Plans for a new vehicle exit at the North Luffenham tip have been approved by Rutland councillors.

The approval was given at a meeting of Rutland County Council's planning committee last week.

As previously reported by Nub News, the household waste recycling centre on North Luffenham Road, Morcott, re-opened in May following the lockdown with a reduced service and numerous safety measures put in place, including a one-way road system to reach and leave the site.

A report prepared for the meeting said: "Its sister site in Cottesmore remains closed due to staffing constraints, and North Luffenham is the bigger of the two sites."

"The proposal is for the creation of a new vehicular exit to the site. Currently a single access is used for both ingress and egress. This would involve the removal of approximately 5 metres of the boundary hedge.

"Vehicles would enter via the existing south-east entrance, follow a one-way system, and exit via the new access in the north-east corner of the site. Surfacing would be tarmacadam with kerbing, and gates to match the existing palisade fencing that is present around the site."

Morcott Parish Council opposed the application, saying that with North Luffenham being the only tip back open, the traffic it is generating is too much for the surrounding villages. The parish council called for the Cottesmore Civic Amenity Site to re-open to lessen this burden.

A further report issued on the day of the meeting last week said the council has received six further letters of objection, with seven others also sent to the council's Portfolio Holder for Planning, raising similar concerns.

It also noted the Highways Authority saying the North Luffenham site was operating within its planning permission and within its permitted rights for

overall tonnage.

The report added: "Whilst during certain periods it has been less or more busy it has always operated within its legally defined parameters and, most notably, within its planning consent.

"At the time planning was consented the impact of the development would have been assessed and mitigated. As such, the current level of activity falls within existing consents. The proposals to improve access and circulation will not change the level of activity but will minimise the impacts on the highway."