Planners back an enclosed shed with a stack up to 15 metres at the High Heavens tip. Councillors decide on 19 November, and no residents objected.
Council planners have recommended approval for an enclosed bulky waste shredding plant at the High Heavens waste site off Clay Lane, Booker. Buckinghamshire Council’s Strategic Sites Committee decides the application on Thursday 19 November.
The council is both the applicant and the planning authority. The committee report says that is why councillors, not officers, take the decision (committee report, PL/26/04366/FA).
Overview
- What: a steel shed about 38 metres by 28 metres, up to 10.5 metres high, with an emissions stack of no more than 15 metres.
- Why: bulky waste used to be shredded in the open air at High Heavens. That stopped because it no longer met the rules on waste containing persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
- Where it goes now: lorries take it to Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire for treatment.
- The decision: Strategic Sites Committee, 10am on Thursday 19 November, recommended for approval.
- Objections: none from residents, according to the report.
Why the open-air shredder stopped
Bulky household waste, such as old upholstered seating, can contain POPs. The Environment Agency has tightened its guidance on how that waste must be handled, most recently in June 2026, the report says.
High Heavens used to take between 5,000 and 10,000 tonnes of bulky waste a year. It came from the council’s household recycling centres and kerbside collections across Buckinghamshire. It was shredded outdoors, then sent to the Greatmoor energy from waste plant to be burned.
Rain washing through the shredded waste could produce a contaminated run-off. The report says the work was suspended because the site was not complying with the regulations. Since then the waste has been taken to Sutton Courtenay.
What would be built
The planning file and the committee report describe:
- a steel portal-frame building in Goosewing Grey, matching others on the site
- 9 metres to the eaves and 10.5 metres to the ridge, with 12 rooflights
- three concrete bays inside: one for bulky waste, one for upholstered seating, one for shredded material
- a shredder in the rest of the building
- a fabric-filter dust extraction system, which the report says would catch more than 99% of particulate dust
- an emissions stack on the north-west side, no higher than 15 metres once the final equipment is approved
The building would sit on existing hardstanding in the south-west corner of the complex. The plant would handle 5,500 to 10,000 tonnes a year. That is within the roughly 80,000 tonnes a year already allowed across the whole site.
Lorries, hours and routes
The report puts the maximum at 20 lorry movements a day, 10 in and 10 out. Of those, seven would be roll-on roll-off vehicles and three other heavy goods vehicles. The report says that matches the old open-air operation, and would cut the lorry trips now needed to take the waste elsewhere.
Proposed condition 18 says all lorries for the plant must use the M40 and the eastern part of Clay Lane. The western part of Clay Lane and the B482 Marlow Road would be used only if the main route is closed or the police direct it.
| Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shredding plant | 7.30am to 6pm | 8am to 5pm | 8.30am to 1pm |
| Building work | 8am to 6pm | 8am to 1pm | None |
There would be no operations on bank holidays. These are the hours in the recommended conditions.
Who said what
- Residents: no objections or comments, the report says.
- Great Marlow Parish Council: no response.
- Chilterns Conservation Board: no objection, and found the finish acceptable.
- Environment Agency: no objection overall, with a condition on any unexpected contamination from the old landfill.
- Thames Water and the council’s tree, ecology and flood officers: no objection, some subject to conditions.
The site lies in the Chilterns National Landscape and the Green Belt. The waste complex sits on High Wycombe’s former landfill, used from the 1950s to 2008.
The nearest homes are Meadowcroft on Marlow Road to the west and houses off Clay Hill, about 451 metres to the north. The site is about 0.4 miles south of Booker and 1.6 miles south-west of High Wycombe, the report says.
What it means for you
Your bulky waste collection and what you take to the tip do not change. The plant deals with where that waste goes afterwards.
If you live near Clay Lane, the key points are the 15-metre stack, the dust filters, and the lorry route condition keeping plant traffic off Marlow Road. The committee meets at 10am on 19 November at The Oculus in Aylesbury and is webcast.
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