Hitchin: Call for review of scrapyard's licence after fires

On Saturday, a fire broke out at Nationwide Metal Recycling Ltd (NMR) in Cadwell Lane just after 4pm.

Six fire engines, along with an aerial ladder platform and a water bowser, were sent to tackle the blaze. Nobody was injured.

Six fire engines were sent to tackle the blaze. (Image: Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service)

It is the third fire at the scrapyard in the last eight months. Previous fires broke out in December last year and February this year, with the latter caused by lithium batteries.

NMR has said that the initial cause of Saturday's fire is thought to be "from the extreme temperature and possible ignition from a piece of glass".

Four Hitchin councillors - Jon Clayden, Keith Hoskins, Chris Lucas and Sam Collins - along with Ickleford councillor Louise Pearce are now calling for an urgent review of NMR's licence to operate.

Councillor Clayden said: "Residents on Cadwell Lane live less than 250 metres from the site and have been repeatedly exposed to serious air pollution as a result of these fires.

"Meanwhile, residents across Hitchin have been advised to keep their windows shut whenever it happens. The situation is just untenable.

"Nationwide Metal Recycling just haven’t been able to demonstrate that they can operate safely in proximity to housing."

Councillor Jon Clayden outside the Nationwide Metal Recycling site in Hitchin. (Image: Courtesy of Anne Senechal)

NMR receives waste from Hertfordshire County Council's household waste recycling centres (HWRC) and tips this material at its Hitchin site for processing.

A spokesperson for NMR said: "NMR are dealing with the waste created by Hertfordshire’s residents and have no control over material put into the containers on the HWRC sites.

"Additional segregation may need to be looked at on HWRC sites to minimise contamination. Loads are inspected at the time of tipping to check for contaminates.

"Previous fires at NMR Hitchin have been caused by small domestic appliances (SDAs) which contain lithium-ion batteries. These are an inherent problem with fires within the metal recycling industry.

"NMR no longer receives these SDAs at Hitchin, and instead transports them direct to the processor in Kent. This was an agreed solution by the Environment Agency to the problem."

With thousands of litres of water being dumped on the fire each time by the fire service, and the River Hiz running next to the site, the councillors calling for an urgent review of NMR's licence have said water pollution is also "a major concern".

Councillor Pearce said: "Every time this happens, the run-off pollutes our precious chalk streams, which are already under pressure."

The NMR spokesperson said: "All water used to tackle the fire was retained on site due to a bund installed around the perimeter. This was all part of the fire prevention plan, as well as a procedure to tackle fires.

"Water samples were taken from the River Hiz during and after the fire to check for pollution. No pollution was detected on all occasions by the Environment Agency.

"Any contaminated waste from the fire has also been removed from site and disposed of at a licenced site.

"Cadwell Lane has more than one metal recycling company. Not all issues reported are from NMR.

"We invite the councillors of Hitchin to a site visit so they can see the process involved in processing the waste generated from all the HWRC. NMR await a response to the invitation."