An application to extend the duration of recycling operations at Nottinghamshire’s last landfill site until 2029 has been rejected by a council.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Planning and Rights of Way Committee met today (5 October) to discuss the application for the Daneshill Landfill site in Retford.
The site is a longstanding, non-hazardous landfill between Lound and Torworth. It has planning permission to deposit waste until 2048.
Applicant FCC Environment had submitted three separate applications, all seeking to extend separate permissions for the site’s recycled waste operations until 2029 – involving the importation, storage, and stockpiling of construction and demolition waste.
A similar arrangement had permission which ran from 2018 but expired in December 2023.
The new plans were rejected by councillors – with six voting against and five in favour – although the issue was not debated during Tuesday’s meeting.
Torworth Parish Council objected to the proposals, believing the site should be restored by 2029.
Councillors said nearby villages dealt with waste ejected from vehicles and had concerns over contamination, traffic, and disruption.
Speaking on behalf of Lound Parish Council and villagers, Misterton County Councillor Tracey Taylor (Con) said: “[There are] regular incidences of vehicles in roadside ditches on the narrow lanes and repeated debris shed from unsheeted loads.
“Despite [existing] planning conditions, we seem unable to enforce those conditions.”
The committee previously considered an application for the importation of potentially contaminated soils – possibly containing asbestos – which was approved in principle by the council.
This was assessed by the Secretary of State due to the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment, and it was ultimately refused.
There is a current ongoing public inquiry regarding the applicant’s appeals against these refusals.
Cllr Taylor said: “It would keep the door open for operations which are not yet permitted, but about which the applicant is embroiled in ongoing legal and regulatory challenges.”
Jonathan Smith, Team Manager, Development Management at the County Council, said: “It is the last landfill site in the county – there will always be some element of waste that can’t be used or recycled.
“With the recycling facility, it’s likely that as contracts come up, the use of the site again will be quite intermittent.”
He added that there are controls over which materials are brought onto the site but considered the asbestos issue a “separate matter.”
The objecting councillors provided an official statement for refusal after a break in the meeting.
Councillor Mike Adams (Con) said the refusal was based on policies protecting and enhancing the environment, saying: “In what is currently a mothballed location, the aspect of nature and conservation is key.
“We feel the site could actually be brought forward in terms of its conservation and restoration and returned to a more natural state.”
Cllr Taylor said: “I am really pleased that committee members listened to me expressing the views of the residents, their concerns about environmental impact, the impact it’s having on daily living, and this constant extension which means they don’t know when it will ever end.”
The wider landfill is occasionally active based on local market demands and last operated from August 2021 to May 2023.
Final site restoration is required by 2048 according to an approved restoration masterplan – a large area is already restored to woodland and grass.
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