Planning decision on East Yorkshire asphalt plant put on hold

Plans for an asphalt plant are on hold after hundreds of objections claiming it would harm locals' health, the environment and tourism.

The proposed site near Brandesburton in East Yorkshire would be capable of processing up to 100 tonnes of the road surfacing material an hour.

The applicant said it would create 12 jobs and boost the local economy.

Councillors deferred a decision, despite planning officers recommending that the plant be approved.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, no objections were lodged from technical consultees; including council highways, public protection and environment teams, or from bodies such as Yorkshire Water.

But 375 objections were lodged from locals and parish councils claiming emissions would harm health and degrade the local environment, fuel congestion and put tourists off the area.

One objector Adrian Olsen said the amount of applications showed the strength of feeling about it among locals.

"This plant would also be close to homes, a school and sports facilities recently approved by the council," Mr Olsen said.

"It will make traffic worse and it will have a devastating impact on leisure and tourism businesses in the area. It's a wholly inappropriate development for our community and should be rejected."

The planned opening hours would be between 05:00 to 15:00, Monday to Friday and until 22:00 on Saturdays, with the site closed on Sundays and bank holidays.

There would be a total of 30 HGV movements a day for 15 vehicles, with potential for 10 more from smaller lorries making 20 trips to and from the plant.

Jamie Brown, of applicants Newlay Asphalt Ltd, told councillors it would be warm mix asphalt production which would odours by 90% and require 25% less fossil fuels.

He added examples of plants referred to by objectors, including one in the US, were not comparable because of stricter UK regulations.

"We're a small independent asphalt company which produces high quality materials," he said.

"This is an ideal location in central East Yorkshire, where a lot of our orders already come from.

"Assessments have demonstrated that this will not have an unacceptable impact."

Councillors will now visit a similar site to assess potential effects before making a decision.

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