Approval expected for recycling plant scheme that led to outcry

Silkstone Environmental Ltd have submitted drawings to planners for the site next to the River Don at the junction of Claywheels Lane and Limehouse Cottage Lane between Middlewood and Wadsley Bridge.

The Chapeltown-based company says the facility would recycle up to 48,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste a year, but claim that no hazardous products would be involved in the process.

Since the application was first lodged earlier this year, it has been amended to address what planners call “matters of noise and visual impact”, but the concessions have not appeased protesters.

On the original plans an industrial crusher was shown outdoors, but the applicants say it will now be sited indoors, while more screening of the site will be provided and a storage area reduced in size.

But 18 letters of objection were received by Sheffield Council in relation to the first application, and a further 22 have now been written after the amendments to the scheme were published.

The site is surrounded by houses, including the Winn Gardens housing estate on the other side of the River Don and homes on nearby Middlewood Road and on the east-facing side of the valley above.

Objectors claim that the recycling facility would not be a suitable use of land in the area and point out the large number of people who live in the area and the possible effect it would have on them.

One letter to the council says: “This has potential to significantly affect life in the area. It is a dirty polluting facility yards away from a sports field and residential housing.

“The proposal represents a real and significant threat to living and environmental standards to the residents up and down the valley, with houses a few hundred metres from the site.”

Other protesters say the “sheer size is shocking” and voice concerns about pollution from dust, smells, noise and also complain about a lack of consultation with people who live close to the site.

Letters of objection have also been sent by local councillor Vickie Priestley and local MP, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who both have concerns about an increase of HGV traffic in the area.

Mr Clegg says in his letter to Sheffield Council planning officers: “The proposed development next to a residential area has potential to cause significant dust and noise pollution across the valley.

“Constituents feel that there is already significant concentration of industry in the area and that the development will only exacerbate these problems.”

Silkstone Environmental has told planners that it will implement “dust and litter action plans” which will regulate discharge from the building and ensure that lorries are covered with sheets.

The company says there will also be a speed limit on site of 10mph, regular sweeping and cleaning of hardstanding areas, a limit of four metres in height on external stockpiles and bosses also say they will keep a log of dust complaints made by neighbours.

Members of Sheffield Council’s west and north planning and highways area board are due to discuss the application next Tuesday, and despite local objections, they will be advised by planning officers to allow the development to go ahead.

In their report to the meeting, planning officers say: “The proposed development will generate noise from the activities on the site and the movement of vehicles.

“It is considered that the amendments to the proposal have satisfactorily addressed the material considerations including amenity concerns regarding the impact of the proposed development on residents and occupiers in the locality.”