On Wednesday 8th April 2026, Reform-controlled North Northants Council (NNC) granted planning consent to Monoworld Recycling Limited for a rebuild of part of their facility in Rushden.
The Monoworld facility is located at Sanders Lodge Industrial Estate, Rushden. The rebuild followed a fire at the facility, on 23rd May 2025, when bales of waste caught fire.
The fire caused chaos. The smoke rose and spread across Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Ringstead and even Raunds. The plume of smoke was visible as far south as Bedford, and as far east as Huntingdon.
Residents complained about the pungent smell from the thick black plume of smoke. They were advised to keep all their windows and doors shut. Two days later, the stench was still pungent half a mile away.
Two weeks later, on 7th June, local resident Gill Mercer wrote to NNC’s Public Health officer
“As I live close to this site, I can tell you that I can still smell the smoke and it is still irritating my eyes when I sit in my office at the front of my house.”
Local residents were advised, two weeks after the fire, to wash thoroughly any produce from their gardens, to wipe down any outside tables and to wash their gardening shoes before taking them indoors. It is not clear what toxins were suspected.
In the past, residents have campaigned strongly, claiming that the flies emanating from the site have plagued them. Activists have also suggested that the huge waste piles were a fire hazard. Their fears were dismissed as unrealistic, but they have been proved right.
The incident highlighted that the water supply on the industrial estate was insufficient for fighting the fire.
In order to access additional water sources, Northants Fire & Rescue Service (NFRS) had to lay temporary water pipes across Wellingborough Road, forcing the closure of this main arterial road into Rushden.
The road remained closed for two weeks. There are no estimates of the economic damage that this caused.
The application was opposed by Conservative-controlled Rushden Town Council and by local objectors.
At the meeting of NNC’s Planning Committee, Cllr. Melanie Coleman, the Leader of Rushden Town Council, spoke opposing the application, along with Ward Councillor, Cllr. Ash Hall.
Gill Mercer also spoke to oppose the application.
The objectors pointed out the inadequate water supply on the industrial estate and requested that the applicant be forced to provide an enhanced water source. The reason for this was the risk of a further fire and the lack of water during the first one.
The objectors were amazed that neither the Environment Agency nor NFRS, as statutory consultees, had made any comment on the application, given the gravity of the issues.
The objectors also requested that a Liaison Group be set up to provide a conduit for residents to raise concerns about the site.
Despite the objections, the Planning Committee voted to grant the planning application, although the vote was not unanimous.
