Factories' plans turned down

RESIDENTS living near a trading estate in Nailsea are breathing a sigh of relief that three planning applications have been given the thumbs-down.People with homes close to West End Trading Estate, on Blackfriars Road, say that they have had to put up with 'unacceptable noise levels' for more than a decade. But the householders claim the problem has 'escalated' in the last three years.In July, Furniture Factory applied for planning permission to site an outside storage area beside its premises to keep diesel in.Then at the beginning of last month, Brabantia lodged retrospective applications to locate storage skips at the rear of its premises to be used for recycling and for storing diesel.If North Somerset Council planning officers were thinking about approving the applications, Cllr Jeremy Blatchford was going to request that councillors considered them instead. But planners turned all three down.Geoffrey Shaw, whose home in North Street is within 100yds of the trading estate, recently addressed members of Nailsea Town Council about the problems he and other residents experience.When the North Somerset Times told the former surveyor that all three planning applications had been refused, he said: "I'm delighted and relieved to hear that all three planning applications have been turned down, as I'm sure other residents will be."On weekdays, lorries arrive at the trading estate as early as 7am and are coming and going until just before 5pm."When they load and unload, there's an earsplitting booming noise."It's really good news that planning officers have taken note of residents' concerns, particularly about noise, and acted on them."A spokesman for North Somerset Council said: "Officers refused to grant permission to all three planning applications on environmental health grounds, noise being the major factor.