Proposals to delay turning a landfill site into a nature reserve for a THIRD time have prompted anger among residents and parish councils.
The firm operating the site in Albert Village has revealed it wants to extend using the tip in Occupation Road for a further two years, which has upset nearby residents.
Waste management firm Veolia has already told how protected great crested newts have been found on the site causing further delays.
The latest setback has provoked backlash from nearby residents, who feel Veolia has already had enough time to turn the land into a picturesque beauty spot.
However, Veolia says it is simply utilising the space for waste and an extension of time will allow for an improved ecological feature and allow removal of the newts.
The Burton Mail previously reported that the Albion Landfill will be turned into a nature reserve but this may not be completed for two years if proposals for an extension are approved by Leicestershire County Council.
Veolia says it needs more time, saying there was uncertainty surrounding the need to re-locate great crested newts before work could start on certain parts of the site.
A European Protected Species Licence must also be obtained from Natural England which stipulates the exact works and timescales required to minimise risk to individual great crested newts and their habitats.
The firm also said that the weather had a severe impact on the restoration of the site. Soils and clays could not be moved when it is wet and newts cannot be re-located if the weather was too cold.
Veolia manages the 296-acre landfill site and was due to finish importing waste from thousands of homes in South Derbyshire to the venue in December 2014.
Now the third extension application has been submitted to allow continuation of landfilling until the end of 2018 with final restoration work being completed by the end of 2019.
Plans for the landfill were originally approved in 1999 and it was anticipated that the site would take 13 years but due to difficulties and delays, the dumping of waste did not actually start until the November 2005.
One such delay was blamed on several unsuccessful judicial review challenges in the High Court by Blackfordby and Boothorpe Local Action Group, although campaigners refuted the cause of the hold-up.
Both Ashby Woulds Town Council and Woodville Parish Council have objected to the latest proposal on grounds of "continued smell, litter and number of extensions already granted".
Nearby resident Paul Roberts is also urging members of the public to have their say on the plans, claiming: "I have made a few investigations and it seems Veolia has yet again applied for a further extension, even though the last two extensions have included the words 'there will be no further extensions'.
"It seems Veolia is walking all over the Leicestershire County Council with these annual extensions with excuses of weather and newts being a regular theme.
"I am sure most residents do not know a further application has been made. The date for a decision is February 8 so there is not a lot of time to make the public aware."
A Veolia spokesman said: "Veolia’s application to amend the previous approval is to allow work to continue on site by utilising space that has been formed for waste.
"Over the years, delays have occurred due to various legal issues and also the protected great crested newt was found on site. This application for an extension of time will allow for an improved ecological feature to be completed. The continuation of landfilling is requested until the end of 2018 with final restoration work being completed by the end of 2019."
