tir pentwys second supplementary environmental …planapps.torfaen.gov.uk/tirpentwys_second...the...

TIR PENTWYS

SECOND SUPPLEMENTARY ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

Non-Technical Summary

404.00542.00002

JANUARY 2013

PEAK MAN LIMITED

Version: FINAL

Peakman i 404.00542.00002 Tir Pentwys – NTS January 2013

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Peakman ii 404.00542.00002 Tir Pentwys – NTS January 2013

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CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1

2.0 THE SITE ..................................................................................................................... 2

3.0 THE DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................. 3

4.0 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT .................................................................................. 5

5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................... 6

5.1 Geology of the Access Road ........................................................................... 6

5.2 Ecology .............................................................................................................. 6

5.3 Landscape ......................................................................................................... 6

6.0 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 8

DRAWINGS

Drawing SSES/01 Site Location Plan

Drawing SSES/02 Proposed Access

Drawing TP 3/5 Restoration Concept

Peakman iii 404.00542.00002 Tir Pentwys – NTS January 2013

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Peakman 1 404.00542.00002 Tir Pentwys – Non Technical Summary January 2013

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

This Non Technical Summary (NTS) outlines the content of a Second Supplementary Environmental Statement (SSES) submitted with a planning application for the “Proposed Recovery of Secondary Aggregates and Land Reclamation” at Tir Pentwys, Hafodyrynys.

The application site, straddles the administrative boundary of Blaenau Gwent County Borough and Torfaen County Borough. It is positioned approximately 2.5 km north of the A472, Crumlin to Pontypool Road, some 4 kilometres west of Pontypool.

Following submission of an initial planning application (ref: 03/P/09336) in October 2003 the mineral planning authority, Torfaen County Borough Council, indicated that it would be minded to refuse the application due to concerns over the suitability of the proposed access route and invited Parkman to consider a wider range of alternatives to those proposed. Consequently a series of additional alternatives were assessed by Parkman which resulted in a decision to promote a south-bound route from the site to the A472 at Cwm y Glyn. The details of this revised scheme were included in a Supplementary Environmental Statement which was submitted in 2006

This NTS accompanies a SSES which contains minor amendments to the 2006 submission, and provides updated information in respect of issues identified by the planning authority. The SSES should be read in conjunction with the 2006 submission. This non-technical summary describes the application site and proposed development, and outlines the potential environmental effects and mitigation measures that are proposed.

The environmental consideration of the development site has been undertaken by SLR Consulting Limited.


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2.0 THE SITE

The location of the reclamation site and the proposed access road are illustrated on Drawings SSES/01 and SSES/02 which show the site location and route of the proposed road. The reclamation site is an unrestored open-cast coal excavation flanked by mineral waste tips, and screened by established coniferous tree planting.

Access to the site is currently gained via a narrow, steep, winding, track from Blaen-y-Cwm Road to the south and the road network in the vicinity of the site is made up of mountain roads typically only 3-4 m wide. The properties, closest to the site are isolated farm dwellings.

The new access arrangements will involve the construction of a dedicated access road that will travel from Blaen-y-Cwm Road, across part of The Common, crossing Cefn-Crib Road to the west of Cefn-Crib Farmhouse. Thereafter a new private access road will be constructed, following the route of some existing farm tracks, to traverse the wooded valley side of Cwm y Glyn. Access to the A472 will be gained via a section of Crumlin Road which joins the A472 at a T-junction some 800 metres to the west of the proposed point of egress onto the highway network.

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3.0 THE DEVELOPMENT

The objective of the proposed development is to secure the maximum recovery of useable materials in a way that causes the least disturbance to the local environment.

The proposals have been developed, to recover the tipped materials in four phases with the purpose being to recovery a nationally important source of sandstone, and to produce secondary aggregate. Given the quality of the rock the primary products will be aggregate for road-surfacing. However, other products will also be derived from the processing operations, and these will be distributed to the wider construction industry and other markets. It should be noted that the proposals do not require any drilling or blasting operations to be undertaken.

The initial phase of working will concentrate on establishing a suitable operational area in the base of the former excavation in conjunction with the clearance of mounds of tipped material at the entrance into the former excavation. This will have the joint benefit of creating a wider access to the working area, and providing an improved landform.

