Waste Local Plan 2003 Public inquiry
Public Inquiry inspector recommends retention of Hangleton Bottom as well as Hollingdean Depot as sites allocated for Waste Management
A five-month Public Inquiry into objections to Brighton and Hove City Council's and East Sussex County Council's Waste Local Plan - First Deposit (November 1 - December 12, 2000), was completed on 24th October 2003. The inspector leading the inquiry recommended that the following sites, allocated for material recovery facilities/waste transfer facilities, should be retained in the Plan:
- Hangleton Bottom, Hove
- Hollingdean Depot / Abattoir, Brighton
- Bellbrook Industrial Estate, Uckfield
- Land at Tutts Barn, Eastbourne
See Appendix 1 point 2 of Agenda item 9 Meeting of Waste Management Contract Joint Committee BHCC/ESCC 1st October 2004, where the above sites are specified for retention and allocation for materials recovery and waste transfer facilities.
A split site solution for Waste Transfer Station and Materials Recovery Facility would have been better
The recommendations of the inspector leading the public inquiry would have accommodated a split site solution i.e. the Waste Transfer Station and the Materials Recovery Facility being split between Hangleton Bottom and Hollingdean Depot, but Veolia's commercial preference was to cram both waste facilities onto a single site in close proximity to several residential areas.
The proximity principle in waste management is that waste should generally be disposed of as near to its place of origin as possible. However, it is a perversion of this principle to argue that 300-400 households and three schools should experience the nuisances created by bringing the whole of Brighton and Hove's domestic waste to a single site. A split site solution would have been more tolerable and more democratic.
Arguments used to direct developments to Hollingdean Depot
It was argued during the short-listing process (See BH2006/00900 planning application) that Hangleton Bottom was a less suitable site since it adjoined an area within the Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although it has become physically isolated from the majority of the AONB to the north due to the development of the adjacent A27 Brighton bypass. Hangleton Bottom is well positioned in respect of access having been located adjacent to the interchange to the A27 and the Hangleton link road.
The presence of a railway line to Newhaven adjoining the Hollingdean site was argued as an advantage, but Veolia had no intention of using the rail link for the transportation of waste.
See Letter to The Argus [April 2005] on how Hollingdean Depot was subsequently homed in on as the sole site i.e. to take both a Materials Recovery Facility and a Waste Transfer Station.
Hangleton Bottom as a potential site for Waste Management
East Sussex, South Downs and Brighton & Hove Waste and Minerals Sites Plan - Adopted February 2017
See page 38 for waste site profile of Hangleton Bottom, Hangleton Link Road, North Portslade.
Hangleton Bottom 2017 [Brighton and Hove News 20/01/2017]
Hangleton Bottom will be officially listed as a potential “waste management” site despite a last-ditch stand by a local councillor.
Hangleton Bottom 2017 [The Argus 24/01/2017]
"The waste site developers claim you won't be able to see."
Anaerobic Digestion project : It was deemed that Hangleton Bottom did not to have sufficient amount of land for the anaerobic digestion (AD) plant that BHESCo envisioned, as well as being too close to homes on Thornbush Crescent, a residential community, to be a suitable site for this plant.
Hangleton Bottom 2010 Update
There are no other sites with the unique benefits of Hangleton Bottom, namely its waste allocation in an adopted plan, its access to the A27 and strategic road network and its availability for development.
Hangleton Bottom 2010 Agenda item 47
Hangleton Bottom is a council owned site allocated in the Local Plan and Waste Local Plan for the provision of waste facilities. The allocation is saved until replaced by relevant policies in the Waste and Minerals Development Framework and the site is highly likely to be retained in the Local Development Framework and the Waste and Minerals Development Framework for this purpose. The site is located south of the bypass and west of Hangleton Link Road and comprises several fields let for grazing and a compound occasionally used for travellers with welfare needs. The site totals 3.3 Ha (8 acres).
Hangleton Bottom 2010 Map 8.1 acres.
Hangleton Bottom 2008 [The Argus 4/09/2008]
So Brighton and Hove City Council is considering Hangleton Bottom for a transfer station for business waste (“Nature spot could host waste centre”, The Argus 20/08/2008)? The council has ruled the site out for travellers because the close proximity of a traveller site to a waste station is not good practice. There are two ironies here. Firstly, Hangleton Bottom was ruled out as an appropriate site for domestic waste and the council gave the go-ahead for that in Hollingdean. Secondly, the council positioned the Hollingdean dump next to a school and flats where older and disabled residents live.
This page was last updated by Ted on 12-Feb-2025