Landfill plans near Telford beauty spot anger residents who say area is being ruined

Bosses at Welshpool-based Potters (Midlands) which runs the landfill site, near to Granville Country Park, have applied to extend the licence to dump waste at the site beyond the present contract date of December 2025.

But they received more than 30 objections to the scheme - including from two parish councils, a boarding kennels, a nearby golf club and the Telford Naturist Club. Members of the club claim drivers stop to peer into their premises, which is the closest to the landfill site, in Grange Lane

The country park is located at Redhill, covers an area of 61.4 hectares and is one of the largest and most wildlife rich of Telford's green spaces. It is owned by Telford & Wrekin Council who work in partnership with Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Friends of Granville.

The application called for an extension to the existing landfill site by 'deepening and raising the contour of the site by around two metres."

But Rory and Helen Howard, who live close to the Granville landfill site told the Shropshire Star: "There is now no planning need for this site. The site was originally set up in order to meet a local need, namely, disposal of waste collected from households in the surrounding Telford and Wrekin area.

"All this waste is now sent to other more environmentally satisfactory sites for disposal, mainly at the Battlefield site in Shrewsbury run by Veolia.

"Bearing this in mind, it appears almost all the waste currently dumped at the Granville site is trucked to Telford from far away Welshpool so Telford and Wrekin’s main landfill site is now being used as a dumping ground for other people’s rubbish."

Other objections received to the planning application include dust, noise and smell generated by the operation and many claim there are now more environmentally friendly ways to deal with waste than using landfill.

Councillor Nick Heath from Ketley Parish Council said: "Telford is one of the fastest growing towns in the country and green spaces within that growth are vital for the health and wellbeing of the community as the town develops.

"I suggest the originally agreed closure date of December 2025 is met and that this space can be reclaimed for the residents of Telford as opposed to continuing to be the distant dumping ground for other communities waste.

Other parish councils to object include St Georges and Priorslee and Donnington and Muxton.

A spokesman for Telford and Wrekin Council said the date for consultation had expired and the application had been recommended for rejection but that an appeals process was in place lasting until the end of May.