HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition against plans to open what they claim would be “one of the biggest car recycling centres in Europe” on Hampshire farmland.
Silverlake Automotive Recycling (SAR) has submitted a planning application to Hampshire County Council to expand its current site in Botley Road, Shedfield.
The planning statement said that in 2023, more than 30,000 end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) were processed at Silverlake.
Of these, almost 20,000 were from Hampshire, with significant numbers also arriving from West Sussex, Surrey, Wiltshire, and Dorset. Processed cars also came from London, Berkshire, East Sussex, Somerset, the Isle of Wight, and the Channel Islands.
READ MORE: Silverlake Automotive Recycling announces plans to expand facilities
The site is at capacity and needs to expand to meet increasing demand so that it can process up to 40,000 cars per year.
To enable SAR to manage this increased demand, it is proposed to extend Silverlake Garage’s operational footprint from its current size of 4.3 ha to 9.6 ha.
The application includes extending and reconfiguring the facility and building a new reverse production line vehicle dismantling building with offices, a parts storage and distribution hub, and a research and development facility.
An electric vehicle battery removal building, the demolition of existing workshops and store buildings, a new entrance off A334 (Botley Road), a new staff parking area of 200 spaces, and upgraded drainage infrastructure, including a fire water holding tank, are also proposed.
However, residents of Shedfield, Curdridge, Wickham, and Botley are concerned about the proposed expansion, and have started a Change.org petition against the application.
On the petition, which has had more than 300 signatures since being started on September 3, the Community Against Silverlake Expansion (CASE) group said that if approved, it would become “one of the biggest car recycling centres in Europe” in a “ beautiful village and rural countryside field”.
Concerns raised included fears of increased noise and light pollution, environmental and ecological impact, additional traffic in the area, drainage issues, and visual impact from the new buildings.
The main building proposed would be around 120,000 sq ft and 16m high, with hardstanding.
The petition said: “The visual impact of this 16m (around five-story) high building will be hugely detrimental to our village in terms of visual impact.”
CASE’s petition also said that the site is not suitable for expansion since similar sites, like the one in Poole, are in an industrial area rather than in a countryside village.
“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.”
A public consultation is being held to gather residents’ comments as part of the planning application submitted to Hampshire County Council.
So far, Anne West, in line with CASE concerns, said that the place is inadequate for expansion.
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 said the road is already busy and “does not need any more lorries or cars causing further damage to these rural roads”.
Ms Barrow said: “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.
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“The area does not need any further blight from scrap cars or the associated noise pollution that goes with this. The site should be relocated to an industrial area, not a village location.”
Another resident, Caroline Doyle, said the proposal would “destroy” the large field, including a 220-year-old landmark tree in the centre of the field, which would “disturb” the wildlife and “ruin” the animals’ habitats.
She said: “This proposed expansion would mean a tripling of the area of the current site, making it one of the biggest car recycling centres in Europe; all proposed in a rural setting, which is totally unsuitable for this type of business.”
The county council consultation will be open until September 27. You can submit your comments here.
More information about the application can be found on the Hampshire County Council website, with the following reference number: HCC/2024/0464.
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