In 2026, Rother District Council (RDC) will have a duty to collect Food Waste as part of our Waste Collection strategy. To accommodate this RDC are leasing the Sidley Depot site from East Sussex County Council (ESCC).
The main purpose of the Sidley Depot site will be a continuation of its former use – as a depot for overnight parking of vehicles, and for daytime parking of staff vehicles whilst staff are on waste collection rounds. Biffa will also use the site for maintenance and repair of some of their fleet of vehicles.
The project will entail the demolition of all existing buildings on site and establishing a new workshop building that will be designed to allow for the repair and maintenance of waste vehicles. The proposed building will include a small area for administrative staff, welfare plus storage.
Project Timeline
| Key Milestones | Milestone Dates |
|---|---|
| Demolition Consent received | April 2025 |
| Demolition of existing buildings | May 2025 |
| Decontamination of site | Autumn-Winter 2025 |
| Planning Consent received | December 2025 |
| Planned Construction Commencement | February 2026 |
| Biffa Operations Start | Early Winter 2026 |
| Planned Construction Completion | December 2026 |
The Prior Notification for Demolition (PND) was submitted to our Planning Team.
The PND was approved at Committee – decision can be viewed here.
The removal of asbestos and demolition of all the buildings has commenced.
The demolition of all the buildings has been completed!
Contamination contractors will be boring trial holes around the site to identify the extent of any land contamination.
Get in touch
If you have any queries about the project, please contact projects@rother.gov.uk.
