Food waste depot to open despite vermin fears

Lewes District Council said the food waste containers will be sealed when not in use

A former household waste recycling centre in East Sussex centre will reopen as a food waste handling site, despite concerns it could attract vermin to the area.

Residents said the site in Lewes Road, Newhaven, would also increase noise and create an odour in the area.

But Lewes District Council has given permission for the site to house two sealed containers for food waste collections, which will be replaced with new containers each day.

The council said the containers are “vermin proof” and the site would have sound-reducing walls.

The site in Lewes Road closed in 2011

A council spokesman said incorporating the facilities at its existing site in Robinson Road, Newhaven, was not an option as it is already at "operational capacity".

The council says there will be a “significant reduction” in traffic accessing the Lewes Road site than there had been previously, and that the exchange of skips would take place during the daytime.

“As with all waste and recycling centres, we are implementing rigorous containment controls,” the spokesman added.

There will be 15 electric waste collection vehicles based at the Lewes Road site.

Food waste will be turned into compost at the food and garden waste facility in Whitesmith, a hamlet between Hailsham and Uckfield.