The owner of a refuse tip and skip hire company has submitted proposals to build a recycling plant, sparking concerns it will increase traffic on narrow country lanes.

Jack Hutchins has applied to West Berkshire Council for planning permission to develop a recycling centre and ancillary buildings, including an office, staff welfare room and associated infrastructure at Paices Hill, in Aldermaston. 

Currently, Aldermaston Recycling is licensed to process 25,000 tonnes of waste every year. The new facility will allow this to increase to 175,000 tonnes a year. The company is working with an environmental consultancy, Enzygo.

Peter Brown, who lives near the centre, is concerned about the possible huge increase in HGV movements, which he said could lead to 1,500 HGVs visiting the site every week.

Diagram of proposed processing unit  (Image: West Berkshire Council) READ MORE: Bowled over by charm: 89 and still got the winning streak

He believes this would be dangerous, and said in his objection: “Something of the order of 14 HGVs per hour are expected to enter - and exit - the site, leading to 28 HGV movements per hour.

"The site would be open 10 hours per weekday and half-day on Saturdays, so there is a possibility of more than one and a half thousand HGV movement onto/from the proposed site per week.

"The current mix of traffic already presents dangers and risks of collisions and injuries. The proposed expansion will make it worse. Much of the increased number of vehicles, especially HGVs, will travel through the heart of the conservation area village of Aldermaston containing many listed buildings, impact on which would be dire.”

A statement to support the application says the proposed development will 'ensure more waste can be processed on-site'.

In support of the application, principal consultant James Whatton said the site had experienced drainage issues and surface water flooding which impacted operations. Works on the site in 2020 improved this, and he said the company "now wish to build upon this success to further improve conditions and operational capacity". 

The new waste processing unit will use crushers, screeners and shredders to processes demolition and excavation waste. The facility opening hours will be extended to 7am to 5pm Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings from 7am to 1pm.

The planning application is going through consultation, no date has been set for a decision.