I have been in the automotive recycling industry all my life, since my father set up Silverlake just after the Second World War. We have never seen a period of change as big or as fast as what we’re going through right now. We simply must adapt.

We have spent the best part of three years putting together plans for the growth of Silverlake to meet the needs of our fast-changing world. We have now submitted those plans to Hampshire County Council. After a great deal of technical work and consideration, these proposals are what we believe to be the best way forward for our business, the county, and the whole country.

I’m not ready to retire yet. I want Silverlake to keep making a meaningful and life-changing contribution to the young people we train, the 150 people we employ, providing financial certainty for their families, and the emergency services we support. We want to build on the millions of pounds we have already invested in our local community and our supply chain by continuing to show our commitment to this business, the automotive recycling sector, and the area we have called home for almost 80 years.

Allen Prebble, Managing Director - Silverlake Automotive RecyclingAllen Prebble, Managing Director - Silverlake Automotive Recycling (Image: Silverlake)

Recycling a car is not as straight forward as it used to be. Modern vehicles are more complex than their predecessors. It takes special skills and facilities to do what we do, and although we are managing safely for now, these new plans will enable us to set the UK standard for vehicle recycling for the rest of the century.

Sustainability is a fundamental tenet of our operations today. We safely depollute and recycle cars, preventing them from going to landfill. We retrieve and refurbish suitable parts for reuse, reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment. We help our customers keep their current cars on the road so that they don’t need to buy a new one. We are proud to be monitored by the Environment Agency, as an Authorised Treatment Facility, and consistently exceed their targets every year. Silverlake has never been a scrapyard, we are an automotive recycler.  We are now an exemplar of the green economy, which can and must underpin UK economic growth for the rest of this century.

Silverlake expansion plans have taken inspiration from the automotive recycler GPA 26 in FranceSilverlake expansion plans have taken inspiration from the automotive recycler GPA 26 in France (Image: Silverlake)

We are in a unique position to make a major contribution to our local and national economy.  With a new Government prioritising economic growth, the expansion plans Hampshire is currently reviewing will help us attract international investment from global carmakers who are now responsible for the whole life of the vehicles they manufacture. That did not used to be the case. Silverlake is one of very few facilities that can work with international carmakers to assure them their newest vehicles are not going to become a carbon burden on our climate.

We are proposing to grow a family business which has been on this same Hampshire site for a lifetime. If we thought moving somewhere else was the best thing for our business, our workforce and our industry, that’s what we would do, but the evidence tells us that isn’t the case. I live in this community, I care about this community, and I believe in the future we will look at Silverlake and these growth plans as having made a major, positive contribution to our community.

Allen Prebble, Managing Director – Silverlake Automotive Recycling

For further information on Silverlake’s planning application please visit: www.silverlakeconsultation.co.uk/

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