October 30th, 2024.



Local MP James MacCleary has welcomed the decision by Lewes District Council to abandon plans for a food waste transfer site at the former Newhaven Waste and Recycling Centre on Lewes Road.

This decision comes following significant community concern and a subsequent pause in the planning process, after local residents ran a campaign titled “Stop the Slops”.

The council will partner with a specialist waste and recycling management company near Lewes for food waste management instead. This follows a previous planning approval in April for the proposed facility in Newhaven, which would have included 15 electric fleet vehicles and sealed containers for daily food waste collection.

The revised plans for the Lewes Road site will now include electric vehicle charging facilities, cycle racks, and storage for clean wheelie bins, with improved landscaping and site management. The council has put forward a new planning application for these changes.

James MacCleary said: “I am pleased that the voices of local residents have been heard, ending in the cancellation of the food waste transfer site in Newhaven. It was a poorly thought through plan and the waste impact on local residents would not have been fair.

“Well done to the local residents’ who worked tirelessly to stop these messy proposals.”

Councillor Lesley Boniface, Newhaven Town Councillor, (pictured), added: “This is a big win for Newhaven. It’s disappointing that it took so much noise from residents to get the Green and Labour administration to listen, and was another example of opting to put unpopular facilities in Newhaven. They clearly don’t put Newhaven first, and it shouldn’t have taken such a big campaign to halt plans that didn’t serve the needs of Newhaven. We must make sure that the voices of residents are heard moving forward.

“We’ll be keeping a close eye to make sure the council sticks to its plans.”