Oh dear... Council's grand plan for new Milton Keynes 'super tip' meets with objections from its own officers

The new £6m state-of-the-art recycling centre is proposed for Andersen Gate at Snelshall, near houses on Tattenhoe, with the aim of a providing a safer, more accessible and user-friendly site for managing household waste.

A second site is already underway at Old Wolverton and, when both are completed,the existing tips at New Bradwell, Newport Pagnell and Bleak Hall would all be closed down.

From the offset, the Snelshall plan has caused controversy with nearby residents and opposition Conservative ward councillors, who say it would be noisy, disruptive and cause traffic chaos in the area.

But this week MK City Council officers have pitched in with their own concerns.

Responses to the planning application show officials are uneasy about parking, drainage, flooding, ecology and the impact on neighbouring Tattenhoe Valley Park.

The council’s Lead Local Flood Authority has formally objected and says it is currently unable to support planning permission. One of its concerns is that parts of the site would rely on pumps to remove surface water. It says pumps create a significant risk if they fail during a storm and that potentially contaminated flood water would need to be kept safely within the site rather than flowing into the surrounding area.

MK City Council highways department has also objected to the proposed parking arrangements. The recycling centre could take up to 80 bookings an hour, but the plans provide only 13 spaces for residents unloading their waste.

Highways have asked for better evidence that this will work or details showing where additional parking could be provided.

The concerns come after the area proposed for the development was reduced from around 2.1 hectares to 0.69 hectares.

There are also concerns about the effect on the environment. MKCC Ecology says more information is needed before the application is decided, including work to show that changes to drainage and flooding will not damage neighbouring lowland meadow habitat. It warns that without this information there is a risk that the habitat could be lost.

To rub salt in the council’s wound, Milton Keynes Parks Trust has objected to parts of the proposal because of the predicted noise, disturbance and visual impact on Tattenhoe Valley Linear Park.

The Council's Landscape team has also maintained a holding objection while it waits for further information, including resolution of the drainage issues.T

Tattenhoe ward councillor Shazna Muzammil, who has submitted her own objection to the application, said: “There are now too many questions about this site to ignore.

"We don't oppose having modern recycling centres in Milton Keynes. My concern is whether this is the right place for one. Before we spend millions of tax payers money building a facility that MK will rely on for years, we need to be confident that the site picked for this kind of service will actually work for all”

Cllr Muzammil is encouraging residents to read the application and make their own comments.

The deadline for comments on planning application PLN/2026/1600 is September 9.

Meanwhile, work on the £4m Northern Supersite at Old Wolverton has already started and the centre is due to open by the end of this year.