Plans for a temporary inert landfill and construction waste recycling facility have sparked outrage near Tiverton. A petition has been signed by more than 200 people against the proposal from Decharge Ltd for land at Greenway, Uplowman.
Decharge Ltd is working with the landowner to develop and operate a recycling facility and inert landfill at the site north of the village of Halberton. The proposal is to infill void space across the site with approximately 330,000 m3 of inert soil and stones and then return the land to agricultural use once the waste operation is completed.
As part of these works, inert waste soils imported historically at the site in Autumn 2016 will be excavated and incorporated into the wider landfill, thereby regularising the retention of these soils on-site.
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The site is accessed via an existing maintained track off Greenway which connects Uplowman Road to the north and Halberton High Street to the south.
The planning statement adds: “The application proposal seeks to regularise the retention of previously deposited material that is already on site amounting to approximately 23,500 tonnes. It also proposes the importation of a further 350,946 tonnes of inert waste to be delivered in two phases. This inert waste (soil, stones and inert construction material) is likely to originate from the excavation of soil associated with the construction of homes, schools, leisure facilities and employment uses in the surrounding area.
“The proposed development would be accessed via Uplowman Road to the north and along the existing access track that enters the site from the west.”
The traffic statement added that it is predicted that the site will typically generate in the order of 17 two-way vehicle movements per day equating to four HGV movements on Greenway per hour during the working day.
“With an average of 48 existing daily vehicle movements along Greenway, also equating to four per hour (12 hour data period 07:00 to 19:00), capacity is available on the highway to accommodate the additional two two-way movements per hour generated from the proposal,” the statement adds.
“This equates to a predicted typical scenario of a vehicle passing along Greenway every 7.5 minutes (8 vehicles per hour) and therefore the likelihood of opposing vehicles meeting each other is considered low.
“To mitigate further, against the low risk of vehicle interaction, the operator of the site will only utilise their own vehicles equipped with CB radios or third party vehicles equipped with similar systems.
“This will enable drivers to coordinate their movements along the lane and reduce the likelihood of two HGVs transporting fill material meeting at a narrow section of Highway.
“In addition to the use of CB radios, to organise vehicle movements, passing points have been identified at locations along Greenway. Although digital ordnance survey mapping and Devon County Council Highway boundary records suggest that road widths are achievable for multiple passing bays this is not the case in practice due to overgrown hedge banks and elevated verges.
“However, two passing points can be facilitated; the first within the section of verge on the southbound approach to the bridge over the A361 and the second approximately 60m south of the junction with Uplowman Road.”
However, a petition launched by Jon Deacon and signed more than 200 times, says the newly built Braid Park estate in Tiverton faces an ‘impending challenge’.
The petition states: “The current plan to route industrial traffic, including heavy lorries, through our area poses an alarming threat. The narrow lanes, particularly Putson lane are ill-equipped to handle the expected increase in traffic, jeopardizing the safety of our residents, pets, and local infrastructure.
“We implore the Devon County Council to re-evaluate the transport plan for the land at Greenway. Our concern is both practical and emotional - we seek to protect the safety and tranquillity of our neighbourhood. By rethinking the route, the council can ensure that our community remains a safe and pleasant place to live.”
In a letter to the council, Mr Deacon writes: “Putson Lane is not suitable for the amount of extra traffic this would cause. It is already a dangerous road with no footpath. Lorrys and farm traffic cause jams on a daily basis and are constantly reversing into Champion Way mounting pavements and causing a nuisance. This is not a suitable location.”
Another resident Dennis Elliott of Crazelowman said: “The access to this site is totally dangerous and there is a high risk of vehicle interaction on narrow unlit lanes. The application states that they will use CB radios to help control the interaction of vehicles, however the use of CB radios will not solve congestion as road users and other contractors who are coming and going will not have CBs.
“There are currently unresolved issues with heavy farm traffic to the digester (Halberton) and the HGV tankers leaving the digester.
“Once this facility is operating, they will have to make it pay, so lorries with spoils could be arriving from anywhere. Also, if they are installing stone-crushing machinery to make aggregate, more HGVs will be coming in to collect this. Again, the HGV movement could be very high.
“There have been numerous accidents on Putson Lane and a fatality this year (2023). An increase of heavy traffic on this lane will cause chaos to an already heavily burdened road. Extra heavy traffic thundering past children, pedestrians and cyclists on Enterprise Avenue is an accident waiting to happen.”
The chair of Crazelowman Community Group, Jonathan Bodington wrote: “Putson Lane is already heavily used by locals and agricultural traffic.
“Locals from Braid Park also use this lane as a dog walking route and many cyclists also use this route. It is commonly known, viewed, and reported to be an unsafe route and an accident waiting to happen.
“Unfortunately, there has already been one fatality this year at the entrance to Putson Lane from Post Hill. There are passing places, but they do not have a clear view of oncoming traffic so reversing is a common occurrence as you cannot see oncoming traffic until it’s too late.
“The lane is also full of potholes due to the heavy vehicles already using it. We therefore strongly object to any application that will further increase traffic on this lane.”
Helen Hirst from Halberton added: “There are no pavements and speed restrictions, although recommended at 20, are not enforced. An increase in traffic, especially heavy vehicles would add to the confusion of the traffic calming. The drivers of the heavy vehicles may well drive with caution, but the other vehicle users faced with heavy vehicles cannot be relied to make safe choices.”
