Agenda item

Concerns, comments and suggestions raised at the meeting included the following:

• The 20 acre site was close to the heart of the town centre and within 50 metres of the nearest houses to the north and south.
• The town centre was already heavily congested with traffic at peak times and if a major waste facility was developed at Tavistock Road it would probably result in continuous queuing of traffic for greater periods during the day, leading to increased noise and air pollution.
• The Tavistock Road junction with the High Street was adjacent to West Drayton Station. When the station is further developed as part of the Crossrail project this will result in it becoming an even busier junction.
• The corner of Tavistock Road and the High Street was already a very dangerous junction and a huge volume of additional heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) associated with waste plant activities – possibly up to 120,000 pa would create a death trap for pedestrians.
• HGVs coming up the High Street from the south cannot manoeuvre left into Tavistock Road and frequently use the Station forecourt as a turning circle to more easily approach Tavistock Road – creating difficulties for buses accessing the Station as well.
• All heavy goods traffic entering and exiting the site would have to come through the town centre where local residents were already saying that they want only cars, vans and busses to have access.
• The site had very restricted access with the only exit/entrance being a narrow ramped access, spilling onto a narrow and heavily congested local road and then onto an already congested high street.
• Waste site operators are known to favour separate road entry and exit points for vehicle safety.
• The elevated nature of the site merely added to the likely impact on the local community as they would continuously be overshadowed by waste recycling processes which would be viewed and smelled from the living rooms, gardens and homes of local people.
• An industrial waste facility is not required in this area as it there was already a large, modern facility at Colnbrook which made a good provision for this area and part of West London.
• The main road is a route to school as there is a primary school on the main road in Yiewsley. Many parents of the children attending local schools and places of worship had signed the petitions.
• Many drivers still see the high street as the preferred route through the town rather than the by pass.
• The level of noise pollution, light pollution and visual intrusion associated with high density industrial waste recycling would severely affect the living and working environment of local residents, businesses and school children in a large area around the plant.
• Petitioners and local residents had considered other uses for the site including the building of a new primary school
• Petitioners urged Cabinet at their meeting in the Autumn to take out the Coal Yard site at Tavistock Close from the West London Waste Plan as it was unsuitable for industrial waste recycling.

The Ward Councillors for Yiewsley were present and raised the following points:

• Ward Councillors congratulated the petitioners on their speech and for attending the meeting with the Cabinet Member.
• The emotion portrayed by local residents was very evident and proved that local people did not want the Tavistock Road site to be included in the West London Waste Plan.
• The support gathered for this hearing was a testament to democracy.
• The local roads were very congested and this site would simply add to the problem.
• Ward Councillors stated they supported the petitioners wholeheartedly and did not want this site in their ward as there were other suitable locations within the borough.

An email had been received from Councillor Anita MacDonald in support of the petitioners. The Chairman read out the email which highlighted the following points:

• Cllr MacDonald supported the petitioners and did not want the Coal Yard site to be included in the West London Waste Plan.
• Placing a waste site here would aggravate traffic issues faced by the area.
• There were others sites within the London Borough of Hillingdon which were more suitable for this Waste Plant.

Councillor Keith Burrows listened to the concerns and points raised by the petitioner and asked officers to comment on the options put forward by the petitioner. He stated that he had received many emails and letters from local MPs, residents and Councillors regarding this matter.

Cllr Burrows congratulated local residents for putting together a coherent and well written speech. He also commended the public were gathering at the meeting to show their support for one another.

Cllr Burrows stated he was impressed with the emotion shown by petitioners and would alert Cabinet to the feelings of the local residents. He also stated that it was not within his remit to make a decision regarding the site as this would take place at a Planning Committee meeting.

However, Cllr Burrows had listened to the views of the petitioners and would ask officers to reconsider the placement of the plant.

Resolved - the Cabinet Member:

1. Listened to the views of the petitioners; and

2. Instructed officers to review the inclusion the former Coal Yard at Tavistock Road, West Drayton in the next stage of the Draft West London Waste Plan (Draft WLWP) in view of the environmental concerns raised in these petitions, notably regarding traffic access to the site by heavy goods vehicles and their possible implications for the surrounding road network.  Any resulting change would form part of the revisions to the Draft WLWP which are due to be considered by Cabinet at its meeting in the autumn.

Reasons for Recommendation

To ensure the Draft WLWP consultation process helps to shape the content of the document, and that comments and recommendations by interested parties are accommodated where appropriate.

Alternative Options Considered

The Cabinet Member may decide not to instruct officers to consider making any further changes to the Draft WLWP as a result of the petitions.