Lewes Councillors To Discuss Asphalt Plant Plans

Lewes councillors are set to share their views on proposals connected to a controversial industrial plant in Newhaven.

On Wednesday (April 9), Lewes District Council’s planning committee is due to discuss an application connected with FM Conway’s asphalt plant in North Quay Road.

The application, which seeks partly retrospective permission to alter how the plant is laid out, is expected to be considered by East Sussex County Council’s own planning committee later this month.

While Lewes District Council is not the decision maker, the committee is being asked to set out the council’s views on the proposals.

Such responses would normally be submitted by council officers.

Officers are recommending the application be supported, but with a request for the county council to seek ecological and biodiversity gains on site, as well as “ongoing improvements” in dust suppression and in the reduction of emissions from both the plant’s operations and the movements of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs).

The application is due to go in front of the committee following a request from Green Party councillor Paul Keene (Lewes Priory).

Cllr Keene had asked committee chairman Lucy Agace to consider calling a debate on the proposals during a meeting last month.

FM Conway is seeking permission for alterations to its site. The application notes how some of these alterations, such as the relocation of a parking area and the installation of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility, have already taken place.

The application also seeks permission to install storage containers at the north east end of the site and the positioning of machinery (described as “a mobile crusher and screener”), which is used in the processing of asphalt planings.

The application notes how this processing of asphalt planings — a recycling operation — is already undertaken as part of the plant’s operations.

It currently takes place on land to the south of the site, known as Berth 1, which had previously been used by another (now closed) asphalt plant.

Last year, FM Conway secured planning permission for a 20-metre extension to a chimney stack, which forms part of the existing plant.

The applicant had said the extension would aid dispersal and lower the concentration of pollutants released from the plant, helping to address complaints around its odour.

These proposals saw a significant amount of criticism from residents, who argued the plant operator needed to put in place more comprehensive measures to reduce emissions.

FM Conway has stressed how its current proposals do not involve expansion of its operations, but are instead a reconfiguration of how its site is laid out.

The company says the changes are intended to make the plant more efficient and to reduce its emissions.

East Sussex County Council’s planning committee is expected to meet on April 30. No agenda for the meeting has yet been published.

For further information see application reference LW/894/CM on the East Sussex County Council website.