Row over council's waste transfer station plan

The council says the new waste transfer station will save money

A major row has broken out over Burnley Council's plans to build a new waste transfer station with the authority's leader branding his Labour group counterpart "petty and pathetic."

Councillor Afrasiab Anwar made the accusation about opposition leader, Councillor Mark Townsend, as the authority approved the new development on the Heasandford Industrial Estate on Balderstone Lane.

The Labour group had distributed leaflets opposing the scheme on grounds of proximity to houses and the lack of a proper consultation.

The council said the new waste transfer station (WTS) - an industrial facility where waste is temporarily stored - would save money and residents "should not be concerned".

Townsend told the meeting the leaflets had generated more than 500 letters of objection.

They also claimed the development would cause "foul odours from rotting waste, increased presence of seagulls and rodents, and constant traffic from bin lorries throughout the day".

The plan involves buying a site on Widow Hill Road, 400m (437 yards) from its current depot which houses its vehicle fleet for £361,000 and freeing up the existing depot site for the new WTS.

'Rats or seagulls'

This would enable Burnley Council to get the development up and running by 1 April 2026 when Lancashire County Council's (LCC) contract with SUEZ to use the Whinney Hill landfill site ends.

The council said the new WTS would avoid the estimated £1.6m a year cost of taking borough waste to Lancashire County Council's alternative recycling facility at Farrington near Leyland.

Anwar accused Townsend and the Labour group of "disinformation" in the leaflet and associated social media posts, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "This is just scaremongering for political advantage.

"Councillor Townsend and the Labour group are being petty and pathetic.

"We take tough decisions head on."

Burnley Council's environment boss, Councillor Howard Baker, said: "This plan ensures Burnley meets new waste disposal rules while reducing as far as possible any extra burden on taxpayers.

"To be clear, these plans do not create a new landfill site in Burnley."

He said it would be enclosed and emptied daily, with "filtered air extraction to prevent odours at a location 500 metres away from the nearest residential home".

"Residents should not be concerned about noise, rats or seagulls," he added.

After the meeting, Townsend said: "It's not the first time when having no response to serious questions that Councillor Anwar has resorted to personal insults instead of addressing genuine resident concerns with his decisions.

"I can live with that. I'll support residents fighting for their community when he fails to."

He said the accusation of misinformation was "desperate stuff" and he stood by what was in the leaflets.

"If it wasn't for Labour councillors seeking residents' views only a handful in Briercliffe would know anything about the new WTS," he added.