72,000 tonne composting site in Warrington Green Belt

De Pol were successful in obtaining planning permission for the receipt and composting of 72,000 tonnes of organic waste per year at a Green Belt site in Warrington.

The proposal involves receiving treated food waste and garden waste from civic amenity sites and landscape gardens before being treated and processed in open-windrows to form valuable agricultural fertilizer for spreading on agricultural land.

Initially De Pol was appointed to appeal Warrington Borough Council’s refusal of a planning application, submitted by a third party, for the processing of 75,000 tonnes of organic waste per year. After De Pol submitted the Appellant’s Statement of Case ahead of a Public Inquiry, the Council reviewed its position and sought legal advice. As a result De Pol advised a submission of a revised planning application to address Councillor’s areas of concern and provide a more robust justification for the proposals.

Prior to the submission of the revised application De Pol assisted the client and his agronomist to refine the proposal and engaged with the Council’s local officers and the Environment Agency. This meant that objections to the proposals from statutory consultees were avoided during consideration of the planning application.

De Pol prepared the project team for their presentation to the planning committee and spoke in support of the application. The application was approved, meaning that the original Appeal case could be withdrawn and the client saved significant costs by avoiding the need for a lengthy and complex Public Inquiry.