POINTES LANE residents said they are paying the price for the States’ indecision on a waste incinerator. They claimed that Island Waste, which operates a separation site in the St Andrew’s lane, was being allowed to flout the law because it suited government.
‘The States are not prepared to stop it because they don’t want the stuff going into Mont Cuet, so they can do what they want with carte blanche,’ said John Le Noury, who has lived in the area for more than 40 years.
Another neighbour, Allan Renyard, said some people had been prosecuted for less than what the company had done in Pointes Lane.
The residents said the rubbish mountain grew by the day and a hedgerow had been removed without permission. Levels had also been raised on part of the site.
When vehicles were unable to get out of the Mauxmarquis end of the lane, a lorry was used to block the Bailiff’s Cross Road end so they could exit against the one-way system.
The road was breaking-up under the weight of the increasing number of large vehicles and rubbish often blew from them into gardens.
A burner was in constant use on the site which the residents thought was a health hazard.
‘Most of the timber these days has been treated, painted or varnished and it’s bound to contain dioxins,’ said Mr Le Noury.
Corinne Dunning, who has lived in Pointes Lane for 14 years, said people often said ﾓOh you must be next to the tip,ﾔ when she told them where she lived.
Mr Renyard said more waste seemed to be going into the site than was coming out.
‘I don’t think we would be objecting half as much if the stuff that went in came out again in a day or two,’ he said.
‘The lower part of the lane is covered with mud or dust regularly and you see women pushing children in buggies through it.’
Mr Le Noury said the residents were paying the price for politicians’ failure to address the island’s waste disposal problem sooner.
‘The Environment Department has let us down by letting Island Waste get away with things that nobody else would have been and Environmental Health have let burning go on year after year.’
St Andrew’s senior constable Steve Cuss said he had written to Environment on several of the issues, but did not think it had made a difference.
‘There’s been retrospective applications for machines on the site and they ‘Environment’ just told me things were passed as they were ancillary to the operation,’ he said.
‘They’ll tell you that the levels were raised by a previous occupant while the neighbours will tell you Island Waste did it and that tyres and asbestos were buried below.’
Environment is expected to respond today.
Article posted on 2nd May, 2007 - 12.00am
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