Southall Bio-diesel Company Had No Consent For Storage Tank
Council unclear about risk posed by Proper Oils facility
Satellite image show location of illegal tanks and portacabins at the Proper Oils Ltd premises in Southall. Credit: Google Maps. .
An oil company put up two buildings and a large storage tank without consent in West London – and they got away with it for two years.
Southall-based Proper Oils Ltd has occupied the plot on Sussex Road since April 2016, and is now under investigation for the two-storey buildings and the tank, which is roughly six metres long.
An Ealing council spokesman said: “The exact date the structures were sited at the premises is unclear, but it appears the portacabins were sited in late 2016 or early 2017, soon after Proper Oils took occupation of the premises, whereas the storage tank was sited in mid-2018.”
The spokesman said Proper Oils collects waste cooking oil and processes it into bio-diesel.
He said, “The Southall depot is used, as far as the council is aware to date, for handling waste cooking oil only, so any tanks on site will be for waste cooking oil storage only.”
Cooking oil and diesel are of low flammability compared with petrol, he said, but without knowing exactly what activities have been undertaken, the risk posed by the tank was unclear.
A planning application had been made for temporary planning consent for the additions.
The spokesman said: “If the application is refused, the expediency of enforcement action will be considered, and the appropriate action taken.”
Proper Oils refused to comment for this story, saying it was inappropriate while their application was in progress.
Ged Cann - Local Democracy Reporter
April 11, 2019