DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATION COMMITTEE7 January 2015

A report by the Assistant Director of Environment & Regulatory Services_____________________________________________________________________

Application No: 5/14/9013 District: South Lakeland

Parish: Pennington Parish Council

Applicant: Tony Brown Aggregates LtdDiamond YardPennington LaneLindal-in-Furness UlverstonReceived: 14 October 2014

PROPOSAL Section 73 to application 5/12/9012 condition no. 8 to allow completion of the bund to extend until 31 October 2015.Tony Brown Aggregates Ltd, Diamond Yard, Whinfield Farm, Pennington, Lindal-in-Furness, Ulverston, LA12 0LE

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1.0 RECOMMENDATION

1.1 That planning permission is Granted for the reasons stated in Appendix 1 and subject to the conditions in Appendix 2.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Planning permission was granted 19 June 2012 (5/12/9003) for permanent consent to allow the recycling of aggregates and blending of top soils. This included extension of the existing site and the provision of 3 settlement lagoons for a ‘Powerscreen Aggwash’ plant. Previously temporary planning permission had been granted 27 October 2004 (5/04/9007) and 1 June 2007 (5/07/9002) for a 0.4 ha area of land at Whinfield Farm for the screening and crushing of materials such as stone and brick, to produce aggregates and screening soils to produce topsoil. On both occasions consent was granted for temporary periods of 3 and 5 years respectively.

2.2 The material processed at the site is sold locally and is used on farms for tracks. The site is located to the rear of a butchers shop, warehouse and construction industry training board (CITB) facility. The site comprises mainly of an area of former mine workings.

2.3 Access to the site is via an existing access that serves the butchers shop etc a short section of track to the facility incorporates a wheel wash. On average there are 3 HGVs visiting the site each day with a maximum of up to 8.

2.4 The site operates Monday to Friday 08.00 to 17.00 hours and Saturdays 08.00 to 13.00 with no working on Sundays or Bank/Public Holidays.

3.0 CONSULTATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS

3.1 South Lakeland District Council Planning Department has no comments.

3.2 South Lakeland Environmental Health Department has no objection.

3.3 Highway Authority has no objections.

3.4 Pennington Parish Council no response has been received at the time of writing this report.

3.5 The local Member - Ms J Willis has been notified.

3.6 No representations had been received when this report was prepared.

4.0 PLANNING ASSESSMENT

4.1 Planning permission was granted by the Development Control and Regulatory Committee on 19 June 2012 for “Site for recycling of aggregates and blending of top soils. Extension of the existing site regarding the temporary planning consent (expires May 2012) and the provision of 3 settlements lagoons for a 'Powerscreen Aggwash' plant”. The scheme proposed that machinery would be located on an area to the rear of the existing weighbridge and office facilities. The scheme also proposed to provide a 5 m high bund on the north western boundary and a 4 m high bund on the southern boundary. A condition was imposed to ensure that these bunds would be erected within 3 months of the granting of planning permission.

4.2 A further planning application was submitted in December 2012 (5/12/9012) to extend the time period to create the screen bunds. The northern bund has been completed and planted and has reduced the visual and noise nuisance on residents of Whinfield Farm. The southern bund is under construction and has not been completed within the timescale and a further extension of time until 31 October 2015 is now proposed to complete the southern landscape mound.

Policy Context

4.3 Policies both nationally and locally support the need to increase recycling and composting. The proposal is supported by a number of Cumbria Minerals and Waste Development Framework policies. Policy CS 1 Sustainable Location – the material used to construct the proposed bund would be from the Furness Peninsula thereby reducing road miles; Policy CS 2 Economic benefit – the development supports employment directly and indirectly; Policy DC 1 Traffic and Transport – the development provides local operators with a recycling facility which reduces road miles; Policy DC 3 Cumulative Environmental Impacts – the construction of the northern bund has reduced impact on residents of Whinfield Farm both visually and reducing noise; Policy DC 4 Criteria for Waste Management Facilities – the development provides a material recovery facility for recycling of aggregate thereby minimising material to landfill as it can be recycled and reused; Policy DC 10 Biodiversity and Geodiversity – the site has been disturbed over the course of time due to the historic mine workings in the area, bats are known to fly across the site; Policy DC 12 Landscape – the site is a prominent site and the introduction of the screen bunds has reduced landscape impacts in the area as machinery is now not visible from outside the site.

