Good afternoon,

Please find below my comments relating to the above planning application.

The Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum guidance Document 23 emphasises concerns around the number of dead ends, requiring waste collection vehicles to reverse. Collision with vehicles, pedestrians and property (reversing causes a disproportionately large number of moving vehicle accidents in the waste/recycling industry).

Document 23 highlights the need for a safe environment and that collection organisations, such as Ashfield District Council, usually do not have direct control over the environment in which they operate. Therefore steps should be taken to work with clients, other duty holders and organisations to ensure the safety of crews, road users and pedestrians. These steps may include short-term (eg a car towed away) or longer-term (eg working with planners on a housing estate layout). They recommend that collection organisation work with planners to reduce the need for reversing and build in turning circles and roads that are wide enough. The comments relating to this planning application are therefore based on this and the wider guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive.

The proposed layout would require waste vehicles to reverse on at least 6 occasions when emptying the bin’s on the proposed development. Based on current proposals, with the introduction of weekly food waste collections this would mean at least 12 new reversing manoeuvres would be required each week or 624 per year for this development of 137 dwellings. Consideration should therefore be given to reviewing the layout to design out this risk through the removal of dead ends.  In addition the road layout needs to be sufficient to allow for the safe manoeuvring and turning of a standard size 32t refuse collection vehicle.

In an attempt to reduce the length of reversing required by the collection vehicles a number of households on the proposed developments will be required to place their bins at a location other than outside their property, in some cases residents will be required to push their bins up 35 meters.

Consideration should also be given to the safe storage of waste receptacles, commonly known as wheeled bins. The plan accommodates Ashfield District Council current requirements of a 180 litre wheeled bin for general waste, a 240 litre wheeled bin for recycling and a 140 litre wheeled bin for glass and the chargeable garden waste collection service which uses a 240 litre wheeled bin. The Environmental Bill 2021 will require waste collection authorities such as Ashfield District Council to make changes to how they collect household waste, including the mandatory collection of food waste, likely through the addition of another wheeled bin. Therefore suitable space must be provide to ensure that the current, as well as any future container requirements, can be safely stored on the individual properties between collections.

Kind regards

Alastair

Alastair Blunkett
Assistant Director - Neighbourhoods and Environment
Ashfield District Council
Northern Depot
Station Road
Sutton in Ashfield
Nottinghamshire
NG17 5HB

Tel: 07772 895010
Email: Alastair.Blunkett@ashfield.gov.uk  

Good afternoon,

Please see attached request for consultation.

Kind Regards,

Planning Admin
Ashfield District Council
Urban Road
Kirkby-in-Ashfield
Nottinghamshire
NG17 8DA

01623 457256