A decision to grant planning permission was made yesterday by Warwickshire County Council, for an extension to an aggregate recycling facility in the West Midlands green belt. Despite objections from the district council that the development was both inappropriate in the green belt; and would also have adverse effects on nearby listed buildings, it was concluded that ‘very special circumstances’ exist to support the proposals.
This planning permission will now allow the operator to rationalise the business and expand the site to relieve the existing cramped conditions on site by to allow improved operational efficiency, traffic management and site safety, as well as allowing his business to expand organically within its existing base.
By creating a design that balanced the operator’s requirements with planning policy, Landesign was able to obtain permission to allow land that had previously been abandoned, to be returned to a productive use. This was made particularly tricky due to its position in the green belt ; the possible presence of European protected species nearby; and there being three listed buildings within 200m of the site.
