A decision on an “unlawful” waste recycling centre in Shedfield has been delayed, with locals saying it has “destroyed” the village.

Lockhams Recycling Ltd saw its retrospective planning application to convert the site from open countryside to an open storage area for recycled aggregate materials refused by Hampshire County Council in January.

However, the company submitted a revised application which was recommended for approval by the county council at a planning meeting on Thursday, October 17.

Lockhams RecyclingLockhams Recycling (Image: Google Maps)

READ MORE: Lockhams Recycling to appeal for retrospective planning approval again

At the meeting, Joe Harvey, a resident of the area for over 13 years and a business neighbour, was very moved and said she and many of the residents feel broken by the unauthorised development.

Mrs Harvey said: “Since the unlawful expansion, there has been a significant increase in operation moves and traffic. The roads have become tortuous and dangerous. Alarming sounds are heard from 6am or earlier.

“I feel broken from it all. The site is in the heart of a rural village, and the land is agricultural. Recently, it has become a very busy, dusty, and industrial site, creating an unsightly site in what was once a very pretty village.

“It is impacting the lives of so many residents. They all said that nothing has ever been done about the site, and it has grown out of control.”

In tears, she urged the council to reject the application and said the village “has been destroyed”.

Councillor Malcolm Wallace said that approving the application would support the “industrialisation” of the area, which had been done “unlawfully” at the equestrian site.

Cllr Wallace added that the site has been developed without any care for the environment and residents, even cutting down protected trees over the years, which could lead to a “dangerous” precedent.

According to Lockhams Recycling Ltd, the site has been operational as an “unauthorised development storing processed recycled materials” and for an office and a workshop without any planning approvals since November 2020.

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The January application was refused due to the lack of justification for this kind of business in a countryside location, the “unacceptable” visual impact, and a lack of demonstration that the site can be drained safely and would not create flood risk elsewhere.

Since some concerns and questions were not addressed, councillors asked to defer the decision until further clarifications were provided to the council regarding drainage, highways, tree planting and landscaping.

In 2015, a successful appeal meant the firm could process 46,000m³ of imported materials annually, equivalent to 69,000 metric tonnes.

But despite planning permission not being granted to store this material, the area to be extended has already been hard-surfaced.