10/07/10 Farmer shocked at strength of opposition

Farmer shocked at strength of opposition to plan for composting plant

THE farmer who was going to build a composting site on his land has vowed to carry out more research after a flood of public objections.

Philip Good, of The Green in Reepham, said he was shocked by the strength of public feeling and would not continue with the plan until he knew more.

The original planning application said the composting plant would not have a detrimental affect on the surrounding houses, but residents of Fiskerton felt differently.

Mr Good has now put his planning application on hold until he is sure it is in the best interests of the village.

Mr Good said: “It is one thing ticking all the boxes and being right that way, but it is quite another thing being right with the people, and I want to make sure we are.

“I’m from Fiskerton and have lived there for 25 years. We farm around there and care about the area.

“I went to the public meeting and there were probably a couple of hundred people that had objections and criticisms of the planning proposal. The concerns need addressing.”

The application will not go to another planning meeting until September at the earliest to allow Mr Good to complete his research and decide whether he wants to continue with the scheme.

He will now visit similar sites around the country to see the affects of composting sites, as well as having further discussions with Lincolnshire County Council.

He said: “I will bring my results back and take a decision as to whether we go forward. If it is not right we won’t progress with the plans. I want the people of Fiskerton behind it.”

In the planning application, submitted in March this year, it states the plant will process 5,000 tonnes of green waste each year.

This would involve 666 extra lorries travelling through Fiskerton and Reepham a year.

Other concerns included the smell produced by the plant and particles thrown into the atmosphere that are thought to aggravate asthma.

Fiskerton resident Chris Darcel, 66, who led some of the protests, said: “We have several concerns about the plans, firstly that no one knew it had been submitted. We weren’t told anything in the village.

“There is also the smell, the compost smell will be airborne and it will travel to the houses in the village.

“There are areas in the country where people can’t sit out in their gardens because of plants like this and we don’t want that.

“We are also very concerned about the increased traffic this will generate.

“I think the intensity will be greater than the application says.”