Norfolk County Council’s plans to move Sheringham Recycling Centre had been on hold because of a legal fight over the lawfulness of the relocation.

But, after judges dismissed an appeal by the owners of Hilltop Outdoor Centre, which is next to the fields where the new tip would be built, the authority is ready to push on with the project.

Reform UK is now in control of County Hall following last month’s elections and its senior councillors will shortly make a decision on the future of the project.

The council’s planning committee agreed in 2024 to grant permission for the centre to be moved from its current location, off Holt Road in Beeston Regis, to fields opposite.

Those fields are in a National Landscape – previously known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – and next to Hilltop Outdoor Centre.

The field, close to Hilltop Outdoor Centre, where the new recycling centre would be built (Image: Denise Bradley)

Hilltop’s owners – father and son Martin and Oliver Read – had argued in the High Court and Court of Appeal that the council failed to follow proper and lawful processes, including exploration of alternative sites – but judges dismissed their case.

The council had set aside £1.67m in its budget for the construction of the new recycling centre.

But part of the process in the coming weeks will be to establish whether the cost has increased since planning permission was granted.

The current recycling centre in Holt Road (Image: Denise Bradley)

Liz Withington, Liberal Democrat county councillor for Sheringham, recently visited the current recycling centre to talk to council officers about the future for the project.

She said: “We discussed a number of different possibilities including how this fits into the broader capital project for recycling centres across Norfolk.

“I now intend to consult with my colleagues elected to areas connected to the recycling centre site and to local businesses impacted.

“I will also engage with local businesses in regard to increased trade services that would be potentially available with this new proposal.”