PLANS have been submitted to Thurrock Council to turn part of a scrapyard in the greenbelt in Thurrock, close to East and West Tilbury villages, into a concrete mixing plant.

The plan is to locate the new plant at Readmans Industrial Estate, which is a short distance to the south west of East Tilbury. Currently the site comprises various industrial, warehouse and office units with areas of parking and open storage.

Although currently partially cleared, the north east quadrant of the estate comprises a scrapyard which has planning permission for the dismantling of vehicles and the sale of components.

The new proposal involves the removal of all existing buildings and structures from this part of the site and the change of use to a concrete mixing plant.

The applicants say that while the site is within the green belt it is part of a larger site used for a variety of commercial purposes and has a lawful use as scrapyard. Given it could continue unchallenged as a scrapyard they believe that changing the use of the site is not detrimental to the greenbelt as it currently stands. They say the new use will not impact on the openness of the landscape.

A statement to the council says: "The proposed use will result in a different form of commercial activity on the western part of the site. Like the existing use, this will include a number of temporary structures which are not affixed to the land but the bulk of activity will be in the open.

"This proposed use is equally by definition an inappropriate one in the green belt and it is therefore necessary to identify very special circumstances to justify it.

"The overriding such circumstance is the existing lawful use of the site. The site can continue to be used for a lawful commercial use. The application proposal will not result in the introduction of a new commercial use in the MGB, rather it is looking to replace one such use with another.

"As such the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness will not be any greater than occurs now."

And they go on to say the proposed use will be a cleaner use than the scrapyard use it will replace.

You can read full details of the application – and comment – via the following link.