{"id":373493,"date":"2026-01-16T15:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/373493\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:20:11","slug":"fire-safety-report-on-brighton-recycling-centre-overdue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/373493\/","title":{"rendered":"Fire safety report on Brighton recycling centre overdue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n  Members of the Round Hill Society asked for a report on the suitability of the Veolia Materials and Recovery Facility and waste transfer station, in Hollingdean, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theargus.co.uk\/news\/18258265.hollingdean-waste-depot-fire-reports-published\/?ref=ed_direct\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">after the fire in August 2019 caused by a disposable barbecue<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  In November 2019, Round Hill Society committee member Dominic Furlong told a meeting that homes in the area were filled with smoke during the fire.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  <img   width=\"100%\"\/>Refuse Vehicles At Hollingdean Depot\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Brighton and Hove City Council\u2019s now-defunct environment, transport and sustainability committee agreed that what happened should be the subject of an independent report.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Mr Furlong chased up the report after two later fires, raising concerns about toxic fumes coming from the site.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  More than six years after the initial fire, on Monday, January 5, he wrote to Labour councillor Tim Rowkins, the council\u2019s cabinet member for environmental services, to ask about the long-promised report.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He said that, even though there has been a waste site in Upper Hollingdean Road for 100 years, when it was first built, it was on the edge of town.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Mr Furlong said: \u201cOn (Wednesday) July 16, 2025, I submitted an official complaint to the council about the non-delivery of the report.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cI received an automated acknowledgement within two days but have heard nothing since then, despite sending a follow-up email on (Tuesday) September 30.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cIn not delivering the report, and in not responding to my official complaint in a timely manner, the council\u2019s maladministration of this matter has undermined the process of local democracy.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cRound Hill residents have put considerable resources into bringing the original deputation before the council and in chasing this report.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Green councillor Raphael Hill has also asked Cllr Rowkins about the report and raised concerns about the smell coming from the site particularly in the summer.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  Cllr Rowkins, the deputy leader of the council, said the report was not complete.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  He said: \u201cThe Veolia Materials Recovery Facility and waste transfer station at our site in Hollingdean are an important part of this city\u2019s waste processing infrastructure and benefit all our residents.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cThe site is monitored by the appropriate agencies and through our contract management arrangements.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n  \u201cWe are aware of an historic decision by a previous administration to review the suitability of the site and plan to make an assessment in the coming months, the findings of which we will happily share with residents and the Round Hill Society.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the Round Hill Society asked for a report on the suitability of the Veolia Materials and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-373493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}