Site will become ‘glorified tip’

An application has been submitted to Ashfield District Council seeking temporary permission to store hard-core, gravel, soil and sand on concreted land off Mill Lane in Kirkby.

The land is part of the former Bentinck Colliery site and in the past was used to store coal on.

But the area is now a haven for wildlife and residents living on nearby Laburnum Avenue are worried that if the plans are granted, it will pollute the area and will lead to the land becoming a place that people dump all sorts of rubbish on.

Sue Horton (65) said that she and many of her neighbours were writing letters of objections and gathering petitions against the plans.

She said: “It will ruin the wildlife - wild orchids grow there and rare butterflies live there.”

Residents’ concerns also centre on the fact that the site will become an eyesore, that the materials stored will create dust, and they are worried about an increase in traffic on the already busy Mill Lane as vehicles access the site.

“People commute to work on Mill Lane to cut Kirkby out,” said Sue.

“The road is not cut out for that volume of traffic and it has a weight restriction.

“We have lots of potholes along Mill Lane as it is, so the extra traffic will cause more.”

The application states that the boundaries of the site are either fenced or populated with dense trees and shrubbery but local people still fear that it will become a target for fly-tippers in what is an area that already suffers from the illegal dumping of waste.

Sue said: “It will become a glorified tip.

“You could end up having asbestos and everything on there.”

George Machin, of agent for the applicant, GraceMachin Planning and Property, said that the application is only to use the site for aggregate storage for two years and it will be used by a landscaping business.

He said that the material will be transported to the site by vans and not lorries.

Ashfield District Council is due to make a decision on the application by the end of July.