Members of Suffolk County Council’s Development and Regulation committee today (Monday 31 October) agreed a recommendation that landfill operations should continue until December 2030, followed by a two-year period to restore the site.
A date for landfill operations to cease has been the sticking point for when the proposed adjacent Valley Ridge water and winter sports and holiday park scheme might be able to proceed.
However, the council’s decision is subject to it not being called in by the Rt Hon. Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State (SoS) for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
It has been agreed with the SoS that the final decision notice will not be issued until a formal direction is provided that the application will not be called in.
Masons Landfill is a 70-hectare former quarry. Waste operations have been ongoing there since the 1990s and are now carried out by Valencia Waste Management.
It accepts non-hazardous waste materials including commercial, industrial, household, construction and demolition waste. It also accepts asbestos, one of two sites in the county that does.
Valencia had sought to continue landfilling operations until 31 October 2035, with a restoration period to be completed by 31 October 2037.
But members were told the identified need to continue landfilling at the site is expected to decline beyond 2030.
The Valley Ridge scheme was first mooted in 2001 under its former name SnOasis and permission was granted by the Government in 2010 following a public inquiry.
Given the economic potential to be gained from Valley Ridge if it goes ahead, and the environmental benefits from a shorter operational period, officers recommended a shorter period of landfilling be permitted, to which Valencia agreed.
Councillor Richard Smith, Suffolk County Council Cabinet member for Economic Development, Transport Strategy and Waste, said:
