Plans to extend operations at landfill site for 25 years approved

Anthony Lewis, local democracy reporter

Plans to extend the life of a recycling facility and landfill site for 25 years have been given the go ahead.

Two applications approved by Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT)’s planning committee on Thursday, January 30, involve variations of conditions to extend the operational time of Amgen Cymru Bryn Pica waste disposal site to March 2050.

The applications involve extending the long-standing operations taking place at the site past its scheduled completion date of March 31, 2025.

The planning report said: “The principal issue is whether circumstances have changed since the application(s) was last considered and, if so, is the development still in compliance with the current legislation.

“Committee is advised that both local and national policy has changed significantly since the last applications were considered back in 2003 and 2005 respectively however the changes are such so as to have no meaningful impact on the consideration of this proposal to extend the life of the consent.”

Licensed

The Bryn Pica waste management facility is licensed to recycle, recover, or reuse and dispose of waste materials through established operational facilities and activities, the report said.

The applicant said the site “continues to be strategically important as a waste management facility and the proposal to extend the operational timescales of the recycling facility will see the continuation of current recycling operations, moving material up the waste hierarchy which is fundamental to the aims of Welsh Government’s waste strategies”.

The report said the operation of the material recycling facility is
inextricably linked to the operation of the Bryn Pica landfill site and it is necessary to consider both applications at the same time.

Commercial decision

The proposal sought to extend the operation of the facilities at Bryn Pica for a further 25 years but the report said that is not to say the facility will be operational for that period as it is a commercial decision for the operator.

The report said it is considered this period is sufficient for completion of the site and also to take into account any changes to the Welsh Government’s waste agenda without the need to continually seek approval from the council every few years.

No other aspect of the existing consent was proposed to change.

The applicant also said the proposal for the landfill site will continue to see the import of waste materials to the site at rates previously assessed for the extended period of operations and the method and nature of the operations and plant at the landfill site will remain unchanged.

Councillor Sharon Rees, chair of the committee and local member, said the facility had been a “very good neighbour” to Llwydcoed and she had never had problems arising from it.