An planned eco park in Pembrokeshire has been boosted with £9.5m in financial support from the Welsh Government.
Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, has approved the grant funding to develop a new waste recycling facility at Amoco Road, Milford Haven, near Puma Energy.
The proposed eco park will have additional capacity and modern facilities for Pembrokeshire County Council’s waste and recycling services.
It will also include a co-located waste recycling centre, fleet management and maintenance facility for the transition to ultra-low emission vehicles.
Material across Pembrokeshire will be collected, bulked, sorted and stored prior to onward transfer to processing and disposal facilities across Wales and the UK.
Planning for the eco park was proposed by Pembrokeshire County Council in November last year to support the county’s kerbside collection service introduced in 2019. There is currently an interim facility at Pembroke Port.
In February this year, the council submitted two planning applications for a four phase plan, with a decision expected in the summer after the local elections in May.
Once approved, the council has said it will then look to procure a developer and construction services.
The council’s planning proposals outline that the eco park will be built in four stages:
Phase one: Recycling transfer facility and associated access roads. This phase will also contain an office and visitor centre, offering the opportunity for groups to come learn about waste and recycling.
Phase two: Vehicle and staff parking area. A vehicle maintenance workshop and staff welfare facilities are also planned for this phase.
Phrase three: Residual waste and recycling facility
Phase four: Publicly accessible waste and recycling centre (WRC)
Pembrokeshire County Council said the proposed site will provide a modern replacement to the Winsel Waste and Recycling Centre (WRC), which is no longer fit for purpose due to infrastructure works associated with Environmental Permit Regulations and limitations with development options and access.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are pleased to award £9.5m in grant funding to Pembrokeshire County Council towards the development of The Eco Park.
“This will modernise Pembrokeshire’s recycling facilities as we work to increase recycling rates and get Wales, currently number three in the world’s domestic recycling rates, to number one.”
