Opposition is mounting to plans for a new £1.65m recycling centre, with campaigners calling for it to be rejected because it would spoil an area of outstanding natural beauty.

Countryside charity CPRE Norfolk has objected to Norfolk County Council's plans for a replacement Sheringham Recycling Centre, while the Norfolk Coast Partnership and North Norfolk District Council have raised "serious concerns".

The mooted new recycling centre would replace the current tip on Holt Road in East Beckham, which is earmarked for closure. It would be built nearby.

But, with the site within the designated protected landscape of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the proposals have triggered opposition.

North Norfolk News: Michael Rayner, from CPRE NorfolkMichael Rayner, from CPRE Norfolk (Image: CPRE Norfolk)

Michael Rayner, planning campaigns consultant for CPRE Norfolk, said the countryside charity was objecting.

He said: "This is disappointing as, in general, CPRE Norfolk supports the need for recycling waste.

"However, the location of recycling centres as with other major development, needs to take account of nationally important landscape designations such as, in this case, the Norfolk Coast AONB."

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Mark Brands, senior planning officer at North Norfolk District Council, said: "The scale and nature of this proposal will cause harm to the defined special qualities of the
AONB and the development will not conserve or enhance the landscape and scenic beauty of the designated landscape."

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He said the current recycling centre was an "extremely discreet site", in "stark contrast" to the new one which is proposed.

The Norfolk Coast Partnership, which manages the Norfolk Coast AONB, has also objected, saying it supports the need for improved recycling facilities, but that the current proposal will harm the AONB.

Documents lodged in support of the county council's application state that the design will "respect the character and appearance of the area", while landscape mitigation measures, including new hedges and trees, would limit potential views of the new tip.