That this Council notes:
· Over the years, the Droppingwell site has suffered from poor administration and enforcement action by both the environment agency and RMBC and this has brought about apathy within the local community towards any local authority decision.
This Council believes that:
· by conducting consultation it would re-instate some of the confidence in the authorities administration over planning.
· this is a public amenity and therefore all efforts should be made to garner all relevant views to any alterations which could carry significant risks to the users of this public resource and it should not be a decision that should be taken by a faceless officer without public scrutiny.
This Council resolves that:
· echoing the call from the residents of Droppingwell, Kimberworth and Blackburn, the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety and the Chair of the Planning Board should give a cast iron guarantee today that, prior to any further planning permission, variations or amendments in relation to the Grange Park site, including the Grange landfill site, its accesses, access lane and any alteration to entrances or junctions, a full and comprehensive consultation will be conducted. This would include all patrons of the site, the football club and all local residents.
Proposer: Councillor Hague Seconder: Councillor Cowles
Minutes:
Proposed by Councillor Hague and seconded by Councillor Cowles.
That this Council notes:
· Over the years, the Droppingwell site has suffered from poor administration and enforcement action by both the environment agency and RMBC and this has brought about apathy within the local community towards any local authority decision.
This Council believes that:
· by conducting consultation it would re-instate some of the confidence in the authorities administration over planning.
· this is a public amenity and therefore all efforts should be made to garner all relevant views to any alterations which could carry significant risks to the users of this public resource and it should not be a decision that should be taken by a faceless officer without public scrutiny.
This Council resolves that:
· echoing the call from the residents of Droppingwell, Kimberworth and Blackburn, the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety and the Chair of the Planning Board should give a cast iron guarantee today that, prior to any further planning permission, variations or amendments in relation to the Grange Park site, including the Grange landfill site, its accesses, access lane and any alteration to entrances or junctions, a full and comprehensive consultation will be conducted. This would include all patrons of the site, the football club and all local residents.
It was proposed by Councillor Hoddinott and seconded by Councillor Watson that the motion be amended as follows.
That this Council notes:
Over the years, the Droppingwell site has suffered from poor administration and enforcement action by both the environment agency and RMBC and this has brought about apathy within the local community towards any local authority decision.
INSERT:
The situation with Droppingwell Tip is unique in the country. The planning permission that dates back to the 1950s excludes the kinds of requirements that would be expected from such a planning permission today.
The re-opening of the tip has been consistently opposed by members of this Council.
The Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety wrote to the then Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Therese Coffey MP) on 3rd September 2019, setting out significant concerns about the site reopening and asking for urgent action to be taken.
The Chief Executive of Rotherham Council wrote to the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government (Robert Jenrick MP) in November 2019 and again January 2020, to set out the Council’s concerns about the operation of the site and the Council’s lack of available legislative powers to regulate it. To date, no response has been received.
The Council wrote to Grange Landfill Ltd in January 2020 to express concern about the risks associated with vehicle movements on the access road and the use of Council land as a turning circle, and to ask that appropriate action was taken by Grange Landfill to mitigate any risks. It is the council’s intention to block the turning circle this month.
The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board heard the petition of residents on this subject on 28th January 2020 and have made recommendations that Cabinet will formally respond to in March.
The continued concern of local residents as to the validity of test data that is required by the Environment Agency, including data that relies on borehole samples.
This Council believes that:
· by conducting consultation it would re-instate some of the confidence in the authorities administration over planning.
· this is a public amenity and therefore all efforts should be made to garner all relevant views to any alterations which could carry significant risks to the users of this public resource and it should not be a decision that should be taken by a faceless officer without public scrutiny.
This Council resolves that:
· echoing the call from the residents of Droppingwell, Kimberworth and Blackburn, the Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety and the Chair of the Planning Board should give a cast iron guarantee today that, prior to any further planning permission, variations or amendments in relation to the Grange Park site, including the Grange landfill site, its accesses, access lane and any alteration to entrances or junctions, a full and comprehensive consultation will be conducted. This would include all patrons of the site, the football club and all local residents.
INSERT:
· the Council will continue to raise our concerns about the re-opening of the site with the Environment Agency and government including the lack of modern planning controls.
· the Council will support the efforts being made by Sarah Champion MP to ensure that the Environment Agency validates the test samples from the site to ensure that these have been, and continue to be, legitimate.
On being put to the vote the amendment to the motion was declared as carried and as such became the substantive motion.
On being put to the vote, the now substantive motion was declared as carried.