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Wealden District Council will be strongly objected to a proposal by  East Sussex County Council to include locations within the district as possible land raise sites for future waste deposits.

“Land raise as a method of waste disposal is simply  unacceptable  especially  in the highly sensitive and treasured environment of Wealden,” said Councillor Roy Galley, Cabinet member for Strategic Planning and Housing Delivery. "We are calling on the County Council to  think again and rule out unequivocally any site that will create an eyesore in this special environment. There are plenty of more acceptable ways to dispose of waste.

"The people of Wealden support our aim of preserving and enhancing our exceptional countryside, and this has been made clear throughout consultations for our Local Development Framework.

"As well as being unsightly and obtrusive, any proposed sites in Wealden would put a heavy burden on our narrow country lanes.  Such facilities should be located much nearer to cities like Brighton where the majority of the landfill waste is being created.

"We have been particularly surprised that two proposed sites, one north of Hailsham and the other at Grisling Common, west of Uckfield, are close to the flood plains of the Rivers Cuckmere and Ouse.

"In short what has been proposed  would have benefited from more consultation with the owners of potential sites being considered and the parish councils whose local knowledge would help inform the process."

As a Statutory Consultee, Wealden District Council is responding to the consultation on East Sussex County Council's preferred Waste and Minerals Core Strategy. Wealden supports the County's aims to minimise waste whereever possible and believes more needs to be done to utilise old quarries and other former mineral extraction areas as sites for landfill waste rather than creating artificial mounds of waste - so called land raise.

"We are serious about our obligation to reduce the amount of waste produced within Wealden.  This year Wealden District Council will be extending kerbside recycling to all households in the district. It is the responsibility of every household and business to try to reduce the amount of waste that ends up as landfill," added Councillor Galley.