A PLANNING application has been submitted by the Department of Infrastructure to extend the life of the landfill site at Wright’s Pit North, at the Point of Ayre.
The site currently receives inert and mixed construction and demolition waste.
The existing planning consent requires landfilling operations to stop by December 31, 2014, and for the site to be restored by the end of 2015, in accordance with an approved scheme.
Under the DoI’s proposal, landfill operations would continue for a further five years, with a further year to enable the restoration to be completed by December 31, 2020.
The application (12/01671/B) and environmental statement were prepared by SLR Consulting Limited.
It explains: ‘Although landfilling is at the bottom of the waste hierarchy it is a fundamental element of any integrated waste management strategy, underpinning techniques further up the hierarchy such as recycling, recovery, etc.
‘While alternative technology therefore exists, and is utilised on the island the need for disposal facilities for residual wastes therefore remains.’
Waste disposal operations would continue at a projected input rate of about 2,500 tonnes per year.
Historically the site provided a facility for the disposal of residual hazardous waste, and it is submitted the need for this facility continues.
‘The site is an active permitted landfill, has an available void for future arisings with capacity to handle contingency events should they arise in the future.’
It says there would be ‘no unacceptable environmental effects arising from the continuation of landfilling operations at this existing facility’.
And it ‘would not lead to any further loss of habitat to that already permitted’.
In terms of the impact on the landscape, it says: ‘Whilst the application site is situated within an area designated as an area of high landscape value it is considered to have a low sensitivity to the type of development proposed due to its existing disturbed condition.’
The potential visibility of the operations would be confined to a limited number of locations including the coastal path to the north-west of the site and the A16 Bride-Point of Ayre road.
Any potential views from the northern fringe of Bride would be distant.
It is submitted the highway network will not be affected as due to the end of activities at the Point of Ayre civic amenity site future traffic levels on the surrounding road network will be ‘significantly less than in recent years’.
