Bardon waste transfer station

Leicestershire County Council is a waste disposal authority, so disposes of all the waste collected at the kerbside by Leicestershire’s district councils, along with that collected at our Recycling and Household Waste Sites.

As a council we are looking to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill as this has a negative impact on the environment and isn’t a sustainable way of managing waste. Instead we want to take more waste to treatment facilities as this is better for the environment. To do this efficiently, waste is usually first delivered to a waste transfer station where it’s bulked together and then transferred into larger vehicles which travel to the treatment facility.

Our current waste transfer stations at Whetstone and Loughborough are at capacity, so to enable us to send more of our waste to treatment facilities we need to develop a new facility.

The proposed waste transfer station will also give us resilience and flexibility.

The vacant plot of land sits within the Broad locations, which is an area outlined within the: 

Minerals and Waste Local Plan    PDF,  6.9 mbOpens new window

This is a document that sets out a strategy and key planning principles for the management of waste and minerals within the County. The plot of land is within an industrial estate with similar size buildings surrounding it. The proposed new waste transfer station is well located to manage waste from the north west area of Leicestershire as well as the wider county. 

On 22 October 2019 a report went to Leicestershire County Council’s Cabinet and it was agreed the land at Bardon Business Park could be used for waste transfer purposes. View the Cabinet report.

We are currently looking to develop a waste transfer station which will include a warehouse style building with the associated weighbridges, outside bays, office space and parking. 

This is an image of a waste transfer station in York:

The proposed facility at Bardon will be a similar building style with roller doors and concrete flooring.

The building and operations will have to comply with strict rules and regulations to ensure the facility has minimal impact on the business park and its surrounding area. 

The proposed waste transfer station is relatively big compared to our other waste transfer stations because we need extra capacity in the county to help us to manage our waste in the best possible and most environmentally friendly way. However, when looking at the size of the building and its surroundings, the proposed building is significantly smaller than a lot of the businesses on Bardon Business Park. For example, some of the neighbouring buildings are 5-6 times bigger than the waste transfer station building. 

More information on the scale of the building and how it fits in with its surroundings can be found in the design and access statement which was submitted as part of the planning application.

The planning documents have assumed a worst case scenario regarding traffic movements. We are applying for up to 100,000 tonnes per annum of waste for the planning permission and the environmental permit, but in reality the amount of waste processed through the facility is likely to be less. However, as we are applying for this tonnage we have modelled our traffic numbers the maximum amount of waste that will be processed through the facility per year. Even in this worst-case scenario, modelling has shown that there could be a peak of only 20 two-way (ie. vehicles in and out) vehicle movements per hour. At another time in the day there are as little as 5 two-way vehicle movements. The flow of traffic will be spread throughout the day and as such the peaks of traffic are relatively low. 

More information on traffic levels can be found in the transport assessment which was submitted as part of the planning application.

The county council have a number of waste transfer stations across the county and these do not cause odour issues. Waste is delivered and then very quickly bulked and taken off site to treatment or disposal facilities, usually within 24 hours therefore minimising any risk of odour. Correct management of the site will also ensure odour is minimised, for example, taking simple steps such as keeping the doors to the waste transfer building closed. As a further precaution there will be an odour suppression system which will further mitigate the risk of odour.

As part of the environmental permit, there will be an odour management plan which outlines how odour will be managed on site to minimise any impact to the surrounding area. 

Generally, a waste transfer station is not a noisy operation. Any noise will come from the tipping and moving of waste but most of this will happen inside of the purpose-built building with the doors closed, minimising noise transfer.

As part of the environmental permit, there will be a noise management plan which outlines how noise will be managed on site to minimise any impact to the surrounding area. 

The waste brought to site will only remain on site for a short period of time, usually less than 24 hours, before being taken to a treatment or disposal facility. This will mean that the opportunity for vermin problems to develop will be limited. Simple on site management, such as keeping the shutter doors closed and litter picking, will reduce the likelihood of vermin on site.

We are working with a contractor called Willmott Dixon Construction to develop the scheme. They have spent a number of months working with us to develop a design for the new waste transfer station and a planning application has been submitted for the proposed development.

The planning process will involve a statutory consultation period and will likely be determined in late 2020. We also must have an environmental permit before the waste transfer station can operate. The Environment Agency are the regulatory body responsible for enforcing environmental legislation and they must be satisfied that the site design and operating processes are safe and to their satisfaction. 

It is therefore likely that construction will happen during 2021 and the facility will be operational either late 2021 or early 2022.

If you wish to comment on the application, you will find a ‘comment on this application’ link at the bottom of the planning application page. 

We will ensure this page is kept up to date, and when more information becomes available it will be included.

If you have any further questions we have a dedicated email address and will be happy to respond to you and help in any way we can. Please do not use the email address below to comment on the planning application. If you wish to comment on the planning application, you will find a ‘comment on this application’ link at the bottom of the planning application page.

Email: BardonWTS@leics.gov.uk