PUBLIC ENQUIRY
25/09/08
Government Decision to 'Call in' SITA application to extend landfill at Seghill
Organisers of NoToLandfill have welcomed the decision by the Secretary of State Hazel Blears to hold a Public Enquiry. Chairman of the NoToLandfill Campaign - Lindsay Perks told the News Guardian:
"We're glad government has taken the initiative and called it in. We will now have a proper opportunity to put our arguments across" -
see - Press Clippings page for larger image of News Guardian article above
Campaigners Joy as Council Rejects Landfill Development!
14/08/08
At the conclusion of possibly the longest and most complex hearing by the North Tyneside Planning Committee, after over three and a half hours of detailed scrutiny carried out by members of the Committee in front of a packed public gallery, there were cries of relief when Councillors decided to reject the proposal from SITA (UK) plc.
Organisers of NoToLandfill, which has been campaigning for over three years to stop the extension of the Seghill Landfill site operations for a further 20 years, expressed satisfaction with the decision of the North Tyneside Planning Committee which last night (14/08/08) rejected the proposals to extend the site on the boundary of North Tyneside and Northumberland.
More than two thirds of the councillors present voted against the development and not one voted in favour.
Paul Irwin, a local resident and one of the Coordinators of the campaign said:-
"This is great news. Over 5000 residents signed the petition opposing this monstrous proposal. Although this is only a first step towards total rejection of this unnecessary and environmentally dangerous development, we are confident that a full public enquiry, now likely to be ordered by the Secretary of State for the Environment, will allow us to present our arguments before a planning inspector without being restricted to the ludicrous five minutes time allowed to us last night.
We believe the residents of Backworth, Seghill, Holywell, Seaton Delaval and other local communities have suffered for too long.
The world and national environmental agenda does not support this outdated practice. Now is the time to say - enough is enough!
After three years we are now going take a short break then return to collect our thoughts, re-group and prepare for the next stage. The campaign group is going from strength to strength, people are mindful that landfill should no longer be an option and are pledging their support via our website and e-mails daily."
see - Press Clippings page for larger image of News Guardian article above
Message from Chair of NoToLandfill Campaign Mr. Lindsay Perks O.B.E.
15/08/08
To all members and supporters of the NoToLandfill Campaign.
I hope you are all as delighted as I am that North Tyneside rejected SITA's proposal. Fourteen councillors voted for rejection and nobody at all voted for the application.
Thank you North Tyneside!
We had a good success last night. The North Tyneside Councillors showed they had listened to what the residents said and had a much better appreciation of what living next to a landfill site really means. They understood that, though the actual tip may be in Northumberland, noise, litter, smells, birds and vermin do not recognise local authority boundaries. They also clearly recognised how unfair it would be if local residents, who had already suffered the impact of a landfill for over 50 years should suffer any more.
Of course, it is not the end of the matter and SITA have already signalled that they may appeal. At least we have won a significant battle but we need to win the campaign. If the application goes to a public enquiry then at least we will have the opportunity to spell out all our objections in full and in a structured way, rather than being confined to a 5 minute response to a 57 page document and an hours presentation.
As I said on Radio Newcastle this morning (15/08/08), great credit must go to the great number of people who have helped. People who collected over 5000 signatures for our petition, delivered leaflets, stuck up posters, stood in the rain and waved banners - as well as the people who produced our original report and have done research ever since.
My thanks and best wishes to you all.
My wife and I are off on holiday for a couple of weeks.
I look forward to working with you to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion when I return.
Kind regards
Lindsay
- Could anyone noticing litter or odours spilling over from the SITA site please report it officially by ringing the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60. We know there is a problem, it must be logged with the proper authorities. At the same time ring Blyth Valley Environmental Protection (01670 542 312) for a local response.
- Vicky Barrington from Blyth Valley Environmental Protection has said that residents should call her team with complaints where they would be logged and wherever possible a local officer would be sent out. Phone 01670 542 312 or 01670 542 320.
- The local press continues to give good coverage of the campaign. There's more about North Tyneside Council and the 'landfill allowances' bought from the London Borough of Westminster here, and a list of recent articles here.
- It is still very important that you send letters of objection to the Environment Agency - you can download a suggested letter here.
- Many supporters have asked for maps of the affected area and the proposed extension to the landfill site. You can find them here.
- Anyone wishing to contact North Tyneside Cllr. Brian Burdis with your concerns over the landfill proposals should do so here.
Keep circulating the 'Online Petition' to all in your address book, we need as many signatures as possible. You can find the petition here
If you think that you could help in any way with (admin services, legal advice, printing of leaflets/banners etc or have expertise & time to analyse documents) then please let us know here.
If you email ideas or comments to the campaign and do not want them to appear on this site, please make this clear as we will tend to make anything useful, inspiring or interesting available online.
The 'No to landfill' contact number is: 07932 896 842
This site is frequently updated and we would appreciate any comments, suggestions, and particularly notification of bits that don't work as expected. Please let us know.
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