4.4 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is committed to ensuring economic growth to create jobs and prosperity, whilst building on the country’s strengths and meeting the challenges of global competition and a low carbon future. The planning system should support sustainable economic growth. Planning should operate to encourage and not act as an impediment to sustainable growth. Planning authorities should plan proactively to meet the development needs of business and support economy fit for the 21st century.

4.5 The proposal is considered acceptable in terms of national and local plan policies as the new facilities would be moving waste up the waste hierarchy.

Southern Bund

4.6 The original proposal included the creation of a northern and southern bund to screen the site from public view points and to protect residential amenities of adjacent occupiers. The northern bund has now been completed and landscaped. The southern bund is still under construction and proceeds as and when material is available. However the completion of the southern bund was due to be completed by 31 October 2014.

4.7 The construction of the southern bund has taken longer than anticipated due to the priority being to complete the northern bund as this had a far greater impact on the residential and visual amenities of nearby residents and was a greater priority than the southern bund. Hence the delay in construction of the southern bund and now the need to extend the time to complete the screen bund which is currently under construction.

Human Rights Act 1998

4.8 The proposal will have a limited impact on the visual, residential and environmental amenity of the area. Any impacts on the rights of local property owners to a private and family life and peaceful enjoyment of their possessions (Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1) are minimal and proportionate to the wider social and economic interests of the community.

Conclusion

4.9 The scheme is currently being implemented, however, this has been delayed due to the lack of material in the area and the priority to complete the northern bund. The northern bund has been completed and provides a satisfactory buffer to reduce visual amenities and reduce noise impact which residents were experiencing. The extension of time on the southern boundary would allow the completion of the bund to be undertaken and landscaped in accordance with the approved plans.

4.10 I recommend that planning permission be granted subject to appropriately worded conditions being imposed to control the proposed alteration to timescale for the construction of the bund and continued working of the site.

Angela JonesAssistant Director of Environment & Regulatory Services

ContactMrs Jayne Petersen, Kendal, Tel: 01539 713549,; Email: jayne.petersen@cumbria.gov.uk

Background PapersPlanning Application File Reference No. 5/14/9013

Electoral Division IdentificationLow Furness ED - Ms J Willis

Appendix 1Ref No. 5/14/9013

Development Control and Regulation Committee – 7 January 2015

THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE) (ENGLAND) ORDER 2010

Summary of Reasons for Grant of Planning Permission

1 This application has been determined in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Acts, in the context of national planning policy guidance and the relevant development plan policies.

2 The key development plan policies taken into account by the County Council before granting permission were as follows:

National Planning Policy Framework

Para 18 : The Government is committed to securing economic growth in order to create jobs and prosperity, building on the country’s inherent strengths, and to meeting the twin challenges of global competition and of a low carbon future.

Para 19 : The Government is committed to ensuring that planning system does everything it can to support sustainable economic growth. Planning should operate to encourage and not act as an impediment to sustainable growth. Therefore significant weight should be placed on the need to support economic growth through the planning system.

Para 20 : To help achieve economic growth, local planning authorities should plan proactively to meet the development needs of business and support an economy fit for the 21st Century.

Cumbria Minerals and Waste Development Framework (CMWDF)Core Strategy (CS) & Generic Development Control Policies (DC) 2009-2020

Policy CS 1 – Sustainable Location and Design

Proposals for minerals and waste management developments should demonstrate that:-- energy management, environmental performance and carbon reduction have been

determining design factors.- their location will minimise, as far as is practicable, the "minerals or waste road miles"

involved in supplying the minerals or managing the wastes unless other environmental/sustainability and, for minerals, geological considerations override this aim.

