Victory for protesters

RESIDENTS are rejoicing as planners have come up with an alternative site for a recycling centre due to be built on their doorstep.

The people of Trumpington have been fighting Cambridgeshire County Council's plans to build a household waste recycling centre on land at Glebe Farm.

And their opposition, culminating in a petition, has been listened to by the council which has now come up with an alternative location off the A10 near Hauxton - a site used for waste treatment in the past.

Shirley Brown, of Bishop's Road, Trumpington, would have had the recycling centre at the bottom of her garden. She was instrumental in organising opposition to the plans by the Trumpington Residents' Association when they were announced in March.

Lance Routledge, a member of the association's committee, welcomed the news of the council's change of mind.

He said: "This is very good news. I should think all the residents will be overjoyed.

"We made several representations to Coun John Reynolds at Shire Hall and have a strong residents' association."

County councillor Anne Kent, who represents Trumpington, said: "I welcome the fact that the county council has seen sense at last and listened to me and the local residents. The site they are now promoting is the one which we have been saying for months would be a better place than one in the middle of a housing development. I am just sorry it has taken so long and set back the planning of the development during that period. Hopefully, we can now get on with planning the new housing area properly."

Coun Reynolds, cabinet member for environment and community services, said it was "vitally important" to have household recycling facilities close to where future development is planned.

But as reported in the News yesterday (Friday, 25 August), the council's planning officers are due to ask members of the development control committee to reject the Glebe Farm site when they meet on Monday, September 4.

The alternative would be the former Bayer CropScience site in Hauxton. It was bought on behalf of Bridgemere Remediation by Harrow Estates, which specialises in the redevelopment of old industrial sites.

Coun Tony Allison, chairman of Hauxton Parish Council, said the owner's agents were due to hold a public consultation on plans next month.

He said: "We, as a parish council, would like to see the village consulted on anything to do with the site's future.

"If this (recycling centre) is an alternative proposed by the council, it should be brought up in the consultation. People in Hauxton will have a chance to see what is proposed."

If approved at the county council meeting, the Hauxton site proposal would be put to a separate six-week public consultation in November.