Residents oppose landfill plans

Plans have been submitted to use the quarry for landfill

People fighting two applications to develop landfill sites in a Flintshire town which already has several tips are meeting to discuss their concerns.

Opponents object to the two proposed sites at Alltami, near Buckley, on health grounds and say there are already too many sites in the area.

But developers Robin Jones and Sons and AD Waste say the facilities are needed.

The applications for the sites, near Pinfold Lane, are due to be considered by Flintshire Council.

One, in Parry's Quarry on the east side of Pinfold Lane, by construction group Robin Jones & Sons, is due to be heard next week.

In a statement, the company said it sees its plans as the "ideal solution to Flintshire's critical shortage of landfill space".

We don't want to live in a super-tip John Iball, chair Local Issues Action Group

Another application from AD Waste has also been made.

In a statement, waste operations manager Kevin Gardiner said: "Our proposed site at Alltami has been designated in the county's Unitary Development Plan and will include an integrated waste management and recycling facility.

"This will increase the county's recycling of domestic waste from one third to two thirds.

"As a Flintshire site, it will only dispose of Flintshire's waste."

However, opponents claim there are already too many landfill sites in the area, with several former mines being used for rubbish disposal.

John Iball, chair of the Local Issues Action Group, said people already felt surrounded by the sites.

"Obviously waste needs to be treated but we feel this area has endured enough," he said.

"We don't want to live in a super-tip.

"The sites should not be located within a kilometre of any residential community.

"Apart from the cumulative health effects of having so many landfill sites in such a small district, there is extra danger and pollution from all the lorries generated by these extra sites."

A public meeting has been arranged at Hawkesbury Community Centre, Buckley, at 1800 GMT.