To residents of Marsh Lane

June 27, 2009

You may have seen notices of the application by Langmead Farms for the permanent processing of green waste at its Walnut Tree Farm site at Runcton. The notice informs you of your right to comment or make representations. I write to encourage you to do so if you have been troubled by smell from this site.

There have been problems of odour for some residents in Marsh Lane since around March 2006. That summer, as a result of my intervention, meetings took place between Langmead Farms, WSCC and the Environment Agency (EA) to review processes and equipment. Odour continued. The following year I began holding meetings with Langmead Farms, KPS, the site operators and the EA. Odour continued in 2007 and 2008 especially in the summer months coinciding with higher temperatures. This year so far the incidence has been far less.

It would be fair to say that Langmead Farms has recognised the problem and taken a variety of actions to mitigate it. But I believe it is too early to give approval for the permission to be made permanent. I believe the five year trial period that ends in September should be extended until the recent improvement is firmly established and all residents in Marsh Lane can once again enjoy being in their gardens in the summer.

To comment you can access http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/eplanning, email planning.applications@westsussex.gov.uk or write to County Development Division, WSCC, County Hall, Chichester PO19 1RG quoting the application reference: WSCC/024/09/NM. The deadline is July 9, 2009.

For background on the site and how waste is processed see:

http://www.stephenquigley.com/Walnuttree.htm

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