PLANS to restore a landfill site near Barrow may take three more years as over 10,000 tonnes of material needs to be imported.

FCC Environment has sent an application to Westmorland and Furness Council to extend the period to complete the restoration of Bennett Bank Landfill Facility.

The planning statement says: “Due to a shortage of available restoration soils in the local area, it has not been possible to restore the site in accordance with the currently consented timeframe.”

The most recent site survey carried out in March 2024 identified that there was 38,680 cubic metres of restoration soil to be imported to the site to complete the approved restoration.

Current planning permission requires the site to be restored by June 30 this year however planning documents state it is anticipated an additional two years will be required for the importation of restoration material.

A further 12 months will then be required to complete the restoration, taking it  to June 2027 for the restoration of the site.

The planning statement adds: “Dependent upon the availability of restoration material, it is possible the site could be restored in a shorter period than the aforementioned timescales.”

The site is located off Hawthwaite Lane, five kilometres northeast of Barrow and 2.5 kilometres northwest of Dalton.

Bennett Bank Landfill Site started operating in 1972. The landfill accepted non-hazardous municipal, commercial and industrial wastes.

Waste importation has stopped and the site is being restored.

For many years, the site provided a clinical waste transfer facility. This is a lockable container used for the receipt, storage and bulked removal of clinical waste.

Planning permission was then granted in 2018 to allow the disposal of waste and storage of fridges and clinical waste until December 31, 2019, with plans to restore the facility by December 31, 2021.

Subsequently a planning application in 2021 permitted the use of the site as a clinical waste facility until June 30 2022 and to restore the site by that date.

Then another planning application was granted to allow the use of the site as a clinical waste facility and for the restoration of this site by June 30 2024.

The application to extend the restoration of the site is currently being considered by Westmorland and Furness Council.