Glastonbury Skip Hire plans new Beckery Road unit

By Laura Linham 4th Aug 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

Glastonbury Skip Hire has lodged plans for a new enclosed waste processing building at its Beckery Road site.

The company says the building is needed because new environmental requirements mean waste treatment, storage and handling must take place inside a fully enclosed building. The application, now before Somerset Council, would also change access arrangements and add security fencing and gates.

The site has been used as a skip hire business since planning permission was granted in 2011. A later permission, approved in March 2025, allowed three vehicular accesses, security fencing and gates.

Under the latest plans, the business wants to revise that layout and use the existing access from The Mound to improve vehicle movements through the site. The applicant says the number of proposed access points onto the highway would be reduced from three to one.

The new industrial unit would sit next to the existing Glastonbury Skip Hire building. Two wall panels in the current unit would be removed so vehicles and materials could move directly into the new building as part of the operation.

Waste would be brought into the site from The Mound and processed inside the enclosed building. After processing, only inert materials such as soil, concrete, rubble and untreated wood would be moved outside to storage bays before collection.

The planning statement says keeping waste processing indoors would help reduce litter, windblown material, noise, dust and odour. It says the scheme would allow the established business to keep operating while meeting the new requirements.

The proposed building would have a footprint of about 576 sq m and an external eaves height of 10m. The applicant says the height is needed for waste processing machinery and large goods vehicles, including articulated lorries.

The statement says the site previously had a larger industrial building of about 810 sq m, which has since been demolished. On that basis, the applicant says the new building would represent a reduction in built form on the site.

The business would continue to operate from 6 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday, and from 8 am to midday on Saturdays. The applicant says the new part of the site would use the same hours.

The scheme also includes 2.4m high palisade fencing, access gates and a separate access for a tenant area to the rear of the site. The applicant says the layout would improve site security and keep different vehicle movements apart.

Landscaping is proposed along the Beckery Road frontage, including around 100 sq m of grass, three native trees and native hedging. The planning statement says this is intended to soften the appearance of the industrial site and help meet the required 10 per cent biodiversity net gain.

The site lies in flood zone 2, meaning it has a medium probability of flooding from rivers and the sea. The applicant says the building would be constructed on existing hardstanding and would not increase flood risk or surface water runoff.

A noise assessment has also been submitted with the plans. The planning statement says it found the development would not cause unacceptable noise impacts.

Somerset Council will consider the application before making a decision.