Resigned to tip’s reprieve

A household waste recycling centre is to stay open for a further 18 months, despite objections from local residents.

The licence for Cotham tip was due to run out yesterday.

However, an application to extend it until October 31, 2010, was approved at a Nottinghamshire County Council planning and licensing committee meeting on Tuesday.

The site, between Cotham and Hawton, has operated for around 30 years.

Permission given in 1994 to continue operations on the site for two years has been extended on a temporary basis several times since.

Cotham Parish Council asked the local government ombudsman to investigate the operation of the tip because it continued to operate even when a temporary consent had run out.

The ombudsman ruled that the council was guilty of maladministration.

In October 2007, the council renewed the temporary permission to April 2009 to allow enough time to find a replacement.

A planning application for a new site on Telford Drive, Newark, has been submitted and is due to be decided by the committee on July 7.

The chairman of Cotham Parish Council, Mr John Elliott, who opposed the application at the meeting, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision.

“When the previous consent was given they said it would be the last ever extension — no excuses. They have gone back on what they have said.

“I’m rather appalled at the cavalier attitude that they seem to be taking over it. I feel the council has not done its job,” he said.

Mr Elliott said the parish council was also disappointed an application for the Telford Drive site had only recently been submitted and that it was expected to take around nine months to build.

“I find that disconcerting,” he said.

“A tip is simply a concrete slab, skips and a portable building. I see no reason why it should take that long.”

Mr Elliott said one of the reasons behind the county council’s decision to extend Cotham’s licence was because they feared, without a replacement site, its closure would increase fly-tipping.

“But that already happens,” he said.

“I complain about it to the council on a regular basis. It’s a red herring argument.”

Mr Elliott said the parish council was due to meet to consider its options, one of which might be to contact the local government ombudsman again.