Construction work has started on a £32 million West Suffolk waste hub. The developments aims to streamline waste services on a single 16 acre site at Hollow Road Farm, in Fornham St Martin, to offer a waste transfer station, household waste recycling centre, vehicle workshop and re-use shop.

Contractor Morgan Sindall is getting the community involved and has already developed a community engagement programme to work throughout the project with a Community Liaison Group.

“The local community has held this project to account from the outset, and through its activism and tenacity has influenced the design and delivery of the site,” said Cllr Sarah Broughton, chair of the Community Liaison Group and St Edmundsbury Borough Council ward member for nearby Great Barton. “Construction will bring its own challenges and I welcome the contractor’s commitment to engaging with residents through the Community Liaison Group, to keep them involved and informed.”

The developers of the site include St Edmundsbury Borough and Forest Health District Councils, together with Suffolk County Council.

“We would like to assure residents that we will be doing everything in our power to ensure minimal disruption while work on-site is carried out,” mentioned Saul Humphrey, managing director for Morgan Sindall’s East region.

The chairman of Fornham St Martin cum St Genevieve, Great Barton and Fornham All Saints parish councils has welcomed efforts to work with the community.

Philip Reeve, of Great Barton, said: “It’s essential with a big project that there’s community involvement.”

Michael Collier, of Fornham St Martin, said: ” We want to do everything we can to make sure things are as smooth as possible and they’re aware of our concerns.”

Howard Quayle, of Fornham All Saints, said: “It’s a channel of communication.”