Harrogate MP praises residents campaigning to prevent 'pollution' from new asphalt plan

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones met members of the Communities Against Toxins (CATs) on Saturday at Marton Cum Grafton Village Hall after being invited to talk to residents who say they will be adversely affected by the proposal.

Mr Jones said: “I understand residents’ concerns about the proposal for an asphalt plant, that is why I am supporting the campaign to stop this happening.

“There are many red lines which these plans cross – air pollution, chemicals leaching into groundwater, noise and others.

"It also represents industrial creep further into the countryside.

“I have already raised my own objections to the plans with the council and am working cross-party with Keir Mather MP’s office as villages such as Goldsborough, Flaxby, Allerton and Hopperton which are in the Selby & Ainsty constituency are also affected.

“Campaigners have done an incredible job marshalling the arguments and I hope councillors in North Yorkshire will turn the company’s application down.”

Tynedale Roadstone Ltd has submitted plans to build the large asphalt plant at the Allerton Waste Recovery Park in order to increase asphalt production.

The plans will include a 22.5-metre exhaust stack, heated storage tanks, a number of large aggregate bins for storage, associated office space and further storage areas.

Tynedale Roadstone said the development "will support sustainable growth in North Yorkshire and is crucial to facilitating and servicing highway works and projects in the area".

The company has said it would make sure emissions from the plant were kept at the correct levels.

It added that modern plants to produce asphalt - the material used to repair roads - have extensive filtration systems that can monitor and maintain emissions.

But campaigners fear that anyone living within a 3-9km radius of the site could be affected by numerous potentially harmful pollutants with the region’s air, land, and waterways exposed to a dangerous cocktail of chemicals.

North Yorkshire County Council is expected to make a decision on the plans next year.