Three new waste sites

No final decisions have yet been taken about which sites should go forward into the final Draft Plan which is expected in October 2011, but the current WSCC Assessment Sheets for each of the three sites indicate that with only one exception all the ‘key issues’ are judged to be ‘green’, meaning that there is nothing serious which would preclude development in due course.

I understand the need for new waste facilities in West Sussex in general and in Arun District in particular, as well as the fact that these locations may well seem at first sight to be suitable, but I believe that at least two of them could possibly have negative impacts on Arundel as far as HGV traffic is concerned.

 I have read each of the three Assessment Forms, and what immediately strikes me is that WSCC is in almost complete denial about Arun District’s road infrastructure deficit. 

The roads in this area are generally already at or above capacity, and WSCC has for a long time been very supportive of this argument in relation to the possible large housing developments in the District. Now, however, when formulating possible proposals which will be dealt with by the county’s own Planning Committee, such an impediment to progress seems (somewhat illogically) to melt into insignificance.

 Whilst WSCC says that no decisions have yet been made, October is not too far away, and my experience is that once a site is included in a formal draft Waste Plan that has been approved by the county council, the chances of ‘knocking it out’ at that stage - for whatever reason - are slim.

 The purpose of this letter is therefore to encourage a full, early and open public-domain debate about the 3 possible new waste sites in Arun District, all of which are in the vicinity of Arundel, and all of which could have an adverse impact on traffic conditions in the area.

And, by this, I don’t simply mean inclusion in County Local Committee Meeting Agendas - as has been suggested by WSCC.

Derek Waller

Surrey Wharf, Arundel