Residents object to extension of steel engineering firm as petition launched

MTL Advanced Ltd has applied to build a new unit to the east of its existing premises on Grange Lane, Brinsworth, in a bid to expand its existing steel engineering and manufacturing company.

The building will be used for manufacturing, storage and distribution, with offices to the front, loading bays, and car parking.

Around 70 new jobs will be created if the plans are approved by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) at its next planning board meeting on February 29.

A report by RMBC officers said the application site is currently made up of hardstanding, and the majority of the site has been unused since an application for storage was approved in 2016.

Seven residents have objected to the plans, and a petition with eight signatures has also been lodged.

Residents have objected on the grounds of additional traffic, pollution and noise, and have called for a limit to the operational hours of the site.

One objector said that vehicles entering the site had caused ‘noise and disturbance’ and another added that a noise assessment is ‘inconclusive and flawed’.

The petition objects to the plans on the grounds of disruption caused by lorries and other commercial vehicles and calls on RMBC to restrict vehicle access to the site to 6am to 10pm on weekdays, and 6am until 2pm on weekends.

Officers said that noise levels at homes closest to the site would be of ‘low impact’, and that building works will be carried out Mondays to Fridays 8am to 5pm, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

One objector states that the noise report is ‘flawed’, adding that ‘it states there will be no impact on local residents even though it does not know what machinery will be used in the building’.

However, officers said that a condition of planning permission being granted will mean the applicant will have to submit additional information before any plant or mechanical equipment is installed.

The report adds that predicted nitrogen dioxide levels fall ‘below the relevant air quality objectives’.

If the plans are approved, the developer will be required to pay £11,600 towards a new bus shelter on Bawtry Road under a Section 106 agreement.

The full plans can be viewed here.