- all proposed waste management developments with gross floor space of over 1000 square metres gain at least 10% of energy supply, annually or over the design life of the development, from decentralised and renewable or low carbon energy supplies. Any exceptions to this should demonstrate that this would not be feasible or viable for the specific development and that the development would form part of an integrated process for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or for carbon-offsetting measures.

- where appropriate, the restoration proposals have a role in helping to combat climate change.

- mineral working proposals should demonstrate a life cycle ("cradle to grave") analysis of product and process carbon emissions.

- construction of buildings minimises waste production and use of primary aggregates and makes best use of products made from recycled/re-used materials.

Work will be undertaken, in conjunction with stakeholders, to develop life cycle analysis criteria that are relevant for minerals developments.

Policy CS 2 – Economic Benefit

Proposals for new minerals and waste developments should demonstrate that they would realise their potential to provide economic benefit. This will include such matters as the number of jobs directly or indirectly created or safeguarded and the support that proposals give to other industries and developments. It will also be important to ensure that minerals and waste developments would not prejudice other regeneration and development initiatives.

Policy DC 1 – Traffic and TransportProposals for minerals and waste developments should be located where they:

a. are well related to the strategic route network as defined in the Local Transport Plan, and/or

b. have potential for rail or sea transport and sustainable travel to work, andc. are located to minimise operational "minerals and waste road miles".

Mineral developments that are not located as above may be permitted if:

- they do not have unacceptable impacts on highway safety and fabric, the convenience of other road users and on community amenity,

- where an appropriate standard of access and traffic routing can be provided, and - appropriate mitigation measures for unavoidable impacts are provided

Policy DC 2 – General Criteria

Minerals and Waste proposals must, where appropriate, demonstrate that:a. noise levels, blast vibration and air over-pressure levels would be within acceptable

limits,b. there will be no significant degradation of air quality (from dust and emissions),c. public rights of way or concessionary paths are not adversely affected, or if this is

not possible, either temporary or permanent alternative provision is made,d. carbon emissions from buildings, plant and transport have been minimised,e. issues of ground stability have been addressed.

Considerations will include:- the proximity of sensitive receptors, including impacts on surrounding land uses, and

protected species,- how residual and/or mineral wastes will be managed,- the extent to which adverse effects can be controlled through sensitive siting and

design, or visual or acoustic screening,- the use of appropriate and well maintained and managed equipment,- phasing and duration of working,- progressive restoration,- hours of operations,

- appropriate routes and volumes of traffic, and- other mitigation measures.

Policy DC 3 – Cumulative Environmental ImpactsCumulative impacts of minerals and waste development proposals will be assessed in the light of other land-uses in the area. Considerations will include:

a. impacts on local communities,b. all environmental aspects including habitats and species, landscape character,

cultural heritage, air quality, ground and surface water resources and quality, agricultural resources and flood risk,

c. the impact of processing and other plant,d. the type, size and numbers of vehicles generated, from site preparation to final

restoration and potential impacts on the highway network, safety and the environment,

e. impacts on the wider economy and regeneration,f. impacts on local amenity, community health and recreation facilities and

opportunities.

Policy DC 4 – Criteria for Waste Management Facilities

Waste management facilities that accord with Core Strategy Policies 2, 8 and 9, and which do not have adverse environmental impacts, will be permitted if they conform to the locational and other criteria … Proposals for recycling facilities for construction and demolition waste, mineral and other wastes will be permitted at active quarries and landfill sites, and on suitable industrial estates. Proposals for facilities for periods longer than the active life of a quarry or landfill will require to be justified as sustainable development…

Policy DC 10 – Biodiversity and Geodiversity

Proposals for minerals and waste developments that would have impacts on locally important biodiversity and geological conservation assets, as defined in the Core Strategy, will be required to identify their likely impacts on, and also their potential to enhance, restore or add to these resources, and to functional ecological and green infrastructure networks. Enhancement measures should contribute to national, regional and local biodiversity and geodiversity objectives and targets, and to functional ecological and green infrastructure networks.

