Corporate developers have applied to Corby Borough Council for Planning Permission to build a 'Resource Recovery Park' on the Brookfield Plantation located on Gretton Brook Road. Local people are strongly opposed to the application.
'Resource Recovery Park' is a euphemism for a Waste Plant. The proposed plant will significantly impact upon the lives of people living in Gretton, Weldon, Priors Hall, Rockingham, Stephenson Way and Pen Green Lane. Residents of these areas will be forced to endure unpleasant odours and noise pollution from the plant. The plant will also place great strain on the Gretton Brook Road transit system, massively increase the number of HGV's travelling through our villages, destroy huge areas of woodland and kill dozens of different animal species, including some protected species.
In the application the developers admit that the visual impact will be 'significant' and that the risk of flooding will be increased.
The application claims that 3,000 jobs will be created by the development and that 800 jobs will be created in the construction phase.This is a myth and refers to 3,000 jobs over the lifetime of the project. The suggestion that it will take 3,000 people straight off of the jobless list is utter nonsense. The 800 jobs referred to for the construction phase is also a myth. Upon deeper examination of the application it can be seen that this would be 800 temporary jobs over a 10 year period. It is likely that the 800 jobs would be carried by the same 15-20 people just at different times during the construction process.
There are huge numbers of vacant brownfield sites available on Corby's industrial estates away from the homes of local residents. Many of these sites already have planning permissions in place. There is no reason why the developer could not select an alternative site where there will be no negative impact upon local people and where the development will not destroy enormous areas of woodland and the animals living there.