LABOUR controlled Warrington Borough Council will press on with plans for a Waste Transfer Station for the town despite claims their “planning blunder” has already cost huge sums.
Lib Dem Leader Cllr Bob Barr has called for council leader Terry O’Neill and his Deputy Cllr Russ Bowden to “consider their positions” after members of the planning committee threw out the controversial plans for a facility on the heavily congested and polluted Winwick Road, against officer advice.
The Committee was told that the additional traffic would be ‘negligible’ compared to existing flows on Winwick Road and that similar facilities elsewhere release no odour and are not subject to vermin. Officers claimed that on balance the reduced distance travelled by refuse trucks would lessen pollution in the town as a whole.
Describing the decision as a “planning blunder,” Cllr Bob Barr, Leader of the Liberal Democrats said, “The Committee had visited a similar facility in the countryside near Lancaster far from any residential or educational facilities. While that transfer station was quiet, clean and largely unobjectionable, it wasn’t comparable to one sited next to one of the busiest roads in Warrington.
“The technical argument put together carefully and professionally by officers was sound and cost-effective. However it totally ignored the wishes of residents. Officers did what the Executive Board told them to do, which was to maximise the savings by locating the station centrally on Warrington Council owned land. Had they been allowed to work to a slightly more relaxed brief, still offering savings, a less controversial site may have been found, though officers say that over 200 locations had been considered.
Cllr Barr added: “The Labour Executive Board led by Cllrs.Terry O’Neill and Russ Bowden, has to take full responsibility for failing to understand the strength of resident objections and the strength of backing that residents had from back-bench Labour councillors. They ploughed on regardless. Winwick Road is the wrong site for a Waste Transfer Station. Air pollution already exceeds legal limits along this road, it is highly congested, and inadequately cleaned.
“If you have any faith in the future development of the town, this site will become a prime location, once the few available sites in the Town Centre and Stadium Quarter are used up. It should not be blighted by placing an unpopular waste facility here.
“Those living, working and studying close to the proposed site, as well as those relying on the A49, deserve better than this attempt to impose a decision. The Leader, Deputy Leader and Executive Board Member should take full responsibility for this costly and wasteful error and consider their positions.
Cllr. Barr concluded: “The officers said that the application had already cost almost a million pounds. I presume that includes the design of the station and preparation of the site. They said that without a Transfer Station the cost of handling our waste will massively increase because we will not be able to choose contractors.”
But Deputy Leader Russ Bowden commented: “It is frankly ridiculous to claim that there has been a massive financial loss to the Council. A large part of the expenditure so far is not specific to this site, but has supported the development of this important concept as part of a coherent waste strategy for Warrington. That work can and will be applied to an alternative site in the future. Any site-specific survey work will also be used in the future use of the site on Athlone Road.”
“It is this Labour administration that is meeting the challenges that were shirked by the Lib Dems when they were in control. Recycling rates up, the end of landfilling our residual ‘black bin’ waste and developing a waste system that works for Warrington and is both cost-effective and sustainable. That must include a waste transfer station that ensures the best use of limited Council resources.”
“We remain committed to the delivery of this major project, the capital funding for which has been in the Council’s budget since 2014. We are proud to be driving a forward-looking environmentally-friendly waste agenda, despite the Lib Dems opposition.”
