Officials have launched an investigation into the site of an unauthorised aggregate bagging depot which has been established off a narrow country lane.
A meeting of Hambleton District Council’s planning committee heard officers drop a reccommendation to give consent to Greenford Haulage’s retrospective application to transform the site of a former potato store on West Lane, near Dalton on Tees.
Councillors heard while a mixed fleet of tippers, heavy goods and bagged aggregate vehicles were being operated from the site, regularly from before 6am, numerous and diverse other businesses were also operating from the site without planning permission.
The meeting heard it had become apparent to planning officers in the run up to the meeting that “the proposal is not perhaps quite as straightforward as the aggregate bagging depot”.
Councillors were told there remained “a lack of certainty over the mix of uses” and how they were operating on the site and that a potential planning application to deal with them all would prove to be more complex.
Resident Neil Tucker, who lives half a mile from the site, told the meeting the 40-tonne trucks could be heard as soon as they set off along the country lane.
He said: “A thunderous noise shakes my bed which is six metres away from the road. That thunderous noise also shakes my office desk which is 20 metres away from the road, and rattles my house.”
Councillor Stephen Watson said significantly fewer heavy goods vehicles had operated from the site when it was used as a plastic wrapping centre.
He said: “There’s three parish councils that have objected to this. I have never been involved with three parish councils coming forward with the same complaint regarding the amount of vehicles and the operating hours of those vehicles.”
However, North Yorkshire County Council’s highways department has advised as West Lane has a centre line – and national standards state that a centre line cannot be applied to a road narrower than 5.5m – it is sufficient for two HGVs to pass comfortably.
Highways officers have said there are also a number of other land uses along the lane, including several farms, Croft Circuit, a garden centre, a timber supplier and other light industrial uses, that would generate HGV traffic, but there had been no injury collisions there recently to suggest there is a road safety issue.
Ahead of a unanimous vote to postpone a decision to enable planning officers to fully investigate the site, Councillor Dave Elders called for a comprehensive report from North Yorkshire County Council’s highways team.
He said it was strange highways officers had issued a “no comment” response when consulted over the plan, as it was clear heavy goods vehicles would have to cross the road to turn into the site.
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