Calling Young People of Ashington
Submit your views to HDC by 2nd July 2010 latest.
Youth take a stand against plans to put an industrial scale 60,000tonne compost processing business and wood chipping centre on land East of the A24. The plan involves blighting the centre of the farm with seven acres of concrete. The area is frequented by young people, on dog walks, feeding ducks and enjoying country village life.
Children fish the four ponds provided by the farmer and catch Carp and sticklebacks among other native species.
They have found wonderful Newts living in several of the ponds.
The area is a beauty spot enjoyed by the owner and his family for most of his life looking after one of West Sussex most glorious vistas, running dairy and beef production.
As income from farming has dwindled the family have allowed prospective businesses to speculate on their land. The latest bid is by Olus and is massive even on today's compost scales - aiming to be one of the biggest and busiest in the South of the UK.
The Parish Council are strongly objecting to the proposal and reflect the vast majority of villager's views.
The innocent idea of producing compost on a small scale would hardly be noticed in the corner of a field, but this proposal is truly massive. The biggest site you could compare locally is a noisy, dust swept, smelly site processing half the capacity of what this proposal covers and you would not want it a mile from your home let alone 200metres.
Situated between the ponds all four will be affected to some extent and poisoned by rotting particulate starving aquatic life of oxygen. Busy lorry routes will deter children from enjoying the green-belt protected asset.
To cap it all the West Sussex predicted need is already met almost twice over by existing approved sites. To make this one viable we can only assume they will have to lorry in suitable waste from London, Surrey, Hampshire, Kent and East Sussex where they have been slower to approve suitable sites (or hit more objections).
Just imagine what will happen if it is not viable a few years from now - seven acres of industrial site will be up for grabs to the highest bidder.
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