The second phase of working involves the initial stages of the removal of the east tip. The tip, over the majority of its surface, has been planted within coniferous trees which are approaching maturity, and during this phase a limited area will be cleared. The programme of clearance has been designed to provide for the retention of peripheral areas of the plantation in order to maintain a visual screen. The felled trees will be removed for commercial use.

During the third and fourth phases of work excavation of the tip will continue in the same way as during Phase 2 as will felling of the plantation but the amount of clearance will be limited to only that which is required to enable sustained operations for a minimum of 12 months.

To carry out the recovery of materials a processing plant will be installed at the site together with the following:

• Car Park (12-15 spaces);

• Weighbridge (low level, surface mounted);

• Office, incorporating welfare facilities;

• Fuel / Oil / Equipment and spares stores;

• Vehicle wheelwash;

• Laboratory;

• Lorry sheeting bays

All mineral operations and associated production and sales activities at the site will be conducted between the following hours:

• 07.00 – 19.00 hours Monday to Friday

• 07.00 – 17.00 hours Saturday

No operations will take place on Sundays or Public Holidays. The only exceptions to the proposed operating times will apply in respect of routine and essential maintenance, and any emergency situations should they arise.

It is expected that 12 new employment positions will be created in connection with the extraction and processing operations whilst in terms of indirect employment there will be a


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substantial amount of hired haulage and the operations will call upon local engineering and specialist service companies to provide support as and when necessary.

In addition to the processing area the proposals include for the provision of a new access to the east to link with an existing haul road established during the former opencast operations. The existing haul road connecting to the public highway is surfaced throughout its length, and is wide enough to enable vehicles to pass each other without the need for passing bays. The extended route will require a short section of new road to join the opencast haul road, and then it will follow an existing track through the plantation area within the site. The extension to the access road, including the existing track, will be constructed to a minimum width of 7.3m and surfaced with either bituminous or granular materials, as appropriate. The construction will provide a durable access road that will require limited maintenance.

Restoration works will be carried out at the site with the principal aim of producing a landform and land uses that are in character with the surrounding landscape as far as is possible. The proposed restoration concept is shown on Drawing TP3/5.

The proposed restoration of the application site will address the existing quarry faces and areas above these faces; the new processing plant / stocking areas / ancillary development areas, together with the existing open cast overburden area. A series of restoration objectives have been developed as follows:

• improve the general landscape of the existing application site;

• create a new landform from the processed waste arising from the recovery of aggregates;

• remove a significant area of coniferous woodland from the local landscape.

• establish a suitable vegetation cover based on native woodland, scrub, acid grassland, marginal wetland and heathland; and

• produce a mixture of habitats that meet local biodiversity targets.

To reduce the potential impacts of the proposed road, particularly in its upper valley section, it is proposed that a series of new beech hedgerows and an extension to the existing woodland are created.


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4.0 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT

Given the length of time since the original and supplementary submissions, national and local policy has changed significantly and the SSES provides a review of the key policy considerations.

In terms of planning history there are no known applications or permissions for development which affect the amended application site boundary.

The SSES identifies that the plans for Tir Pentwys accord with the principles laid down in Minerals Planning Policy Wales (2000) and explains the measures that would be taken to ensure that environmental effects are minimised, and that the land is restored effectively and sympathetically.

With regards to Mineral Technical Advice Note 1 the SSES concludes that due to the short supplies of skid resistant aggregates, which the application site will produce, and the support for the use of secondary aggregates, there are strong policy presumptions at national level in Wales for the development of the Tir Pentwys reclamation site.

The emerging Torfaen Local Development Plan identifies the Tir Pentwys site as being a Preferred Area for Aggregates: the site is the only aggregates site identified in the County Borough and would satisfy the requirement to secure stone for the duration of the Plan period. The SSES considers a number of alternative methods of transporting the stone, each of which is considered to have the potential to be more environmentally damaging than that proposed.


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5.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

To determine the key environmental issues that were to be considered in preparing the ES, a consultation exercise was undertaken with Torfaen County Borough Council. As a result of that, the following matters have been considered in detail:

• Geology of the Access Road;

• Ecology of the entire application area; and

• Landscape.