Proposals for developments within, or affecting the features or settings of such resources, should demonstrate that:

a. the need for, and benefits of, the development and the reasons for locating the development in its proposed location and that alternatives have been considered.

b. appropriate measures to mitigate any adverse effects (direct, indirect and cumulative) have been identified and secured, and advantage has been taken of opportunities to incorporate beneficial biodiversity and geological conservation features, or

c. where adverse impacts cannot be avoided or mitigated for, that appropriate compensatory measures have been identified and secured, and

d. that all mitigation, enhancement or compensatory measures are compatible with the characteristics of, and features within, Cumbria.

Policy DC 12 – Landscape

Proposals for development should be compatible with the distinctive characteristics and features of Cumbria's landscapes and should:

a. avoid significant adverse impacts on the natural and historic landscape,b. use Landscape Character Assessment to assess the capacity of landscapes to accept

development, to inform the appropriate scale and character of such development, and guide restoration where development is permitted,

c. in appropriate cases use the Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (iii) to assess and integrate these issues into the development process,

d. ensure that development proposals consider the effects on: locally distinctive natural or built features; scale in relation to landscape features; public access and community value of the landscape; historic patterns and attributes; and openness, remoteness and tranquility,

e. ensure high quality design of modern waste facilities to minimise their impact on the landscape, or views from sensitive areas, and to contribute to the built environment,

f. direct minerals and waste developments to less sensitive locations, wherever this is possible, and ensure that sensitive siting and high quality design prevent significant adverse impacts on the principal local characteristics of the landscape including views from, and the setting of, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Heritage Coast or National Parks.

Policy DC 14 – The Water Environment

Planning permission will only be granted for developments that would have no Unacceptable quantitative or qualitative adverse effects on the water environment, including surface waters and groundwater resources. Proposals that minimise water use and include sustainable water management will be favoured.

South Lakeland Local Plan 2006

Policy E4 – New development and extensions to premisesSuitable employment related development in existing employment areas, including extensions to premises will be permitted providing that : a. the development would not cause harm to the character of the area or the

amenity of nearby residents because of its scale appearance and traffic generation.

b. adequate parking and servicing arrangements and appropriate provision for cyclists are provided and

c. landscape details, where necessary form an integral part of the development.

Policy C8 – Sites of Regional or Local Nature Conservation ImportanceDevelopment and land use change likely to have a significant adverse effect on a Local Nature Reserve, Site of Importance for Nature Conservation or a Regionally Important Geological/Geomophological Site will not be approved unless it can be clearly demonstrated that there are reasons for the proposal which clearly outweigh the need to safeguard the intrinsic nature conservation value of the site or feature.

In all cases where development or land use change is permitted which would damage the nature conservation value of the site or feature, such damage will be kept to a minimum. Where appropriate the authority will consider the use of conditions and/or planning obligations to provide appropriate compensatory

measures.

3 In summary, the reasons for granting permission are that the County Council is of the opinion that the proposed development is in accordance with the development plan, there are no material considerations that indicate the decision should be made otherwise and with the planning conditions included in the notice of planning consent, any harm would reasonably by mitigated. Furthermore, any potential harm to interests of acknowledged importance is likely to be negligible and would be outweighed by the benefits of the development.

