Recycling plant plan expected to be approved despite objections

A controversial plan to relocate a rubble recycling plant near to a crematorium could be given the go-ahead despite concerns about noise and dust.

Waste specialists Wrubble wants to move its base from Throckmorton to a former mushroom farm in Fladbury near Evesham but the plan has been criticised by several local councillors over the disruption it would cause.

Wychavon district councillor Tony Rowley has opposed the work saying it would be “inappropriate” to build a recycling plant next to a crematorium and county and district councillor Liz Eyre has also objected to the plan saying it should be refused on “environment and safety grounds”.

Neighbouring business Evesham Vale Growers said it was concerned that constant dust would ruin its tomatoes and would also result in an “expensive” clean-up of its solar panels.

Westerleigh Group, which runs neighbouring Vale Crematorium, objected to the plan over the disruption it said it would cause saying the scheme would result in the site “losing its tranquillity.”

The group added that the entrance to the site would be unsafe.

Despite the objections, planning officers at Wychavon District Council have recommended the plan is given the green light.

Wrubble has defended its plan saying the noise from the recycling equipment would be contained within its own building and the area would be no noisier than it is now.

Wychavon District Council said it still had concerns about the plan and several parish councils including Flabury, Hill and Moor and Charlton also raised objections.

Sixty objections were also raised by residents against the plan during public consultation.

Wrubble, which was formed almost four years ago, said it has outgrown the two yards it currently runs on Thockmorton airfield – which are trickily a distance away from each other – and wants to move to the former mushroom farm for a bigger and permanent base.

The company recycles hard-to-decompose waste from aggregates used regularly in construction and other materials from demolition and also carries out groundwork and clears up building sites as well as hiring out equipment.

Planning permission was approved in 2015 for a “state-of-the-art” mushroom farm but the plans never got off the ground.

Vale Crematorium opened in December 2018.