It should be noted that a number of issues, such as noise, air quality and traffic have not been subject to additional consideration because the situation on site has not altered since the submission of previous information.

The following summaries the assessments for each of the matters identified above, which can be found in full in the ES and associated appendices.

5.1 Geology of the Access Road

A detailed geotechnical assessment has been undertaken that has considered the historic mine workings in the area, the stability of the rock faces along the route of the proposed road, and the design of the engineering proposals.

The conclusion has been reached that the geology of the valley side can accommodate a road of this nature in accordance with the design principles proposed. Measures are proposed to ensure that the engineered road design will be sufficiently robust to reduce any slight potential for rockfall.

In terms of the historic mining legacy, the shallow elements are generally associated with the 19th Century workings in the vicinity of Tir Sion Senkin Farm. It is proposed that prior to any development taking place, a remediation strategy is submitted for approval to the local planning authority in order to ensure that there is no adverse impact as a result of road construction and subsequent useage.

5.2 Ecology

Given the length of time (almost ten years) since the original application was submitted, a comprehensive ecology survey has been undertaken of the entire site.

Surveys of all habitats have been undertaken, and although consideration was given to a wide range of species, particular focus was made on bats and birds. The conclusion has been reached that there will be some impact on both, but the mitigation measures of construction management, additional surveying, and additional tree planting etc will reduce any impacts. In addition, long term plans are proposed for individual species and particular habitat types to ensure that the natural environment of the woodland is effectively managed to secure tangible benefits to the area.

5.3 Landscape

The SSES has considered the following landscape issues:

• update in relation to emerging Torfaen LDP and Blaenau Gwent LDP;

• cumulative effect of extraction from area within Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent;


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• review of views from south side of Cwm Llanileth;

• revised route of the access road; and

• landscape assessment in accordance with CCW LANDMAP provisions.

The landscape within which the application site is located has previously been identified in the development plan for the area as a Special Landscape Area. The removal of this designation from the emerging plan suggests that the proposed operations are located within a landscape that is not considered to be of particularly notable value – this does not mean that it has no value, and the review of the LANDMAP assessment has identified those features and characteristics of note.

The proposed stone recovery operation will be undertaken within a previously disturbed landscape, which is afforded significant screening by commercial woodland. The access road is similarly screened by woodland (albeit not commercial), and the screening afforded from nearby viewpoints by other woodland, for example to the south of the A472.

In this respect it is considered that the proposed realignment of the access road will have no significant impact on the quality of the landscape or the visual impact of users of the area.


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6.0 CONCLUSIONS

This Non technical Summary of the Second Supplementary Environmental Statement reviews the the results of further Environmental Impact Assessment of a planning application originally submitted in 2003 and revised in 2006 for the recovery of sandstone and restoration of a disturbed landscape.

The application seeks to secure secondary aggregates from a site identified as a Preferred Area for Aggregates in the emerging Torfaen Local Development Plan. The site of the recovery of stone is not encumbered by environmental designations, and is a ready opportunity to meet local, regional and national demand for high quality sandstone that is considered in current Welsh policy to be of significance to the Wales and United Kingdom aggregates industry.

The access route for the scheme has been the key issue in respect of determination. The Applicant has invested significantly effort in order to demonstrate that the ecology of the woodland is not compromised, and that the road can be constructed effectively, operated safely, and without significant impact on the woodland. This SSES demonstrates that there are no fundamental issues with the proposed development.

The SSES provides a detailed objective analysis of the potential environmental effects which will be associated with the development, the measures available to mitigate those effects, and the likely effectiveness of the mitigation measures.

The SSES has been prepared in order to assist Torfaen County Borough Council and other interested parties to reach a decision on the merits of the development and summarise the results of the assessment of any potential environmental effects of the proposed development and, where relevant, sets out conventional modern methods of mitigating the effects.

The conclusion reached by the ES is that there are adequate mitigating measures being implemented to ensure that the development described could proceed without giving rise to unacceptable environmental effects. The mitigation measures proposed will result in there being no adverse residual effects on the existing environment or local amenity.

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