Campaigners criticise asphalt plant approval

Campaigners have criticised a decision to allow a new asphalt plant they fear will harm public health.

Members of North Yorkshire Council's strategic planning committee gave the go-ahead for the facility at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, beside the A1(M), last week.

The council received more than 200 objections from local residents, parish councils and MPs for the plant near Knaresborough, with a petition against it carrying more than 1,000 signatures.

However, Tynedale Roadstone Ltd's application was approved by eight votes to three with one abstention.

The firm said the plant would reuse a by-product from the adjacent waste recovery plant to make road surface products.

However, local residents shared concerns over potential pollution, ground contamination, dust, noise and traffic problems.

Campaign group Communities Against Toxins expressed disappointment at the approval, describing it as "an environmental disaster waiting to happen".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted Tynedale Roadstone for a response.

Michael Emsley, from the campaign group, said the plan would be "bad for the community", but "somehow it was voted through anyway".

"I feel that neither the officers nor councillors fully understood how regulation works for asphalt plants, nor did they understand what conditions they could impose, and that significantly limited their ability to effectively mitigate harm," he said.

Several councillors at the planning meeting spoke in support of the application, which had previously been recommended for approval by council officers.

Councillor John McCartney said: "I've listened to residents' objections and other speakers and I cannot see any strong material planning reasons for refusing this."

The nearby road links meant the site was a good location for the plant, according to councillor Roberta Swiers.

"It is a decent site when you can get straight onto a motorway or a major road without having to go through villages," she said.

"I don't think there's anywhere that would really want this, but if in the future we need this asphalt we need to be moving on with it really."

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