7:10am Friday 30th July 2010
By Rachel Masker
PROTESTERS may appeal against the approval of a controversial asbestos store backing onto homes in a Waterside village.
The county council said there were no planning reasons to refuse permission for the toxic waste facility in Long Lane, Holbury. Fawley Parish Councillor Allan Glass said he was “disgusted and angered” by the decision.
“I would like to appeal. How can they justify this in the middle of a village? There are lots of houses, a school and shops all around it,” said Allan whose own father-in-law died from asbestosis.
The proposals will see double-bagged asbestos being transported from building sites to Solent Environmental Services headquarters in Long Lane where it will be stored in two lockable steel containers.
The containers will hold around six tonnes of waste before being taken to a licensed landfill site in Wiltshire where the hazardous material will be buried.
The nearest houses are just four metres from the Long Lane depot. Company bosses insist the plan is safe and have offered to talk to anyone who is concerned.
The company needed permission from Hampshire County Council before the waste transfer station could be set up.
In a report to the regulatory committee, planning officers said while the proposals involved the handling of asbestos near homes and businesses, it was considered acceptable. Officers said the hazardous material would come to the depot already bagged.
The report said: “There is no processing or treatment of the asbestos on site and so there is no harm to the health of local residents or the environment.”
But Mr Glass, who made a deputation to the committee, fears potentially deadly asbestos fibres could still escape.
He said: “They say the asbestos will be double-bagged but bags split. They are going to be handling lots and lots of bags every week and depending on not one of them splitting.”
Fawley Parish Council formally objected and there were also 17 letters of objection from local residents.
Among their concerns they felt Long Lane depot was an inappropriate site, there was a danger to health and environment, disturbance to residents and increased traffic.
After lengthy discussion of the dangers of asbestos, county councillors yesterday approved the application by eleven votes to four with four abstentions. They agreed two amendments – firstly, the containers had to be lockable and secondly, before opening the facility, the firm had to obtain the relevant environmental and health permits.
After the meeting, Richard Read, head of planning and development at the county council, said: “The county council position is that it is an acceptable site and the issue of managing the asbestos is for other organisations to administer.
“There are no planning grounds for refusal.”
New Forest District Council had no objections.
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