A £50 million transformation of a controversial landfill site could create hundreds of jobs as part of a new business park.
Sunderland City Council's planning and highways committee have given their seal of approval to plans by waste management firm Biffa to redevelop Houghton Landfill into an employment park. The company had previously applied to continue landfill operations on the site until 2028, but made a U-turn early last year and announced they would close the site within five years.
The move follows pressure from local residents to close the site, which led to the council asking Biffa to come up with an alternative use for the land. Biffa have since withdrawn their planning application to continue the landfill site, and will now only accept inert waste, including rubble, stones and bricks until a suitable base on which to build the employment park has been achieved.
Action group Residents Against Toxic Site (RATS), which has long campaigned against the landfill site, remains suspicious of Biffa’s intentions. Its chairwoman, Councillor Sheila Ellis, said she was concerned that creating the platform for the development would take much longer and that tipping would go on. "There will not be buildings on this site for about 20 years. There is no evidence of time scales." Councillor Derrick Smith, also part of RATS, said, "How can we trust that the firm is going to landfill for five years. Residents want it to stop now. The site continues to pollute on a daily basis."
The arguments have increased after Biffa's project planning manager, Mike Harty, said the time scale was simply "a realistic estimate." However, he added, "We are reducing the whole nuisance of general waste. This is the quickest solution to getting off the site. This will bring an immediate end to general waste."
Once the new business park has been built, it will support about 500 jobs and also create green energy from solar panels. The plans will put 4.8 hectares of previously-developed land to use, with offices, industrial units, a car park and new access roads.
