New plans for Hartlepool's Seaton Meadows landfill site are approved despite dozens of objections

Proposals had been submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council’s planning department to provide a change of access and a temporary road at Seaton Meadows landfill site.

The “retrospective” application, from Rick Bright at Bright & Associates, also included additional infrastructure and mitigation measures to allow for completion of the landfill operations – which must be finished by the end of 2027.

Work as part of the proposals has already taken place on the temporary access road connecting the entrance to the waste transfer site located in the northern part of the Seaton Meadows.

Vehicles enter from Tofts Road East, via Brenda Road to the west, and exit onto Tees Road using a one-way system.

Forty-six objections have been submitted to the council over the latest proposals from residents – although a number of these referenced the operation of the landfill itself rather than the road application.

Concerns voiced were around air pollution, impacts on wellbeing of neighbours from odour, debris, flies and gulls, harm to wildlife, dust and dirt on the road and that the new road is a “dangerous entry point”.

The application was unanimously approved by the council’s planning committee in line with recommendations from officers.

Applicant Mr Bright, speaking at the meeting, said: “This is an application for the access road, it’s not an application for the landfill site which is ongoing.

“In fact this road is enabling the completion of that ahead of schedule by a number of months.

“The site will be finished, restored and then the access road will be removed and hopefully that will be ahead of schedule.”

A condition as part of the approval states the use of the access road for the purposes of facilitating “landfilling of waste” shall cease on December 31, 2027, and it shall only be used after then for the restoration of the site.

The access road and associated infrastructure will then be removed from the site in its entirety in accordance with a timetable submitted to the council.

Planning documents on behalf of the applicant state they expect this “will be removed in 2028”.