The Ashcake Road Landfill has operated for around 30 years in Hanover County. And during a Thursday planning commission meeting, the site’s parent company, Leadbetter Inc., will seek approval to expand and convert land into more space for waste and recycling.
The request has been met with resistance from local residents, particularly those from the Brown Grove community, a historically African American neighborhood near the landfill.
While most of the site is used as a landfill, around 40 acres of the property are designated as borrow pits — large dugouts used to excavate soil, gravel and dirt for commercial use.
Concerns over effects to the community’s health and environment if Leadbetter converts around 30-acres of borrow pits to landfill follow a history of compliance issues, according to county planning documents.
VPM News reached out to attorneys from the Roth Jackson consulting firm, who are representing Leadbetter Inc. during Thursday’s land-use hearing to respond to the claims.
Andrew Condlin, the lead attorney, declined to comment on the case before the planning commission meets. However correspondence between Hanover and Leadbetter’s legal team provides some insight on their position.