LOCALS FURY AT PLANS TO BUILD ONE OF EUROPE'S BIGGEST CAR GRAVEYARDS

Residents of a rural village have blasted plans to triple the size of a nearby car recycling plant to make it one of the biggest in Europe.

Inhabitants of Shedfield, Hampshire, home of a scenic vineyard, are aghast at proposals for the operation to move into open farmland, saying it would 'change their village forever'.

Silverlake Automotive Recycling (SAR) has applied to expand its existing site which already processes more than 30,000 'end-of-life' vehicles every year.

Hundreds of people have signed a petition against the plans, which also propose to build an electric vehicle battery removal building.

The quiet village of Shedfield - where homes sell for an average of more than £500,000 - is set in open countryside and is home to almost 4,000 people.

Shedfield is the home of the Wickham Estate vineyard, a popular wedding venue, which produces its own red, rosé, white and sparking wines.

But it is also in spitting distance of Silverlake, leading to locals setting up the Community Against Silverlake Expansion (CASE) campaign group.

CASE said in its petition that if approved, the 'huge expansion' in a 'beautiful village and rural countryside field' would 'change their village forever'.

It also said that two buildings near the field that Silverlake plans to expand into are listed because of their historic importance, with the 220-year-old tree at the field's centre also set to be removed.

Concerns raised included fears of increased noise and light pollution, flooding, unsafe roads and the visual impact of the proposed five storey-high buildings.

The petition said: 'There is no clear need for this expansion to be situated in a countryside village location when there may be other locations to be explored in Hampshire.'

CASE's petition also said that the site is not suitable for expansion as its not an industrial area.

Mark Hollands, a retired doctor who has lived nearby since the 1990s, said: 'There's a reason they're doing it - it's not for recycling, it's to make significantly more money.'

He noted that the size of the expansion will be unsustainable in such a rural area, with noise and traffic increasing as a result.

The 59-year-old added: 'It's going to change it from a nice rural setting to something that's really not.'

Dr Hollands was additionally disappointed that the farmland is at risk because of the proposals, since that is 'why we moved here'.

Shedfield parish council member Charlie Oulton said 'there's no doubt the UK needs more of that kind of facility', and 'it does important work' - but qualified: 'I don't think it's a very good choice of location.

'If you drew a map of the UK and decided where you needed a recycling plant, you would never pick a field in Shedfield.'

Mr Oulton's wife was worried about the fire risk that lithium batteries, which Silverlake plans to recycle in their expanded premises, can pose and was also concerned about the potential risk of contaminated water affecting locals and their pets.

Villager Anna Lichowe, 43, fumed: 'We are going to lose the village. People are going to move away. They are going turn it industrial. It should be stopped.

'There's so much fumes, I don't think people come and relocate to the village to be getting that, you come away from cities to get the fresh air.

'It should be moved somewhere else... it's not really helping the environment.'

Objector Anne West agreed that the village is the wrong place for Silverlake to expand.

She said: 'It is a residential area with families living in close proximity, this would be highly detrimental to the health and safety of residents.

'On the basis of the information submitted and notwithstanding the proposed mitigation, it is considered that the proposal is likely to result in an unacceptable visual impact on the locality.'

Vanessa Barrow, another resident, pointed out the road is already busy and 'does not need any more lorries or cars causing further damage to these rural roads'.

She continued: 'I travel daily along the busy A334. I am regularly forced to slow down by other cars either pulling out of or pulling into the current Silverlake site.

'The site should be relocated to an industrial area, not a village location.'

Chris Bleecker, 87, worries about a potential increase in traffic on the 50mph road which she says is already a 'death trap'.

A change.org petition against the expansion currently has 705 signatures.

In its planning application to Hampshire County Council, the company said: '[Silverlake] are committed to working closely with the local community to maintain positive relationships and develop opportunities to ensure the local community benefits from the facility.'

In response to comments made by the community, it said that the farmland Silverlake is expanding into is 'within the ownership boundary of Silverlake and develops what is a relatively low-quality arable field'.

It also said that the new building 'has been positioned to reduce visual intrusion on the surrounding context'.

Silverlake added that the worst-case scenario for traffic around the site would result in operational traffic increasing by approximately 9 vehicles per hour during the working day.

It said: 'Silverlake employees and customers will be briefed to ensure they only use main roads to access the site and to remind them of the speed limit on surrounding roads.'

Addressing concerns from some residents worried about the fire risk that lithium battery disposal poses, Silverlake said: 'Their storage on site is already subject to a number of health and safety precautions developed in co-ordination with the Fire and Rescue Service and the proposed extension to the site seeks to improve upon this further.'

On why it did not choose a different site, it said: 'Silverlake is already assigned as a safeguarded minerals and waste site. Therefore, the existing site is the most appropriate location to do more to meet the county's recycling objectives set out by both the local authority and national planning policies.'

The public consultation on the plans is is open until September 27.

Silverlake was approached for comment.

2024-09-14T13:01:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd