A MAJOR West Somerset company has been forced to close part of its business, blaming bureaucracy, planning problems and the lack of industrial land in the district. The decision by Minehead-based civil engineering firm C J Lynch and Sons to axe its skip hire division with the loss of three jobs follows an unsuccessful three-year battle to site a recycling centre on land next to its waste transfer station in Brunel Road. The failure to win planning approval for the installation of a concrete crusher, screening plant and an eventual 'picking' station to separate wood, plastics and other material, or to find an alternative site, has meant the company has been running its waste skip hire operation at a loss for a number of years. And this week company managing director Charlie Lynch told the Free Press that the business - set up 20 years ago and the only one in the district providing large skips and a transfer station - was no longer viable and simply had no future. "We haven't even been able to give it away," he said. But he and fellow director Sean Lynch warned that the closure - due to take place at the end of June - would inevitably mean an increase in costs for local builders who would have to use companies in Bridgwater or Wellington, with the knock-on effect inevitably felt by their customers, and a likely rise in incidents of fly tipping. The pair said the decision to shut the division had not been taken lightly but the frustration at "meeting a brick wall at every turn" had left them no option. And they said the agencies and authorities whose joint approval would have been needed for the recycling centre to go ahead should be prepared to work together to help local businesses. "We needed the consent of the Environment Agency, Somerset County Council as the planning authority, West Somerset District Council and the highways agency," said Sean. "And despite putting forward a number of different sites and possible solutions, we never managed to get the OK from all four on any scheme. "We feel incredibly frustrated, not least because we are a responsible company and we realise that Somerset has recycling targets to meet. "It is ridiculous that those authorities whose consent we needed are not more interested in helping companies like us to expand." The company's first and only formal bid for planning approval on the one-acre site next to its existing transfer station failed at the first hurdle in July 2003, being rejected on noise concerns. It had intended to hire the recycling equipment needed but then considered instead investing hundreds of thousands of pounds in new plant, which it believed would be quieter. But it was warned it would have to carry out an environmental survey -without any guarantee of planning approval - and, if it got the go ahead, install a dust suppresser water system and screen the area with trees. The company's search for an alternative site took it to Watchet and other parts of the district but each new location raised a different problem and failed to win the necessary backing of all the authorities involved. In desperation, the company even tracked down moveable, non-permanent smaller scale crushers and screeners, which it hoped it would be able to site at its existing transfer station. "As it wasn't fixed in place we thought we probably wouldn't need planning permission but because we like to do everything by the book, we checked it out with the authorities, but again we were told no," said Sean. "We're just caught in a vicious circle. The rising cost of landfill tax means that we have to minimise the quantity of material going to landfill by sorting and recycling as much as we can. "But because we haven't been able to get planning permission to use the recycling equipment, we can't do this. "And because of the lack of industrial land in West Somerset, we haven't been able to find an alternative site." The company, which will close the skip hire at the end of June, currently charges £140 for a skip carrying four tons of waste. But it has to pay £56 per ton to dispose of the waste at Williton's Rydon tip. "You cannot continue to sustain that sort of loss," said Charlie. "We know we are providing a valuable service in West Somerset but at the end of the day we are in business to make money and the only way to do that is to separate the material which can be recycled to reduce the amount going to landfill. "We have around 194 account customers and 300 skips that are in use almost constantly so the loss of this business is going to hit the local economy hard. "If we had got the recycling centre up and running we would have been able to employ three more people, instead of losing three jobs. "It's been a hard decision to close something that was started by my father but we feel we have explored every possible avenue. "We've tried to sell the business on but no one is interested without any land. "We just feel as though we have been banging our heads against a brick wall. "If something isn't done to help local businesses like ours and many others, then Minehead is just going to stagnate. "We employ 45 people but we cannot expand our remaining businesses because there is simply no land available." One West Somerset building company, which asked not to be named, told the Free Press it relied on Lynch Skip Hire to dispose of its waste. "Why is a reliable major employer being forced to close a business which provides an invaluable service to so many individuals and business?" said a spokesman for the firm. "The outcome of this forced decision will not only force costs up for us and our clients but will also encourage more fly tipping. "We may be forced to ask our clients to dispose of their own waste, which could lead to stockpiling of waste to make it more cost effective to dispose of."
