Controversial plans to expand a wood processing facility in Barry have been put on hold again.

Councillors deferred an application for Berth 31 on Wimborne Road involving a change of use.

The planning committee meeting at Vale of Glamorgan Council was told officers needed more time to address detailed matters raised about the plans.

The application was first considered last September, where councillors voted against officers’ recommendation for approval.

This was mainly due to concerns about dust generation and its associated amenity and environmental impacts with claims at the time from Cadoc ward councillor Helen Payne that dust from operations at the site had fallen on cars and streets.

Following the deferral of the application at the December meeting, further information was received by the applicant including a dust and emissions management plan and a dust monitoring scheme and there has been more public consultation.

Under the plans, the site would receive both virgin timber and end-of-life timber but most wood received would be waste wood.

The operator holds contracts with municipal authorities to receive waste wood from household recycling centres as well as from other commercial providers.

The wood is then processed, sorted, and stored on-site pending transportation to other locations where it is either recycled into a new products, such as chipboard, or used as fuel in energy production.

The processing operations involve sizing the waste wood to meet set specifications dependent on the product being made.

Machinery used at the plant includes loading shovels, excavators, screeners, shredders, trommels, and eddy currents (magnets).

The latter is used to separate any metals from the wood for separate collection and recycling.

Existing demountable site offices, water tanks,  and other existing site infrastructure would be kept and used with no new buildings proposed.

It is proposed to build a flood defence wall parallel to the dockside and rail track and while its height would vary dependent on the adjacent ground level most of it would be around 1.1m tall.

The existing “maltese crosses”, which are made up of freestanding blocks and used to store and separate wood piles, would also be moved.

The application has been called in by Councillor Dr Ian Johnson who cites public interest following a previous application for a lawful development certificate and public concerns about working hours and environmental impacts.

Three further public representations were received during the consultation which said there is no source location for the waste wood, there is no mention of traffic routes and the frequency rates of the vehicles and traffic congestion, and they said that the location is not appropriate for an industrial use with such significant environmental effects given the proximity to existing residential areas.

Other concerns raised claimed dust is regularly seen in the air in Wilfred Street and there are worries that breathing in fibres fom the wood dust could cause health issues.

They also questioned the type of waste wood, past chemical treatment, and extent of testing for contaminants and mentioned noise disturbance, excessive operating hours, and the loss of ability to use outdoor spaces.

Envrionmental group Friends of the Earth (Barry and Vale) has also requested to view certain documents due to concerns about the application.

But in recommending approval planning officers mentioned the measures proposed by the applicant intended to provide more robust dust mitigation and monitoring as well as the temporary monitoring of particulate levels at the site perimeter.

They said additional monitoring has also been undertaken by officers and no live dust releases, such as dust clouds, have been witnessed by officers but there was evidence of dust deposit (matted fibres) seen in David Davies Road, near to the site perimeter, on one inspection in September.

Officers said they are now also aware that during an NRW inspection on September 4th, a minor compliance breach was found due to dust emissions and a failure to complete dust checks on a regular basis was noted.

The applicant’s agent has also indicated that a failure to maintain high enough moisture levels in the waste material is likely to have contributed to these issues.

The report says no further evidence of dust release beyond the site perimeter have been observed by officers albeit prevailing weather has been favourable (wet) for most of this time.

Officers have highlighted mitigation and management measures that are proposed including regular checks and ensuring the waste material maintains a minimum moisture content prior to processing as well as increased availability of dust cannons and bowsers.

They also mentioned temporary monitoring of particulate matter levels at the site boundary, which would ensure mitigation actions are triggered at a certain threshold which is a recommended threshold for construction sites but is also considered to be a suitable action point for monitoring of emissions from this site to trigger intervention if breached.

Officers also said the council’s shared regulatory service actively monitor suspended particulates, those of greatest concern to health, in the area via a sensor in Dock View Road.

The sensor has indicated that particulate levels have “remained well within legal limits throughout”.

The report says if councillors are still minded to refuse the application this reason for refusal is suggested: “The continued use of the site for the receipt, processing, and storage of waste material is considered to have an unacceptable effect on the environment from the dust deposits of waste wood material, causing a harmful effect on residential amenity in the locality and an unacceptable impact on the adjacent areas and uses of land adjoining the site.”