(Title Image: Wales Online)
Earlier this week, Bridgend Council’s planning committee held their monthly meeting, with most of it (watch here) devoted to proposed developments at a controversial wood recycling site near Heol-y-Cyw.
The previous operators, South Wales Wood Recycling – where Caerau insulation scandal contractor Green Renewables Wales had a registered office – was fined £15,000 in 2018 for several failures to comply with waste management regulations, which led to at least two serious fires are sites they operated.
After going into administration, the company was taken over by South West Wood Products.
There were two applications.
The first application (pdf) requests a change to previous planning conditions granted in 2016 so that garden waste (from the BCBC/Kier green bag service) can be processed at the site before transfer to Wells in Somerset. The second application (pdf) requests a 3-year period to store timber on part of the land.
Given the history of the site, there were several objections from local councillors, residents, Coity Wallia commoners and nearby Cats Protection.
These objections mainly related to pollution in local watercourses caused by run-off from the site, the height of stored woodpiles on the site, an increase in HGV traffic along local roads and the fire safety risk.
Cllr. Alex Williams (Ind, Penprysg) called for a full planning committee site visit, but due to Covid-19 restrictions, site visits can’t be undertaken.
A planning officer said the site has valid planning consent to continue its current operations and a deferral for a site visit wouldn’t make any difference to that. The applicant would be within their rights to appeal on non-determination, meaning it would potentially be determined by the Planning Inspectorate if BCBC takes too long to make a decision.
Cllr. James Radcliffe (Plaid, Aberkenfig) asked whether the inability to undertake site visits due to the pandemic was a possible loophole in the law and whether it needed to be brought to the Welsh Government’s attention?
The officer didn’t think it was a loophole, just a general right to appeal on non-determination grounds.
Nonetheless, a motion to defer/delay a decision to allow a site visit (probably as a video/virtual site visit) was approved by 10 votes to 3. Councillors agreed to apply this to both applications.
In other business (watch here), the Planning Committee discussed a proposed extension to the Lidl warehouse at Waterton (pdf).
There were concerns from Natural Resources Wales and Cllr. Elaine Venables (Ind, Coychurch Lower) that the extension would encroach on Waterton Site of Special Scientific Interest. However, Lidl has agreed to create a new habitat for dormice and enhance the remaining area.
The Committee approved the application subject to those environmental mitigation measures and a landscape management plan.