A shredding facility is set to be built at a waste collection site after planning approval was granted.
The coach depot next door to the Waterdale waste site on the A405 will be redeveloped by Hertfordshire County Council.
Nearly 50 residents had opposed the application describing it as “inappropriate”, adding they are already dealing with “rotting smells” and noise.
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The council says its proposals are “vital” for its waste service operations and claims it will also improve the situation for locals.
Permission was granted by the council’s development control committee at a meeting on November 15.
They listened to Anne Jarvis, from Bucknalls Lane Residents’ Association, who pleaded for the committee to refuse the plans for Brookdell Yard.
She said the shredding facility is “inappropriate” development in the green belt and residents have been living with “toxic” smells and banging from the existing waste transfer station.
She concluded: “We need you to be good neighbours and a facility that serves the local community and does not harm it.”
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Accepting the current situation allows for odours to escape, the council believes the shredding facility will allow “substantial” improvements for the transfer station, including new doors which will suppress odour and noise more. Plans are expected to be submitted in early 2023.
Without a shredding facility, changes to the operations of the waste transfer station would be difficult but not impossible, council officer James Holt said.
Moving bulky waste from the transfer station to the shredder will also help resolve the issue of waste vehicles queuing into the site, he added.
During the debate, committee members mostly had questions about the number of vehicles using the site and the proposed layout.
They heard the shredding site will operate via an entrance on the A405 and exit via a redesigned roundabout which also leads to the waste transfer station.
The shredding facility would not lead to additional waste or vehicles being brought to Waterdale, the council added.
The plans were approved with seven votes in favour and three abstentions.
Waterdale is the most “important” waste facility in Hertfordshire, taking in around 60% of the county’s waste from local authorities.
The council agreed to buy Brookdell Yard in 2021 for £4.5 million with the shredder reported to cost around £1.5 million.
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