Planning Committee tonight will be discussing an application from G Moore’s of Manor Road, Kempston Hardwick to double their number of lorry movements and to extend their hours of operation deep into the night.

I believe this application is a step too far for the local community surrounding the site in question.

Most people will know that although there have been businesses on this site for many years, the road and the surrounding community is essentially that of a rural backwater with houses dotted here and there for the old brickworks managers and a small terraced estate for some workers.

The applicant at the moment occasionally receives permission for one-off applications for operational hours outside the current 7am – 7pm restrictions. That is just about acceptable and manageable for the local community. This application turns those one-off occasional permissions into a permanent permission for another 4 hours of operations and the capacity to double the throughput from 75,000 tonnes to 150,000 tonnes and increase the daily vehicle movements from 170 to 340. This is unacceptable to the local community, and is also unacceptable to Stewartby Parish Council.

Planning Committee will know that the applicant provides an environmentally useful service as one if its purposes is recycling, but that should not be considered as an issue applicable to this application.

Manor Road is in places barely more than one vehicle width. Manor Road is a serious accident waiting to happen. This application will only make that more likely.

In detail, the condition relation to no change until the A421 is meaningless. The problem is the current and potential amount of lorry traffic on Manor Road, not at its junctions with or on the A421 or B530. The applicant’s transport assessment is therefore not worth the money that has been spent on it.

The effect on the amenity of this site on local residents has recently been adversely affected by the removal of a wall from its waste transfer building. This application will only make things worse for the local community.

Therefore I will ask the committee to refuse this application on the grounds of:

a)     Its detrimental effect on the amenity, environment and noise levels of local residents due to the inevitable outcome of increased lorry movements and hours.

b)    The detrimental effect of the increased movements and hours on the existing road network. Manor Road is simply not built for the increased amount of traffic and there is nothing in the conditions that will alter that.

c)     The extended hours and increased operations are not in keeping with a small rural backwater and a small amount of local industry.

I will ask the Committee to please refuse and allow its planners to manage the site in keeping with its local community as it just about does know.