Greenology, Redcar: Plans for housing on former 'toxic waste' recycling site that was destroyed by controversial fire

Teesside property developer Peter Hall was granted outline planning permission in February this year to put 48 new commercial/light industrial units on land off Lantsbury Drive, Liverton Mines, which previously housed the former Greenology plant.

Mr Hall and his company Loftus Developments Limited sought financial assistance from Redcar and Cleveland Council to help clear the site of molten plastic debris remaining from a large-scale fire in April 2020.

A spokesman for Mr Hall said the council promised £40,000 funding and the developer had been waiting ever since.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has been told that a meeting was previously held at which chief executive John Sampson was present, along with Loftus ward councillor Tim Gray and Mr Hall, with a pledge being made by Mr Sampson that funding would be sought and made available for the project.

Mr Hall’s spokesman said: “On that say so, we spent money on getting ground investigation reports done.

“They said they would give us money to clear it and they didn’t.

“We’ve been waiting on the council for two years and they’ve just gone quiet on it.”

Mr Hall is now seeking screening advice from the council’s planning department as to whether housing may be viable on site, with this potentially considered a more affordable option.

Housing had formed part of the original plans submitted to the council, in the form of accommodation above commercial units, but this element was later removed in a revised application.

The spokesman said: “It [the project] is not cost effective at the minute and it is a big risk to pay for site clearance, added to the money already spent, then build all the units in the current climate with material prices sky high.”

‘Toxic waste dump’

Cllr Gray said nearby residents were living next to what was a “toxic waste dump” and the council should be trying to do something about it, suggesting it was passing the buck on the funding issue.

He described molten plastic still covering the site from bales of the material which had burnt, along with the “stumps” of building infrastructure.

Cllr Gray, who lives in Liverton Mines, said: “Nobody is getting anywhere.

“We have got a guy who has got plans passed who wanted a little bit of help with gap funding to make it worthwhile to do the development.

“Anywhere else in the borough this would have been sorted.”

He added: “John Sampson, the managing director, came with me to see Peter Hall and said there and then ‘I will get you funding for this clear-up, don’t worry about it’.

“Peter proceeded and no funding has come through.

“A lot of people will say Peter Hall has the money to do it anyway – that’s fine.

“If John Sampson had said there’s nothing, there’d be no problem, but he didn’t and I was stood there while he said it.”

Cllr Gray said there would be more profit in housing than commercial units, but demand remained for the latter in the area.

He said: “Without the help from the council and the clearance, it’s not worth him [Mr Hall] doing the job.

“Peter has bought some of the worst buildings in the Loftus area and has proceeded to get planning on them and try and do them up.”

A council spokeswoman said: “The council looked at a number of options to see if we could provide support via a grant funding scheme through ourselves or with the Tees Valley Combined Authority, but unfortunately there wasn’t a suitable grant available.

“This was relayed to the property developer on a number of occasions.”

The council said any potential residential development would require fresh planning permission and a formal application, and would be subject to the usual processes and consultation.

A criminal prosecution against the former directors of the Greenology site, including Yorkshire businesswoman Laura Hepburn, for environmental offences discovered following the fire is currently going through Teesside Crown Court.