A skip hire and recycling company has been given the go-ahead to begin operations two hours earlier in the morning - despite objections over noise in one of Suffolk's most tranquil areas.

Skips can now be moved from Bugg Skip Hire at Harpers Hill Farm, which sits on the A134 in at Nayland with Wissington in the Dedham Vale, at 7am Monday to Saturday.

The farm sits in the area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

Conservative councillor Peter Beer, who proposed approval of the changes at Suffolk County Council’s development and regulation committee said: “I cannot put hand on heart and say I think 7am is an unreasonable starting time.

“There are lots of people who hire skips by the day, and so want them as early as possible. Waiting until after 10am just won’t work for the business.”

The earlier hours would only be for the transportation of skips, with processing on the site taking place after 10am.

The approved changes also included enlarging the noise mitigation bund – a mound of earth that prevents noise travelling. Officers suggested this bund would make the noise from the site quieter on average than the background noise.

Conservative councillor Melanie Barrett, who represents Bures St Mary and Nayland on Babergh District Council, said: “Residents have contacted me expressing their concern about operations here.

“These are heavy vehicles moving across uneven ground, and they make significant noise.

“Dedham Vale is an AONB, giving it the highest protection in planning. Great weight should be given to this.”

The objection of James Finch, Conservative Suffolk county councillor for Stour Valley and a member of the Dedham Vale AONB group, was also partly down to the area’s AONB status and related obligations to protect its tranquillity.

Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB team suggested alternative starting hours of 7.30am on weekdays and 9am during the weekend and councillors suggested similar options at the meeting, but neither councillor Barrett nor the applicant’s representative were willing to compromise.

Objections were received from four local residents, alongside Nayland with Wissington Parish Council, Nayland with Wissington Conservation Society and Dedham Vale Society.