By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
A council ignored a plea from a Government minister to “back the little guy” over an extension to a scrap metal recycling site.
Mark Spencer, Conservative MP for Sherwood and minister for food, farming and fisheries, spoke at a Nottinghamshire County Council planning committee meeting on Tuesday (July 18).
He backed plans for Briggs Metals to extend its recycling yard in Great North Road, in Newark, so it can handle electric cars and their batteries.
However, the proposals were turned down by the council amid concerns the site where the yard is based is already within a designated flood zone.
The Environment Agency (EA) submitted representations to the authority urging it to turn down the plans amid a potential “danger to life” from future floods.
The suggestions were labelled as a “Domesday scenario” by Councillor Philip Owen (Con), who represents Nuthall and Kimberley and was the only member to vote in favour of the plans.
The meeting heard the extension would help to secure 20 jobs on the site and also create at least six new jobs.
An extra entrance to the site would have been created to form a one-way system through the site for HGVs.
And the extended part of the site would have been risen to the same level as the existing site as part of plans to mitigate the impact of potential floods.
However, in its representations, the EA said the extension would have a “detrimental impact” and “put users … at high risk of flooding, causing danger to life”.
It said the increased risk of floods would also put increased pressure on emergency services and the risk of hazardous materials and waste “floating away during a flood” was high, and could block flood defences.
And in the meeting, Cllr Jim Creamer (Lab), the committee’s vice-chairman, said: “When we look forward 100 years, the importance of flood plains is increasing to prevent flooding further down the line.
“Protecting floodplains is a very important thing to do and it needs to be done now. I know it’s very difficult and it’s the issue of the small man doing his job and he’s already there, but the environment is changing.
“Floodplains are required and we’re already having problems with villages flooding.”
Several councillors who represent divisions near the planned site confirmed many parts of the area flood during winter months.
However, council officers did confirm there is little evidence to suggest the application site itself has ever flooded.
The committee opted to refuse planning permission with six votes for, one against and three abstentions.
However, their votes came after Sherwood MP Mr Spencer, who works in the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, urged councillors to approve the plans.
He told the meeting: “What [the applicant] is trying to do is improve his site from a health and safety perspective, from an environmental perspective and from the impact on residents around it.
“He’s doing the right thing and we should be supporting him in trying to improve those objectives.
“To suggest a health and safety and risk of life if this application goes through, well I think the opposite is true.
“My appeal to you is to back the little guy who is trying to do the right thing, improve his business, the health and safety of his staff and the environment – albeit in a place where we wouldn’t want him if we had a free hand.”
