Campaigners vow to fight company's retrospective planning application to expand recycling centre in Northampton

A recycling centre that has already drawn protests from nearby residents of a caravan park in Northampton has put in retrospective planning permission to expand the site further, it has been revealed.

Last week, the Chronicle & Echo spoke to campaigner Sheryl Hadfield about the issues she says are caused by the Mick George recycling centre in Lower Ecton Lane. They said they were concerned about the impact, and size, of the site and were due to meet representatives later this month.

Now it has been revealed that the company has submitted a retrospective planning application to extend the centre.

Councillor Jason Smithers, Northamptonshire County Council cabinet member for transport, highways and environment, described the submission of the retrospective application as "not an acceptable way to conduct matters".

In a statement to the Chron, he said: "Mick George Limited has made a planning application for an extension to the waste recycling building but has undertaken the works before a decision has been made by the county council.

“The company has been contacted and informed that this is not an acceptable way to conduct matters. However, retrospective applications are legally allowed and as a planning application has now been submitted for this development, the county council has to determine the application and decide whether to approve or refuse it."

Councillor Smithers added: “Planning permission exists for the waste recycling facility operated by Mick George Limited, on land which is allocated for waste management uses in the Northamptonshire County Council Minerals and Waste Local Plan, which was adopted in July 2017.

"The site operates under an environmental permit issued by the Environment Agency, which is responsible for pollution control matters and dealing with complaints covered by the permit,” Mr Smithers added.

He said the decision on the retrospective planning application will be made by the county council’s development control committee, The public will be able to speak in relation to the proposal.

“The Ecton Park residents have been consulted on the application for the new building and were consulted on previous planning applications at the site.,"

Sheryl Hadfield, who is one of dozens of people living in the caravan park close to the site, says she will be objecting and will campaign for the retrospective planning permission to be refused. Many people have been living at the park for 35 years, she said.

Sheryl said: "Families were already on the park before Mick George moved in. I've been told the site wasn't too bad in 2007 but operations have increased dramatically inside the warehouse and outside on the land. It's on a much more bigger scale now.

The mother-of-three also said she feels retrospective planning applications "are not right" and feels Mick George has been inconsiderate.

She said: "To me it's just not right. People build conservatories and have them taken down because they don't have permission. I am fighting for this site to be taken down."

Sheryl said she does not feel the company has taken the caravan park residents into consideration.

"I feel like none of it has been done the right way. Yes we live near a tip, we live near the sewage works and the A45 but it does not mean because of that you can just keep adding to the problem.

"If we don't make a stand, if we let this go ahead, who is to say Mick George in another five or 10 years won't extend it again, when is it going to end?

"Retrospective planning permission is not right. It's not fair.

"We did a petition, all 35 families on the park, as to why we didn't want it to go ahead. We basically said that to extend the warehouse would make our lives miserable, which it has."

Sheryl said the petition was handed to the council but a year later in 2020 Mick George was extending its warehouse. Cogenhoe Parish Council also said it has objected to previous extensions of the warehouse over the years.

Mick George was contacted for comment on Friday but has not yet responded. In a previous statement issued to the Chron regarding the concerns of campaigners, a spokesperson said: ""The current planning application seeks consent for an extension to the existing building to provide more of the sites existing activities to be carried out under cover."

The company also said that the Environment Agency (EA) has not reported any problems with waste pollution, and that the firm has not experienced any issues to date.

More residents have voiced their concerns over industrial unit in Northampton