Wednesday January 4th 2023
MIddleton Lime Works quarry is on the outskirts of Gorebridge.
The owners of a quarry which is being used for landfill as part of its restoration work are set to take their plan to move recycling facilities onto the site to local communities.
The NWH Group, which own the quarry at Middleton Limeworks, Gorebridge, want to relocate their recycling centre at Mayfield Industrial Estate, Dalkeith, onto the quarry land, arguing it makes sense to have them both together.
However planners from Midlothian Council are set to tell councillors that the move would be against their own policy arguing recycling centres are more suited to industrial estates than the countryside.
A pre-application notice on the plans will go before councillors next month when they return from their festive break.
It will set out the company’s plans to hold public meetings in North Middleton Village Hall over the next two months to present their proposals.
The exhibitions will be held on Tuesday, January 24, at 7pm and on Thursday, February 16 at 7pm with a letter drop to local residents within the immediate vicinity of the application site also planned.
NWH says on its website that it’s mission is to “change its industry for the benefit of the planet”
The company says: “Middleton provides a suitable alternative location for recycling operations, affording greater stand-off distances between the site and surrounding properties.
“Relocation of the recycling operation would also benefit from the proximity to landfilling which would allow any inert materials, unsuitable for recycling, to be deposited within the landfill void.
“The co-location of the recycling centre and the inert waste disposal site is considered beneficial; all materials can be considered for recycling prior to landfill, and the requirement for re-handling or further transportation is minimised.”
A report to councillors who will be asked for their views on the proposals at the meeting next month, says council policy has a ‘presumption’ against the proposals.
It says: “Recycling facilities are best placed within established economic development sites/industrial estates that are allocated for business, general industrial, or for storage and distribution uses.
“The application site is located within the countryside where there is no policy support for this type of use.”
However they add that historic and current use of the site also has to be considered.
The same meeting will be asked to approve plans to extend and confirm the end date or landfill operations at the site for March 2024 as well as changing conditions which prevent the operators from using ‘non hazardous’ waste such as sand, crushed bricks, tiles, and concrete, to infill the quarry.
Officers are recommending councillors approve the changes despite objections from Moorfoot Community Council who raise concerns about the lack of consultation with the community, adverse impact of additional waste and the ongoing operations on the surrounding area.
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