Slindon Bottom Quarry risks becoming a black hole
L&S Waste Management will draw up a new proposal for the restoration of the abandoned Slindon Bottom Quarry, after the company's application to develop an inert recycling centre on the site was rejected by the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNP)'s planning committee.
L&S proposed constructing the recycling centre to produce sustainable aggregates for the West Sussex community - reducing the amount of construction waste ending up in local landfill sites - while drawing up longer-term plans to fill in the quarry with inert soil from local construction sites and restore the property into agricultural land.
While the application for the recycling centre was rejected, L&S managing director Mick Balch said the separate application for the quarry restoration works is underway. The aim is to convert the disused quarry into a useable space for the benefit of the local community.
"Whilst it was disappointing to have our initial application rejected, we have been encouraged by members' positive comments and shall continue to work with the Environment Agency and the SDNP planners in order to submit a fresh application for the restoration," said Mick Balch, managing director of L&S Waste.
"SDNP committee member Alun Alesbury publicly stated that after recently viewing the site, it was clear it needed to be restored.
I haven't ruled out the possibility of an appeal, but am busy working on the application for the restoration, which I hope to submit later this year"
The company acquired the 23-acre site in early 2009 and submitted the application with West Sussex County Council in January this year.
Mr Balch added that inaccurate reports of unapproved operations by the company on the site had frustrated the application process.
"We were simply carrying out some site preparation works and investigating some of the material that had been left by the previous operators," he said.
"In short, this is a 23 acre site that is a blot on the local landscape within the South Downs National Park. Both the EA and WSCC/SDNP want to see it restored. We will submit our proposals in due course and work with them to ensure that the plans we submit have taken into account any local concerns."
Established 20 years ago, L&S Waste has grown to become one the region's most successful waste management companies, supplying skips, grab loaders, recycled aggregates, soils, quality separated materials for recycling, and ready mixed concrete.
The company operates modern waste recycling plants in Portsmouth, Southampton and Fareham, and runs 40 waste management vehicles throughout Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Wiltshire and Dorset.
In April, neighbouring Hampshire County Council approved L&S's proposal to build a renewable energy plant at its headquarters in Fareham. On completion, the plant will provide up to two megawatts of electricity per hour by treating as much as 25,000 tonnes of biomass - in turn eliminating the significant carbon emissions of allowing the mass to rot naturally.
