Bridport: Waste transer site at Broomhills faces major delays and thousands of pounds more in costs (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Bridport: Waste transer site at Broomhills faces major delays and thousands of pounds more in costs

10:28am Wednesday 2nd May 2012 in Bridport By Rene Gerryts

Bridport’S proposed waste transfer site at Broomhills could be facing major delays and thousands more in costs.

After a site meeting planning officers want to add the Broomhills nursery site into the equation – saying it is derelict and the brownfield site would be better incorporated into the waste transfer operation.

Planners say removing the existing ‘eyesore’ would enhance the AONB and strengthen the chances of getting planning permission.

But it would add ‘significant’ costs – buying the land, doing more ground investigations, tree surveys and modifying the design.

And the consequent delays mean trying to extend the current temporary planning permission on the South Street household recycling site – currently and controversially limited at the weekend to garden waste only on Saturdays.

If Dorset Waste Manage-ment Partnership decides to try and buy the nursery site the timetable to submit a planning application by the autumn and start work by the beginning of 2013 and finish by summer 2014.

It will be ‘demanding’ says a report sent to councillors.

The report also says although the project is currently within budget the additional costs are likely to be ‘significant’.

A Dorset Waste Partnership spokesperson said there was no timeframe for the possible inclusion of the nursery.

The spokesman said: “We are still looking at the options and aim to have a planning determination by the end of this year.

“We do not know what the additional cost will be as we are still currently in negotiations with the landowner.”

In defence of this 11th hour development the partnership spokesman said: “Up until recently the nursery had been a viable business and we would not look to take over a business which is employing people. It has now become self-evident that the nursery is no longer operational and there are significant benefits to developing on the brown field site.

“We had already identified that it would not be possible to build the new site before the planning consent on the South Street site expired and this had always been the case.

“It is important that we have a planning determination for the new site when we make a new planning application for South Street so that we can show we have something planned to replace the temporary site.”

Dorset County Councillor Ronald Coatsworth said although the waste partnership coalition would decide about incorporating the nursery site it was the county council which would rule on spending the extra money.

He said: “My attitude is rather pragmatic. I think we want the waste station and if it involves buying the whole site and making it more environmentally sound I think we would just have to go along with that.”

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