18/05/10 Villagers fear life will be blighted

Villagers fear life will be blighted by lorries and bad smells in green waste proposal

PEOPLE fear bacterial spores, noxious smells and hundreds of lorries could soon ruin village life if plans for a new recycling site go ahead.

Proposals were put forward in March by local farmer P Good, to build an outdoor windrow composter on the site of the old Fiskerton Airfield.

But locals say they have only just heard about the scheme which would see 666 annual lorry loads of green waste from West Lindsey taken for digestion.

Resident Christopher Darcel, 65, said: “The application mentions 666 lorry movements a year and quite rightly it suggests this would average out at 13 per week.

“As a householder living in the zone, as does half the village, I would hate one of these lorries to cause an incident.

But Jim Grundy, managing director of JHG Planning which is acting as agent for the project, said they would be perfectly willing to listen to residents’ concerns.

“We’ve an odour assessment that was carried out and it shows there should be no fears.

“It is a very isolated site, with nobody nearby, and the compost will be used on the agricultural land.

“With regards to traffic, again we’ve got a report which shows that it would not be a really intensive operation – it’s just garden waste from the West Lindsey area.”

A decision on the plans will be made by Lincolnshire County Council by June 24.

Why compost unit would be such a bad neighbour

20/05/10

FISKERTON is to be the scene of another agro-industrial atrocity (May 18) reminiscent of aspects of the appalling Nocton Dairies proposal.

A windrow composting unit is proposed 550 metres (600 yards) north of the village school.

Windrow composting allows green waste to rot and decay with extensive micro organic activity eventually producing a stable organic compost.

The rotting process at 55 degrees centigrade produces offensive smells.This temperature must be maintained for approximately 15 days with constant turning to oxygenate.

It is this turning which produces particular dangers for people living nearby.

The smell is terrible. All smell is particulate. Here the particulates are particularly nasty.

There are bacteria, viruses and parasites encouraged by the decaying processes.

Especially common in windrow composting is a fungus known as aspergillus fumigatus.

This can cause asthma and other reactions in some individuals, particularly children.

The US Environment Protection Agency notes “explosive regrowth of pathogenic organisms is possible”.

It is astonishing that a unit with such potential for destroying the quality of life and health of so many Fiskerton residents should be so lightly undertaken.

The application states “the proposed composting site is remote from residential properties and therefore there will be no adverse effects due to dust, odours, etc”.

Yet the site is less than 600 yards from the village school, the village hall and children’s play area, the shop and many houses.

Lincolnshire has its share of vast wide open empty spaces.

Fiskerton village outskirts is not one of them.

Of the possible consequences of this proposal the worst outcome is the effect on children’s health with parents being afraid to let children play outdoors.

Minor consequences would be a difficulty in having barbecues and enjoying garden outdoor life in summer.

Then there is the creeping property blight already seen at Nocton.

It seems unlikely that Fiskerton and Nocton are somehow isolated examples of a trend.

A quick dive into the internet soon reveals a pattern of such developments, especially windrow composting, fromScotland to Sussex.

Encouraged by “green legislation”, councils and developers are pushing these proposals, and local residents are having to fight to gain some consideration and hang on to a decent quality of life for themselves and their families.

If you wish to object to the windrow composting at Fiskerton contact the website at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk or write to Head of Spatial Planning, Lincolnshire County Council, Unit 16, Witham Park House, Waterside South,Lincoln LN5 7JN.

B. M. Beeby Holmfield, Fiskerton.