Date published: 2006/05/26
The Cambridge Evening News says:
Trumpington residents fear plans for a waste recycling centre at the bottom of their gardens have moved a step closer.
Their concerns were raised when land at Glebe Farm, Trumpington, was included in a list of possible mineral and waste sites to cater for the county's growth over the next 15 years.
This week, council chiefs agreed not to sell Glebe Farm for housing in case they need to use the site for a household waste recycling centre.
At a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council's cabinet, councillors agreed to look for alternative sites for a recycling centre in the south of the city, but said it wanted to keep "all their options open".
If no more suitable site is found, they will back building of the centre on the county council-owned land at Glebe Farm.
Before the decision, Stephen Brown presented a petition of 70 signatures on behalf of Trumpington Residents' Association.
He said the association supported the need for a recycling facility, but believed it should be situated well away from residential areas.
"We object most strongly to an industrial facility being placed within a residential area," he said.
"On health and safety grounds, the site is completely unacceptable."
Totally typical. Everybody (amongst the chattering classes) loves recycling (it sounds so good) but ultimately it is just another form of waste collection and disposal, and nobody likes a dump in their back yard. But the Glebe Farm site is not "within a residential area", it is at the edge of it. And no matter where you place such a site, there is bound to be some human presence not far away (even the Milton dump is). Perhaps the city should stick this recycling centre in Newnham, since the rich people who live there run Cambridge and are probably the keenest on recycling as allegedly a great social good. Of course if it does end up on the Glebe Farm site you can guarantee the local residents will not be compensated at all, which is part of the problem.
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