Fire-ravaged industrial site in Bedfordshire village could be back in business
An industrial site in Central Bedfordshire ravaged by fire could be rejuvenated by two commercial enterprises, which have secured planning permission for their operations.
Most of the buildings on the Four Winds trading estate at West End, Haynes, were destroyed by the “serious fire” in May 2016, according to Central Bedfordshire Council’s senior minerals and waste planning officer Dee Walker.
“It was originally a mixed-use estate in the 1940s,” she told the local authority’s development management committee. “A limited waste operation spread to open land at the back of the site between 2016 and 2019, and was subject to a formal enforcement notice and a breach of planning condition notice.
“The applications are key as to whether CBC proceeds with a pending enforcement inquiry for these alleged breaches. There was a change of ownership for the whole site in September 2019, and the twisted metal of the fire-damaged derelict buildings was all removed by mid-2020.
“The Farren Hydraulics Ltd northern element of the trading estate seeks retrospective planning permission for a change of use of land to a mixed use with an extension to the lawful waste transfer facility and a change of use of land to import, store and distribute shipping containers, with access improvements.
“The Entyre Group Ltd southern section requires retrospective planning permission to import, store and distribute tyres, and better access arrangements. A traffic island is proposed at the Haynes/West End junction to prevent HGVs making U-turns.
“Appropriate conditions should give the owners the confidence to invest further, while providing the council with stricter controls over their activities.”
Haynes Parish Council said in a statement it “most strongly objects, as our proposed strengthened conditions have been ignored”.
The Central Bedfordshire Community Network Houghton Conquest and Haynes councillor Rebecca Hares, said: “Residents have been routinely raising concerns with CBC and the Environment Agency since 2017, with each finger pointing as to who was accountable.
“Complaints in a dossier from residents include excessive use of the concrete crusher, inadequate water supply for fire or dust suppression, burning of waste, land contamination, filling in a culvert, flooding, vermin and noise from the container business.
“The agency stated it was unaware of any of the concerns, including the dust. An application for site regularisation was made in 2022 and refused. In 2023, the same applications were resubmitted to regularise unpermitted site uses.
“The conditions attached to this application aren’t strong enough, with the highways access which we were told is substandard the key concern.”
Director of CC Town Planning and chartered town planner Matt Collison described it as an “established commercial location”, saying: “After the fire, many of the historic uses operating from the site ceased.
“Now two committed landowners are willing to invest significantly in improvements. The process of upgrading the site is on hold, pending the outcome here.
“Our clients would resume work around junction safety, resurfacing roads, upgrading drainage, boundary fencing and landscaping, installing lighting, signage and CCTV, and modifying the access to prevent right turns.”
Councillors approved the northern section plans, subject to finalising highways conditions, implementing dust controls and sufficient landscaping, while the southern site proposals were agreed, subject to fire hydrants being provided and suitable landscaping.