Plans to set up a vehicle depot on the outskirts of Tring were given the go ahead last night, despite concerns about the impact lorries will have on neighbouring householders.
The Tringford Road Depot, which previously housed Tring’s waste recycling centre until it was closed in 2008, will now become a waste vehicle depot providing storage for Dacorum Borough Council’s Clean, Safe and Green and Waste Services lorries.
Borough and county councillor Nick Hollinghurst voiced the fears of people living in Tringford Road at a full meeting of Dacorum Borough Council on Wednesday, but the development control committee voted unanimously in favour of the site’s change of use the following day.
Committee members debated the traffic issues, in particular the strain that could be caused to a weak humpback bridge on the route into the base.
Planning officers assured councillors that heavy goods vehicles above 17 tonnes in weight would be diverted into the site by a different route.
But Councillor Denise Rance said: “The weight of vehicles doesn’t concern me, it’s the movement.
“Certainly movement will be less at the weekends than it was when it was a tip, but what is being proposed is a seven day operation.”
But it was revealed the new use of the site would involve 54 movements of vehicles per day, including a mix of heavy and light goods vehicles and road sweepers. According to the planning application, this would account for less than 8.5 per cent of the former usage at the site.
Tring Town Council, who viewed the plans ahead of their appearance at development control, recommended that traffic lights be installed near the bridge. It was agreed traffic control measures would be given consideration if requested by experts at Herts Highways.
The decision has now been delegated to the borough’s group manager for development management and planning, with a view to approval.