Tyre Recycling Faces a Reptilian Delay

The businessman behind plans for a tyre recycling facility in the Barrow docks area is hoping to begin set up work on the project by February despite a last minute environmental hurdle. The commencement of recycling at the Green Earth Regeneration Ltd facility may be delayed while a £200,000 earth wall is built to protect birds, lizards, worms and newts living in the plant’s vicinity.

This latest obstacle appears to be testing the patience of businessman Chris Parker, who has been quoted by the North-West Evening Mail as saying “There are so many conditions for a tyre recycling plant it is ridiculous.” Gaining the necessary permission to operate the business has already taken far longer that anticipated: “We have been held up massively in past months. We had nearly 12 months to wait to get a Waste Management Licence and, for the last four months, we have been held up (to do) with the ecology and reptile report for the site,” said Parker, who first submitted a planning application to Cumbria County Council in May 2006.

If work does not start in February further delays may occur. “If you don’t start the enabling work by February you can’t start it until the end of the summer in case any birds are nesting in the bushes,” commented Parker. “It is really taking wildlife over the top because it does not matter whether you see a bird or not.”

The project will require a total investment of £15 million and will create 50 jobs. The facility will be fitted out with shredding machinery costing more than £8 million, and this machinery will process more than 200,000 tonnes of tyres annually.