Appendix 2Ref No. 5/12/9012

Development Control and Regulation Committee – 7 January 2015

Conditions

Approved Documents

1. The development shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the approved documents, hereinafter referred to as the approved scheme. The approved scheme shall comprise the following:

a. The submitted Application Form –13 October 2014b. Planning Statement – March 2012

d. Supplementary information for the planning applicatione. Baseline Ecological Survey Report – March 2012f. Additional Noise Survey – Sound Advice 18 April 2012g. Powerscreen Aggwash Product Specificationh. Supporting information – October 2014h. Plans numbered:

i) Brown-01 - Existing site plan with scheme proposalsii) Brown-02 – Location planiii) Brown-03 – Typical section through a lagoon bankiv) DU010-016B A1 - Wash plant noise surveyv) Brown-11 – Proposed concrete pad13 vi) Brown-CV-01 – Location plan

i. The details or schemes approved in relation to conditions attached to this permission. j. This Decision Notice

Reason: To ensure the development is carried out to an approved appropriate

standard and to avoid confusion as to what comprises the approved scheme.

2. No operations hereby permitted shall take place on site outside the following hours:

0800 to 1700 Monday to Friday0800 to 1300 Saturdaysnor at any time on Sundays, Bank or Public Holidays.

However, this condition shall not operate so as to prevent the carrying out, outside these hours, of essential maintenance of plant and machinery used on site.

Reason: To protect the amenities of local residents in accordance with Policy DC2 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Development Framework [CMWDF].

3. No loaded lorries shall enter or leave the site unsheeted.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety.

4. All machinery shall be operated on the concrete pad as shown on drawing no Brown-11 agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To protect the amenities of local residents in accordance with Policy DC2 of the CMWDF.

5. No machinery shall be left in public view of the properties of Whinfield Farm unless the machinery is in operational use.

Reason: To protect the amenities of local residents in accordance with Policy DC2 of the CMWDF.

6. All vehicles, plant and machinery operated within the site shall be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specification at all times and shall be fitted with and use effective silencers.

Reason: To minimise the disturbance from operations on local residents in accordance with Policy DC2 of the CMWDF.

7. The operator shall maintain on site at all times a water bowser, or other dust suppression system, together with an adequate supply of water and during periods of dry weather shall spray the access road, haul roads, plant and stockpiling areas to satisfactorily suppress dust so that it does not constitute a nuisance outside the site.

Reason: To prevent dust from the development having an unacceptable impact on the amenity of local residents or the environment in accordance with Policy DC2 of the CMWDF.

8. The 5m high bund surrounding the operational area facing Whinfield Farm of the site shall be maintained at a height of 5m. The 4 m high bund on the southern boundary shall be completed and landscaped by 31 October 2015.

Reason: In the interests of visual amenity and to ensure noise does not cause nuisance at any noise sensitive properties in accordance with Policy DC2 of the CMWDF.

9. All planting within the scheme shall be carried out in the first planting season following completion of the development and any trees or plants which within a period of 5 years from the completion of the development die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with other similar size and species, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: In order to enhance the appearance of the development and minimise the impact of the development in the locality.

10. No stockpiles of waste or processed material shall exceed the height of the screen bunds.

Reason: In the interests of visual amenity in accordance with Policy DC 12 of the CMWDF.

11. Any bulk fuel or chemical storage facilities shall be suitably bunded to contain spillages and leaks. The bund volume shall be at least 110% of the capacity of the largest storage tank. Bund walls and floor shall be impermeable to water and oil and there shall be no drain for the removal of contained liquids. Any bund contents shall be baled or pumped out under manual control and disposed of safely. All filling and distribution valves, vents and sight glasses associated with the storage tanks shall be located within the bunded area.

Reason: To prevent the pollution of any watercourse or groundwater resource in accordance with Policy DC14 the CMWDF.

12. Should the site cease operating for a period of 12 months, the site shall be restored to its original use as agricultural land.

Reason: To secure the proper restoration of the site to agricultural use and its subsequent aftercare, in accordance with Policy DC16 of the CMWDF.

InformativesPlanning conditions should be complied with at all times, failure to do so could entail enforcement action being undertaken to rectify the matter.

The applicant should contact the Environment Agency prior to works commencing to ensure that the relevant licences are in place prior to commencement of works i.e. discharge consent for the proposed lagoons, waste management licences and environmental permits. It is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure these are in place.