Warrington celebrates tipping battle win

WARRINGTON Council has won its battle to bring an end to landfilling at a controversial site in Sankey Bridges.

A planning inspector has ruled that tipping by FCC/3C Waste at the Arpley site will cease on or before October 31 2017.

It was also ordered that the restoration of the site must be completed within 12 months of the final date of landfilling, in line with the council’s original decision in December 2014.

That followed the inspector’s ruling to uphold the council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the site for another 12 years in October.

Warrington Council leader Terry O’Neill said: “The council has been committed to fighting tooth and nail to get this tip closed and we say a big thank you to residents, campaign groups and ward councillors who have played such a pivotal role in this.

“This decision now equips the council with a clear means of ensuring the operators appropriately control the amount of waste going into the site, odours, dusts, noise, general residents’ amenity and dirt on the roads.

“We were delighted that we were able to successfully defend our decision about the 12 year extension for the site and we remained committed to seeing this through and doing everything within our power to bring this to an end for the benefit of our residents.

“We acted responsibility and took into account the Secretary of State’s comments about the need for landfill and followed legal advice. This decision has now brought the matter to an end, and has removed the need for further lengthy and costly legal action thus reducing the burden on the tax payer.

“This is also an important step for our Warrington Waterfront regeneration project, as outlined in our economic programme Warrington Means Business.”