The recent fire at the Churchfields Recycling centre in Beckenham, Bromley, with 12 tons of waste ablaze tackled by 40 firefighters, has highlighted the issues with the recycling centre being so close to the Churchfields Primary School and residential houses. Parents and residents have long been questioning the safety of this old-fashioned recycling site, which has been causing noise and odour nuisance as well as air pollution coming from the site itself and visiting vehicles. Despite promises made to the school, large trucks pass in and out of the site during school drop off and pick up times. Moreover, Churchfields Road, which is a bus and cycle route, suffers from traffic jams when the recycling centre is fully operational.

We ask Bromley Council to relocate the recycling centre to a non-residential area. The Council could use, for example, one of the nearby industrial estates in Elmers End or Lower Sydenham or a non-residential area further afield. This would solve the accessibility issues of the site and eliminate the current safety hazard to the school and local residents.

The site of the recycling centre could then offer more space to the expanding Churchfields Primary School and/or accommodate much needed housing. Moving the recycling centre would also free access to the vacant site behind the recycling centre, which could also be used for housing and/or to create a new park linking the Churchfields Recreation Ground and the Maberley Road Playing Fields.

If you agree with the above concerns, please sign and share the petition. It needs 200 e-signatures in 30 days (by 23 June 2020) to qualify as a petition. 2,000 e-signatures will allow us to address a Council committee.

Thank you.

Olga Caselton (a local resident with two children at Churchfields Primary and Nursery School)