Bardon waste transfer station | Leicestershire County Council

We are in the process of mobilisation, ensuring the site is working as intended and progressing a programme of gradually increasing the amount of waste received and moved out of the site.

The waste transfer station will help us to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill, by allowing us to bulk it together and efficiently transport it to treatment facilities.

The facility will also give us resilience and flexibility, so if there’s bad weather, breakdowns at other facilities or changes in law for waste management, we can still take the waste to the most appropriate place for disposal or treatment.

What is a waste transfer station and why do we need one?Hide content

We are a waste disposal authority, so we dispose 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 new waste transfer station will also give us resilience and flexibility.

Why Bardon Business Park for a new waste transfer station?Hide content

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

Minerals and Waste Local Plan PDF, 6.82 MB Opens 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.

A planning application was submitted in August 2020, this went to the Development Control Regulatory Board on 12 November 2020 for determination. The application was successful and was granted planning permission subject to a number of conditions that will need to be discharged prior to the site becoming operational. More information can be found on the planning page.

What is being built and what does it look like?Hide content

Social valueHide content

As part of the construction contract, our contractor Wilmott Dixon has to complete a project in the community to provide social value.

The project is the construction and planting of a community allotment on the Stephenson campus site of Stephenson Melton Brooksby (SMB)College. The project was launched on 13 December 2021.

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Among attendants at the launch event were SMB College Group Principal, Dawn Whitemore, Victoria Musgrave and Cllr Ozzy O’Shea of Leicestershire County Council, and Zoe Anastasi, Simone Codrington and Stephen McDermott, of Willmott Dixon. They were joined by the college’s Foundation Learning, Level 1 Multi-trade, and Level 2 Painting & Decorating students, who all study at the Stephenson Campus.
The allotment project, which is a joint venture between the college’s Foundation and construction students, aims to incorporate raised beds, planted borders, a graffiti wall, bird boxes and a sensory garden. The allotment will be fully accessible and will allow students to learn about sustainability, composting and rainwater collection, in addition to learning how to grow vegetables and other plants.

Currently in its initial planning stages, the construction students will plan and build the allotment this year, with help from the team at Willmott Dixon. They will utilise re-used and reclaimed materials as much as possible, ensuring that the core value of sustainability is embedded throughout the entire project. Once built, the Foundation Learning students will use the allotment to learn how to grow food and will even have the opportunity use their own produce in their cooking lessons.

Wilmott Dixon have estimated that the allotment project will amass a Social Return On Investment of over £30k.

When will it be open?Hide content

The construction of the facility was completed in April 2022 and it is now operational.

The facility was granted planning permission in November 2020 and was issued with an Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency in July 2021. The Environment Agency are the regulatory body responsible for enforcing environmental legislation and they must be satisfied that the design and operating processes are safe and to their satisfaction. An environmental permit is required to operate the facility.

Previous questions Hide content

How big is the building?

The 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 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.

Will there be increased traffic?

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.

Will it smell?

We have a number of waste transfer stations across the county and these don't 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 is an odour suppression system which will further mitigate the risk of odour.

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

Will it be noisy?

Generally, a waste transfer station isn't 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 is a noise management plan which outlines how noise will be managed on site to minimise any impact to the surrounding area.

Could it create a vermin problem?

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.