Appeal overturns refusal for waste facility at a Curridge quarry

The plan for the facility at Copyhold Farm was proposed by Raymond Brown Minerals and Recycling in early 2012 for the processing of 50,000 tonnes of skip waste per annum.
Extensive public opposition saw more than 300 letters of objection lodged and the firm revised its plans, scaling back the processing to 30,000 tonnes.
The new application still failed to gain support, and West Berkshire Council threw out the plans in October on the grounds that it was out of keeping within the AONB and that it would have a detrimental impact on the surrounding community in terms of visual and noise pollution and lorry traffic.
However, independent inspector Brian Dodd, appointed by the Government, overturned the decision earlier this month and granted permission for the MRF until December 2016, after which the site must be restored to its former condition.
A number of conditions were attached to the permission, including that vehicle movements and operations on the site should not take place outside of 7:30am and 6pm on weekdays and 8am and 1pm on Saturdays, that no more than 130 HGVs should enter or leave the site per day and no HGVS should leave the site without its load covered by appropriate sheeting.
The chairman of Chieveley Parish Council, Rob Crispin, said that he was disappointed with the decision.
He said: “We don’t think it’s the right place, the quarry facility that started there had a finite life span.
“You have to take the sand from where the sand exists, there’s not a lot of choice about that, but there is a choice about where there’s recycling activity.
“That should be done outside the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
“I can only hope that at the end of the temporary permission it’s not converted to permanent permission.”