Councillor ‘astounded’ at no objection to plans for illegal waste dump site

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A councillor says she is stunned that Natural Resources Wales has offered no objection to plans to turn an illegal waste dump into stables.

Plans to create four stables and a menage for training horses on land off Talwrn Road in the village of Coedpoeth, Wrexham have been lodged by S&L Aerospace Engineering, registered in Rhosymedre – who own the land.

Since August, the site has been used for illegally dumping unlicensed waste.

Natural Resources Wales issued an order earlier this month to clear all waste from the site and restore it to its original condition by the end of October but dumping has continued unabated.

The waste has now formed an embankment which – according to the planning application – would seem to form the foundation of the elevated development.

But in its formal response to the planning application NRW offered no objection to the plans – leaving the community in Coedpoeth feeling abandoned.

“I’m quite frankly astounded by the lack of opposition by NRW,” said Labour Cllr Krista Childs, who represents Coedpoeth.

“It’s just totally unacceptable. The whole site has been classified as an  illegal waste deposit and under section 59 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, NRW has ordered the removal of all waste on the site by the end of October.

“Our community has just been bombarded over the past few months with these breaches and illegal dumping sites and NRW are not being consistent and supporting our communities.”

Cllr Childs said the perceived inaction of NRW in enforcing the law and preventing environmental harm could give the green light to others who want do as they please in rural areas.

“The inaction from NRW has stunned me,” she said. “It leaves us totally unprotected from opportunists. They will see this agency’s weakness as the green light to do exactly as they please and we could lose more fields and face more contamination of our landscape.

“Last week the First Minister pledged his support to help manage this problem and it doesn’t seem to have got through to NRW. 

“We need to hold people to account, make sure that the site is restored with the removal of the waste material. We don’t seem to be able to enforce the law, but we’ve got to protect our environment.”

A spokesperson on behalf of Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said that the agency’s role as a statutory consultee in the planning process was separate from its investigative branch.

“Our consideration of a planning consultation is separate from any investigation into potential waste regulatory offences at the site,” they said.

“Our response to a planning application does not determine, or prevent us from taking any action that may be appropriate in relation to matters falling within our waste regulatory responsibilities.

“As a statutory consultee, we provide the Local Planning Authority with advice on environmental matters within our remit when consulted as part of the planning process.

“A response of ‘no objection’ should not be interpreted as an approval of activities at the site, nor does it mean that we have concluded that no regulatory breaches have taken place.

“We are submitting supplementary information to the planning authority explaining that the waste that has been illegally deposited at the site must be removed.

“A notice requiring the removal of this material by the end of October has been served. If the application proposed retaining this material, we would object.

“The decision on whether to grant planning permission rests with the Local Planning Authority.”

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