After another fire in Nazeing, enough is enough

After yet another fire at the so-called 'Nazeing recycling centre' (the second major blaze at the site in five months), I have called for a public inquiry into this site. It is outrageous that yet again, local residents have to endure this major safety hazard and suffer all the environmental pollution that this site has wrought on the local area.

Dozens of firefighters were called to Birchwood Industrial Estate, off Hoe Lane, on Saturday afternoon. Crews remained on the scene overnight after the fire broke out in 100 tonnes of wood chippings.

In January, following the last blaze which burned for several days, I wrote to the Environment Agency, saying the site is a danger to local residents.

This latest blaze only underlines what I said before, that the site is a danger to local people and the use of the site for storing wood chippings should be stopped.

The site is not suitable for such a use and it is unfair on the people who live nearby to have this potential hazard sitting on their doorsteps.

It is time that the authorities took notice of what is happening on the site, and do something immediately to ensure that such incidents cannot happen again. It is time that something is done.

The only way to do that is to impose a ban on the storage of wood chippings which have been a sitting time bomb in recent months. What we need is a full public inquiry into the site so that all the evidence can be considered.

Further information can be found HERE.

Inquiry call over blaze site

I have called on the Environment Agency to carry out a full inquiry into the recycling centre which was the scene of a massive blaze.
Fire crews spent several days tackling the fire which broke out on the Birchwood Industrial Estate, in Hoe Lane, Nazeing.

I have written to the Environment Agency saying the site is a danger to local residents after I
visited the site and met with local residents who live nearby.
I'm shocked by the environmental risk of this wood recycling site and believe this second fire in recent years means the danger to local residents has become intolerable."

I firmly believe we need a full inquiry on how this site is run and the impact on local residents. The dust and disruption in unacceptable and the disregard for the local residents has been deplorable.

I believe this wood recycling site represents not just a safety risk to the local population but also an environmental risk as it causes significant pollution. The recent, second, fire has shown how dangerous it is.