Thornton site must be tested for contamination before work starts on waste processing facility, Wyre Council urges
Controversial plans to develop a new waste processing amenity in Thornton have raised concerns about the prospect of it operating on a site with possible pre-existing chemical contamination.
Wyre Council has called for a desk study and assessment to be carried out into the possible risks of on-site contamination before any work on the proposed new facility can go ahead at the Hillhouse Enterprise Zone site.
Investigations are already being carried out into the potential historic atmospheric release and deposition to soil of PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) from the industrial site, formerly home to the ICI works.
And Wyre says that insufficient information has been submitted with the waste treatment application as to the potential contamination risks of the site.
Wyre Council will not be the authority making the decision on the application but has been approached for its views as a consultee on the proposals; it will be determined by Lancashire County Council’s Development Control Committee.
The application is for a change of use to allow waste processing including new building, portacabin style office and erection of boundary fencing associated with processing of household, commercial and industrial waste to produce a solid recovered fuel (SRF).
The facility is being proposed by a company called Sterling Environmental Solutions, which says it has been successfully treating third-party industrial waste, alongside pharmaceutical waste, for over 30 years .
The company is based in Stockport and has a number of waste facilities across the country.
Although Wyre has not raised any official objections to the scheme, it has included a condition which the council believes is crucial before any work can begin, should the proposals go ahead.
Aside from the council’s considerations, some residents have raised concerns about the proposed waste treatment set-up itself, fearing it could lead to possible odorous emissions.
There are already problems with odours coming from the Jameson Road Landfill Site, down the road in Fleetwood, as well as conerns about the investigations into PFAS – a substance which has been linked to cancer.
Wyre Council stated, in regard to the condition: “Prior to the commencement of development, a desk study to investigate and produce an assessment of the risk of the potential for on-site contamination shall be undertaken and submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
“If the desk study identifies potential contamination, a detailed site investigation shall be carried out in accordance with a written methodology, which shall first have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.
“If remediation measures are then considered necessary, a scheme for decontamination of the site shall be submitted to, and approved by, the Local Planning Authority in writing and the approved scheme implemented prior to the development of the site, and validation of the approved measures shall be submitted to, and approved by, the Local Planning Authority in writing on completion of the works.
“Any changes to the approved scheme must be approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority prior to any works being undertaken.”
Wyre says the reason for its condition is that the development is for a “sensitive end use” and also that insufficient information has been submitted with the application as to the potential contamination risks of the site.