THE Environment Agency has launched its second consultation on a permit application to open a landfill site at Lower Hare Farm in Whitestone near Exeter.

GRS Stone Supplies Ltd needs an environmental permit from the Environment Agency to operate the landfill site. 

A previous consultation by the Agency, which closed in May, received a lot of interest, resulting in the Agency declaring the site as one of “High Public Interest”. 

An environmental permit sets the conditions which GRS Stone Supplies Ltd must meet when operating the landfill site.  It covers the management and operation of the site and the control and monitoring of emissions.

When the Agency considers a permit application, it reviews the design of the proposed site, how it will be operated, the emissions it will generate (to air, water and land) and whether it will meet the required standards.

The Agency will consult with partner organisations, including Public Health England, as part of the process.

Issues such as suitability of the site, operating hours and traffic management to and from it, are matters for the planning authority, not the Agency. The Agency can only consider issues covered by the environmental permit and can only refuse a permit application based on technical information.

Once the consultation closes, the Agency will review all the comments received before reaching a draft decision.

GRS Stone Supplies Ltd has the right to appeal if the permit is refused.

If the Agency thinks it might issue the permit, it will consult you again on the draft permit and draft decision document, so you can comment on the conditions to be included in the permit.

Anyone wishing to comment on the application, can do so by using the online consultation portal, Citizen Space: EX4 2HW, GRS Stone Supplies Limited, EPR/LB3502HT/2: environmental permit consultation - Environment Agency - Citizen Space (environment-agency.gov.uk), or by email: [email protected] .

You can comment by post to: Environment Agency Permitting and Support Centre, Land Team, Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield, S9 4WF.  

If you need help accessing this consultation in another format, please contact The Environment Agency by email at: [email protected]  or telephone: 03708 506 506. 

Please use the application reference number, EPR/LB3502HT/A001.

The consultation closes at 11.59pm on August 27, 2024.