Battle of the beets over “highly contentious” North Yorkshire factory plans
Residents in North Yorkshire have called plans for a massive sugar beet processing site in the Vale of York “highly contentious” after consultation meetings began on the Al Khaleej International development.
Early planning documents were submitted for the site in May. Developers Al Khaleej, based in the Cayman Islands, applied to redevelop the site next to Allerton Waste Recovery Park into a sugar beet factory, a decade after the last British Sugar factory in York closed down.
The land surrounding the former Allerton Quarry site will be used for the site, which includes a processing plant and four silos. It would employ between 200 and 300 people, and if agreed would be completed by 2020.
The proposed factory could process up to 36,000 tons per day, residents were told at a consultation meeting at Whixley Village Hall near York this month, and in the planning application developers admitted there would be 24-hour activity around the site,
They were told that a greenbelt planning application had been submitted for the 80-metre high sugar beet factory, on land adjacent to Thornbar Farm, Marton Cum Grafton in Knaresborough.
The development would rely on 3,500 farmers supplying the factory with 30,000 tons of sugar beet every day, the majority of which would come from East Yorkshire.
Roy Allott of Allott & Associates, who is also a resident of the area, said the planning proposal was “highly contentious” and would create more than 2,000 lorry movements per day on the York outer ring road and could dump 20,00 tons of wastewater per day into the River Ouse, polluting the area.
North Yorkshire County Council is reportedly in negotiations to sell the land to the developer, Al Khaleej International, a Cayman Islands based firm, though planning permission has not yet been granted.
TheBusinessDesk.com contacted Harrogate Borough Council, who said they have been asked to produce a scoping opinion, to ascertain what issues will be discussed in its Environmental Impact Assessment.
Ray Allott, said: “North Yorkshire County Council seems determined to inflict misery of biblical proportions on the residents in the Harrogate District and York area.
“This site is totally unsuitable and when allied with the current incinerator could present a serious health and flooding risk.”
Are you a resident in the area? What do you think of the plans? Email yorkshire@thebusinessdesk.com to have your say.
