Planning application submitted for new Bridport recycling facility
Plans for a new, £8 million waste management centre to serve the Bridport area have been submitted by the Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP).
The planning application for a purpose-built, combined household recycling centre (HRC) and waste transfer station at Broomhills off the A35 west of Bridport has been lodged with the aim of being determined by Dorset County Council’s planning committee on Friday 26 July.
Local people have been waiting nearly 20 years for a new facility following the closure of the Bothenhampton landfill site in the mid 1990s. The existing Bridport HRC on South Street, which opened in 1998 on a temporary basis, is restricted in terms of its size, opening times and the materials that can be taken there due to its town centre location.
If planning permission is granted, the DWP aims to begin building on the Broomhills site in August for completion in Spring 2015, in time for it to support the planned introduction of the new ‘recycle for Dorset’ collection service in the area.
The new centre will consist of a modern, split-level HRC and a transfer station to house recycling and rubbish in a covered building before it is sent for recycling, treatment or disposal.
The designers have worked closely with the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to mitigate environmental impacts, including landscaping and planting around the site. The centre would also include solar panels on its roof to power the site buildings.
The DWP and project engineers have worked closely with the Highways Agency to modify the proposed signal-controlled junction on the A35 trunk road in response to feedback during public consultation. The design no longer features a signal-controlled right turn into the site. Eastbound traffic will continue to the Crown Roundabout and loop back to access the site. Traffic will only be stopped by a red light when a vehicle needs to turn right out of the site.
If the application is approved, the DWP will seek permission to keep the current South Street HRC site open for a further two years while the new centre is being built.
Hilary Cox, Chair of the DWP Joint Committee, said:
“Local people have been following the search for a new waste management centre for Bridport over many years and will, I’m sure, be relieved to see it nearing a conclusion. A modern facility has been designed to help meet the needs of the local area and increase our recycling while blending in with the outstanding local environment.”
The new waste management centre will offer a range of benefits for local residents, including:
- returning to full weekend opening times
- accepting more types of materials, such as wood and glass
- reducing queue times and lengths, with no queuing onto the A35 during busy periods
- greater accessibility for all by eliminating steps
- separate operational and public areas, making the site safer and meaning it would not need to close to remove full skips
- waste lorries no longer needing to travel through Bridport
- being sensitive to the Dorset AONB and integrating into the landscape by using natural building materials, reducing its visual impact and using low level external lighting to reduce light spill
The planning application documents and artist’s impressions of what the facility will look like are now available to view and comment on by entering reference number 1/D/13/000738 into the Dorset County Council planning application search at www.dorsetforyou.com/planning. The closing date for comments is Wednesday 26 June.