COUNTY planners are advising Powys councillors to approve the controversial move of processing black bin residual waste at the North Powys Bulking Facility in Abermule.
The application by Simon Kendrick, Powys County Council’s Principal Engineer, was lodged with county planners in November, and it will allow residual material from black bin waste to be stored and bulked up in a dedicated bay inside the existing building there.
The application will be discussed at a meeting of the Planning committee on Thursday, December 18, after it was “called in” for a decision by councillors by the local county councillor for Abermule Cllr Gareth Pugh (Conservative – Dolforwyn).
When the £4.6 million facility was given planning permission back in August 2018, no specific mention of black bin waste was made in relation to it.
Its development led to protests among villagers, and some residents complained of a huge increase in flies in the village after it was opened for bulking recycled waste two years ago.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued an environment permit in July 2023 which allows the council to operate the site and deal with 22,500 tonnes of waste a year.
This permit included allowing the council to deal with residual black bin waste there.
The council explains that it needs to be able to process black bin waste in Abermule as its other facilities in Brecon and Rhayader already do so.
The council claims it would save the authority £100,000 a year from having to take black bin waste to be processed elsewhere.
Senior planning officer Kate Bowen said: “The application seeks to manage waste entirely within the boundaries of the operational site, therefore using existing infrastructure.
“The proposal would not require any physical change to the layout, form or appearance of the building or wider site.
“The comments received from the local member, community council and in public representations have been carefully considered.
“The site is currently used as a bulking facility for recycling in North Powys and the business park is identified within LDP policy as a suitable location for waste uses.
“Based on the comments and advice received from consultees, it is considered that the proposal to use part of the building for storage of residual waste is acceptable.
“As such, the recommendation is one of approval.”
Villagers have said they will speak at the meeting to oppose the proposal.
Last month Abermule with Llandyssil Community Council held an open meeting before they submitted their comments on the proposals.
Abermule with Llandyssil Community Council said: “The council strongly object to the bulking facility at Abermule being allowed to bulk residual waste.
“PCC have continuously gone against promises made to the Abermule community to such an extent that the community no longer trusts anything they say.
“An ethical council should honour promises made to the community in the past.”
