Suffolk County Council issues enforcement notice against company in Falconer Road, Haverhill

A recycling company has appealed a council enforcement action for multiple breaches of planning conditions, including allowing bags of decaying household waste on site that attract vermin and flies.

Widdington Recycling Limited lodged the appeal last week, two months after Suffolk County Council (SCC) issued an enforcement notice in relation to activity on the company’s site at Falconer Road, Haverhill, next to Spring Rise.

The company has been accused by SCC of breaching seven of the conditions issued when it was given retrospective planning permission in March, 2013, among them starting work before the permitted time of 7.30am and installing floodlighting without permission.

SCC says the site only has permission to store materials arising from demolition activities but has been taking and storing general household, commercial, and garden waste, including putrescible waste, giving rise to complaints regarding odours, flies and vermin.

The enforcement notice instructed Widdington Recycling to stop accepting and to remove from the land all putrescible (decaying) waste within three days of the notice coming into effect on January 10.

SCC ordered the company to take down and remove buildings - an open sided waste sorting building, weighbridge and weighbridge office, concrete batching plant, storage walling, hardstanding, drainage, boundary fencing/walls and lighting and the associated equipment comprising a silo, concrete mixer trucks and trommel.

The SCC report said: “Complaints regarding odours and flies have shown that the air quality of the land and its impact on the surrounding area has been detrimental to the amenity of those who live and work in the area.

“The unauthorised acceptance of household and commercial collections, including a putrescible element, for sorting, processing and storage has resulted in complaints regarding noise, odour and flies.”

The report added: “Following odour, fly and noise complaints Suffolk County Council officers visited the land in the summer of 2024 and found large quantities of household waste in the sorting building.

“On further visits they have continued to find general bagged waste with a putrescible element in the sorting building. Following investigations, it was found that the operator was under contract to take residual kerbside waste from another county council.”