In a meeting held on Tuesday (July 29), the county council's planning officers narrowly backed the plans, which would see the lifetime of the site extended by 15 years beyond its current planning permission, which expires in December 2009.
This application has already been with the authorities for three years and any further delay would be most unfortunate
John Grainger, SITA UK
The site deals with an annual input of 200,000 tonnes of non-hazardous municipal, commercial and industrial waste, drawn from both Northumberland and elsewhere in the North-East, and the extension would extend its operational life to 2024.
However, this is just the first step along the road to full approval for the plans, with North Tyneside council also needing to give the application the go-ahead, due to a proposed £2.5 million access road and bridge, as well as screening and landscaping for the extension, falling within its boundaries.
And, even if North Tyneside's planning officers do back the proposals when they consider the application on August 14, recent intervention by government officials has created a further barrier to the project in the shape of an Article 14 notice.
Issued by the Government Office of the North East (GONE) following representations from nearby Blyth Valley borough council, the notice prevents either authority from formally activating any planning approval until a decision is made on whether to hold a public inquiry on the proposals.
SITA UK general manager, John Grainger, welcomed the county council's decision, but expressed his disappointment that the Article 14 notice could delay the extension, which was originally proposed in 2005, further.
“I am very pleased that county councillors have given approval for this important application, but very disappointed that the Article 14 Notice could introduce further delay to this application,” he said.
“This application has already been with the authorities for three years and any further delay would be most unfortunate,” he added.
Opposition
The proposals to extend the Seghill site have aroused vocal opposition among the local community, with Blyth Valley borough council's concerns over the plans accompanied by a residents' 'No To Landfill' campaign which claims to have gained 5,000 signatures backing its call to halt the extension.
However, SITA UK has outlined a series of measures it has begun to put in place which, it believes, will reduce the impact of the extension on the local area and enhance the surrounding environment.
These include: creating a new country park, Holywell Woods, between the site and the village of Backworth; enhancing, extending and building new footpaths, bridleways and cycle routes in the vicinity of the proposed extension; beginning an advance planting programme to create hedgerows and trees to shield the site; and, removing an existing watercourse and creating a new 1.7 kilometre stream to encourage wildlife.
The plans would also give SITA UK responsibility for the management of the landfill area after the site closes, as well as maintaining the Holywell Woods site, and Mr Grainger claimed they had taken major steps to respond to local residents' concerns.
“We have listened to the concerns of local people and our revised plans show that we have brought forward large parts of the screening and landscaping work so it takes place before the landfill site is operational or during its early years. This will minimise the local impact,” he explained.
Northumberland
SITA UK won a 28-year, multi-million pound PFI-backed contract in December 2006 to manage Northumberland's waste management needs (see letsrecycle.com story).
And, while the contract requires it achieve a 45% recycling rate by 2030-31 and 92% diversion from landfill, Mr Grainger explained that the extension was necessary to deal with current needs.
“Although priority is now being given to waste minimisation and recycling, a very substantial quantity of waste will still need to be landfilled,” he said.
“Waste production in the North-East continues to increase and the region needs well run, quality sites like Seghill Landfill, to ensure that the waste is managed safely and effectively.
“Seghill Landfill has been identified in Northumberland County Council's Waste Local Plan as a key strategic landfill site to meet ongoing disposal requirements,” he added.
If approval is given to the extension plans, SITA UK has indicated that the changes would begin immediately, with a spokesman for the company explaining that there would be a “natural flow” into the next element of the site.
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