ vehicular movement – heavy goods vehicles turning into and exiting the site off a main arterial road where the speed limit is 50mph.

• Likely traffic queues in regular busy periods further compounding access and egress to the Grange Way residential areas.

• The significant risk of the Lockwood Road ‘horseshoe’ becoming a ‘cut through’ to avoid the queues on Grange Way. 

• The Grange Way ‘northern bypass’ is used extensively by drivers who do not know the area and will have Satellite Navigation systems trying to avoid queuing traffic causing traffic disruption at other points throughout Beverley.

• The increased risk of road traffic accidents due to the 50mph speed limit and a greater number of vehicles entering and exiting the HRC from Grange Way / Ings Road. 

• The increased risk to pedestrian safety due to heavy vehicle movements and increased traffic entering and exiting Ings Road. 

• The increased risk of accidents and risk to pedestrian safety on Lockwood Road, as a consequence of high volumes of traffic on Grange Way and the introduction of slowly accelerating heavy goods vehicles intersecting the main arterial highway.

• The proposed location of the HRC site access opposite the shared entrance to a popular public house, busy early years day nursery and a community bus start and end point.

• The significant risk of increased traffic movements and vehicle types to the safety of pedestrians attempting to cross the road to access the public walks and picnic area.

 

Environment and Pollution 

 

• Allowing development on a green field site, contrary to the ERYCs own adopted Local Plan. 

• Management of surface water and risk of increased risk of flooding, not only to the proposed site, but also the adjacent housing developments.

• The real and significant risk of pollutants, such as oil and diesel, entering the surrounding natural drainage areas being used as ‘overflow’.

• The environmental and ecological impact on the countryside, including loss of hedgerows, trees and habitat. 

• The risk of pollution caused by the site activities and handling of hazardous materials, such as asbestos containing materials.

• The risk of odours, vermin, detritus, and flying insects caused by the site. 

 

The Location 

 

• Suitability of location, with this HRC proposed in a residential area, outside of an industrial / trading areas and semi-rural locations where other ERYC HRC of this nature are located. 

• The site was previously refused planning for leisure and recreational purposes having been classed, in the summary of the council’s officer, as the “most versatile agricultural land” that should not be “irretrievably lost”.

 

Impact 

 

• The impact of increased noise from increased use of the road, idling vehicles, heavy goods vehicle movements and HRC operations in particular regard to the early morning and late evening planned operational hours.

• The significant risk of waste and litter accumulating on the Grange Way from poorly sealed removal vehicles and the impact this will have, not only on the hedgerows and verges, but on the traffic as the Council close each lane of the road to facilitate the inevitable clean up operations that will occur.

• The detrimental effect this will have on a densely populated residential area of Molescroft. 

• Loss of amenity and the detrimental effect on the Hudson Way rail trail, tourist trails and local businesses.

• Pedestrian access to the surrounding public walks being shared with queueing vehicles

• Adjacency to the early years’ nursery, with concerns over the disposal, storage and handling of materials hazardous to health. 

• The impact this proposal has on the landscape. The proposed location is flat and the infrastructure and buildings are shown at approximately 10m high, superseding anything in the surrounding areas of the agricultural land.

• The proposed use of 8m high flood lighting and the well published negative effects of light pollution on residents. 

• The impact of increased traffic noise on the residents and businesses.

 

Whilst the Police have been required to withdraw an objection, for the first time in planning terms they have continued to raise significant safety concerns resulting in these being documented against the Planning Application.

Also of note is that the Council’s actions are contrary to central government policy in light of Michael Gove’s recent announcements regarding Local Authority development on green belt sites.

It is of major concern that the thirteen-member planning committee does not feature a single Beverley resident, and there is concern that these elected representatives will have no idea what impact this proposal is having, and will have, on the local area. 

The Civic Society remains convinced that the current choice of the Ings Road site is wholly inappropriate, not just for Molescroft residents, but for the whole of Beverley. It strongly recommends that the facility be re-sited on a brown field site, either within or further out from the town boundary and away from residential and socially used areas. 

There remains time to register objections to this proposal and the Society urges its members to do so. Objections can still be registered up to the date that the proposal is put before the Planning Committee, the date of which remains to be determined.