Firms clash over decision to build 100 homes on derelict Cannock site
A contractor has won its battle to build more than 100 homes in Cannock despite a bid by bosses at a nearby waste treatment plant to block the development.
Building firm Project AML clashed with hazardous waste business Augean over their bid to construct 111 homes and a pub restaurant on land off Lakeside Boulevard in Bridgtown.
The Project AML scheme has now been given the go-ahead by Cannock Chase Council which ruled the need for homes took precedence.
Augean strongly objected to the homes' plan because of the hazardous nature of the waste it deals with.
Augean company director Edward Pigg said: "We believe that the risks of the site alongside homes are being deliberately ignored by the developer.
"The Cannock site was originally in a predominantly industrial area which unfortunately is being gradually eroded.
"The impact of our operations within the context of an industrial estate is entirely different to finding ourselves in close proximity to homes."
The firm moved into Cannock 10 years ago and employs 22 people, having doubled its workforce since business picked up following the recession.
It has a 'very high' turnover of waste, dealing with 100,000 tons a year. It also has plans to expand the business, possibly turning the site into a 24-hour operation.
The new housing development will be made up of houses and three-storey blocks of flats, along with a restaurant.
Mr Pigg said the company's main concern was the risk from stray sparks from bonfires and fireworks, with the close proximity of gardens if the development went ahead.
But the contractor said the homes offered the regeneration of a derelict site, and a commitment that at least 20 per cent of the homes would be affordable.
Walsall Housing Group has been given a grant to buy homes there.
Project AML spokesman Rob Thorley said they were 'very conscious' of the proximity of Augean.
"But the operation is low-key, well managed and not particularly noisy," he said. "The background noise from the M6 Toll Road and other traffic is predominant."
The layout of the homes would mean the 'non-habitable' rooms, such as bathrooms and kitchens, as opposed to living rooms and bedrooms, would be closest to the industrial side of the estate.
The planning committee heard on Wednesday that existing residents in Bridgtown were unhappy about the inclusion of a games area in the plan, which they feared would encourage anti-social behaviour.
Approving the development, committee members said they would reconsider the games area provision.
