Fears for recycling centre plan near park

Residents of Tattenhoe Park say they feel Milton Keynes City Council needs to think again about building a recycling centre next to it

Campaigners living near the site of a proposed recycling centre have put together a 1,000 signature petition calling on the council to rethink its location.

Labour-run Milton Keynes City Council wants to shut sites in Newport Pagnell, New Bradwell and Bleak Hall and build new facilities in Wolverton and Snelshall.

Residents near the Snelshall site say they fear it could be detrimental to the local area.

The council's decision has been called in by Conservative opposition councillors and will be discussed again at a meeting on 5 March.

Lisa Slade Carter, Ashley Joosten, Rory Brick and Mick Bannister live in Tattenhoe Park, which is next to where the proposed south recycling centre site could be built

The Wolverton site would be built near an existing waste recovery facility which the authority plans to convert into an eco park, while the southern site at Snelshall is due to be a purpose-built centre.

However, people living in Tattenhoe Park, near to that site, have told the BBC they think the authority would be building it in the wrong place.

Mick Bannister regularly cycles through the park and called it "a unique little place" with "great crested newts, rare butterflies, foxes, deer and pied and grey wagtails".

He said: "The problem with having a tip here is that it is so close to the brook, so any toxic leakages are going to end up in the brook."

Rory Brick said he accepted a new centre was required but "not in an area which is so close to local schools".

He was concerned the development would mean "additional traffic, additional road noise, and additional pollution".

Ashley Joosten said he might not have bought a house in the area "if this was something that had a great probability of going ahead".

He said he had spoken to other young families in the area and "very few people were even aware this was an issue".

Lisa Slade Carter claimed the last consultation on these plans was carried out in 2020 when "this area was not built on, so there were no residents to consult with".

She added: "I cannot stress to people how beautiful Tattonhoe Valley Park is and we are so concerned this council is going to spoil it."

Pete Marland said the new centres would provide better facilities and fewer traffic issues than current sites

Labour council leader Pete Marland had accused some Conservative councillors of "putting out false information about these sites and what they do".

He said: "The new centres provide better facilities, in better locations with improved access and fewer traffic issues than current sites, while increasing the level of recycling and reducing the number of good items in perfect working order being sent for scrap".