Aviemore dump has its lifespan extended
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Plans to extend the shelf life of the only landfill site in Badenoch and Strathspey have been given the go-ahead just before its expiry date for use was due to be reached.
Members of the Cairngorms National Park Authority’s (CNPA) planning committee have agreed for the site at Granish to continue to be used until the end of March 2023.
Planning permission for its operation had been due to end tomorrow.
Highland Council chiefs have said the go-ahead will ensure that the void space remaining within the site just north of Aviemore is “utilised effectively”.
Extending the dump’s lifetime will also give the local authority operators some breathing space for alternative disposal plans for rubbish collected across the strath.
CNPA planning officer Stephanie Wade said in her report recommending approval: “The site has been operating as an active waste disposal unit, together with its recycling centre since its original permission which was subsequently extended in 2008.
“The principles of those operations were therefore established... The existing development at this site has been operating since that date with no apparent adverse impacts or neighbour complaints.”
The planning statement, which supported the application, highlighted the great strides made since 2008 in recycling.
It stated: “The continued success of recycling services for householders and businesses in Badenoch and Strathspey has resulted in further reductions in the quantity of municipal wastes requiring disposal at Granish landfill.
“Mixed municipal waste deposits have reduced by approximately 25 per cent since the last planning operation time extension in 2008, and therefore the site capacity has been used up more slowly than expected at that time.”
Local Highland councillor Bill Lobban said: “While no-one wants to see anything go into landfill this extension will give the council time to bring forward proposals to increase recycling even further.”
Fellow local member Muriel Cockburn said: “Unfortunately there is still a need for landfill and I am disappointed that in our national park that it is required
“I hope the park authority and council can work together to encourage people to buy environmentally recyclable products and goods.”
There will be no physical changes to the landfill site as a result of the approval.
The submission includes a revised restoration profile lower than previously approved. The remaining void capacity will be reduced by around 55,000 cubic metres to 32,000 cubic metres.
Aviemore Community Council supported the application noting it was “a sensible and sustainable use of the existing landfill site”.
