Article from Chiddingly Parish - 7 Hills News (Spring 2010)

The newsletter of Chiddingly Parish Council

Say NO to ‘Waste Mountains’ in Our Villages

East Sussex County Council (ESCC)) are planning to build ‘land-raise’ waste sites in the Low Weald.  One of these sites is in Chiddingly Parish.  These sites will receive municipal solid and commercial waste including food, wood, plastics, glass and metal.  Decomposition of these materials will produce methane, carbon dioxide and ‘leachate’ that, despite many assurances, in my opinion will eventually find its way into local rivers and water courses.

I have been campaigning to put a stop to these waste mountains as I believe:

• They are unsightly

• They occupy a large amount of land that could be put to better use

• They harbour vermin and encourage seagulls

• They often smell

• They produce leachate

• They require at least 72 HGV trips per day causing even more highway congestion and additional CO2 emission

In order to ensure ESCC really understood how much opposition there is to land raise 11 Parish Councils formed an Action Group (PCAG) to fight the principle of land raise. This Group promoted and organised a public meeting on 23rd January where over 400 people, supported by 2 MPs and 10 District Councillors, clearly demonstrated their disapproval of the proposals to members and Officers of ESCC.

The PCAG continue to lobby MPs, County Councillors and other organisations to ensure that ESCC consider the many other options to land raise. We also liaise with and support a number of individual action groups that have been set up in each of the affected parishes to campaign against their own particular sites.

For more details contact your Parish representative on this Group, Guy Baigent (01825 890373).

We don’t need Waste Mountains; there are many other methods available to dispose of it. Why didn’t ESCC consider even more useful waste to energy schemes – e.g. combustion, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion?

What can you do to help to ensure a waste mountain doesn’t end up on your doorstep?

Make sure you’re part of the Waste Hierarchy.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Reduce – lobby your MP to ensure the next Government makes it a priority to obtain agreement by manufacturers to reduce their packaging. Next time you grocery shop – leave the unnecessary packaging at the checkout.

Reuse – donate unwanted items to charities or use websites like FreeMesa.org for the larger items.

Recycle – you all know already!

Composting – get a composter, a Green Cone or Green Johanna food waste digester from as little as £9.95 from Wealden District Council (01892 602626 email: recycling@wealden.gov.uk).

At present ESCC are working their way through the 2000+ objections before publishing their ultimate strategy later in the year.

Barby Dashwood-Hall

Wealden District Councillor.

01323 844374

01/2010 - Plan Making Consultation Response: East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Waste and Minerals Development Framework

Extracts from Wealden District Council's response (links to the full documents at the bottom of the page)

C. Objects strongly to any landraise within the Wealden District owing to the  high environmental quality of the whole area considering it to be unacceptable in principle when a number of alternative disposal methods are available. WDC also believes ESCC must rule out unequivocally any consideration of any landraise facility in the AONB areas and within or near to the new National Park. This objection to landraise anywhere in Wealden is based on:

(1) Any landraise will be unsightly and obtrusive ;

(2) Landraise conflicts with the Spatial objectives set out in the report;

(3) Such waste is likely to result in pollution, vermin, odours, the leaching of contaminated material in to watercourses, adverse effects in floodplains and potential harm to wildlife; and

(4) Large quantities of waste will need to be transported by HGV over inadequate roads where there are already significant delays and a high number of road accidents. Generally waste should be treated as near as possible to where it is produced in the interests of sustainability and controlling carbon emissions.

These concerns apply to all the sites identified in Wealden

D. Has particular concerns, in addition to the general points set out above, that the area to the north of Hailsham is close to the floodplain of the river Cuckmere.

• The sites at Halland,/East Hoathly ,Golden Cross/Lower Dicker and at Grisling Common /Piltdown are all near large residential settlements, would be highly visible, often in close proximity to Ancient Woodland.

• The Grisling Common site is near the floodplain of the River Ouse.

• Policy CS7 refers to relaxed discharge standards downstream of Arlington Reservoir which the Council considers unacceptable.

E. Advise the County Council that their approach to this important consultation has led to confusion and low levels of awareness amongst key stakeholders such as Parish Councils and they be asked to review their arrangements to address this shortcoming for the future consultation purposes. In particular this should include informing affected landowners and the holding of exhibitions and explanatory meetings.

References:

Wealden District Council Report (Site Link)

Wealden District Council Report (PDF)