Agenda No.
7
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE
TUESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2008, AT 10.00 A.M.
HERTSMERE BOROUGH
APPLICATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A REDUNDANT SCRAP METAL YARD TO PROVIDE A WASTE TRANSFER STATION COMPRISING RECEPTION AND BULKING SPACE FOR BIODEGRADABLE WASTE AND ERECTION OF BUILDING AND ANCILLARY FACILITIES AT CRANBORNE ROAD DEPOT, POTTERS BAR, HERTFORDSHIRE, EN6 3JN.
Report of the Director of Environment
Author: Marcos Martos-Higueras Tel: 01992 556 229
Local Member: John Usher
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To consider planning application reference no. 0/1147-08 for the development of a redundant scrap metal yard to provide a waste transfer station comprising reception and bulking space for biodegradable waste and erection of building and ancillary facilities at Cranborne Road Depot, Potters Bar, Herts, EN6 3JN.
2. Summary
2.1 The site currently has planning permission reference no.0/0444-08 for a Waste Transfer Station for biodegradable waste. However, the applicant has applied for a new planning permission because the proposal is different from the previously approved development.
2.2 The site is located on an Industrial Estate that is characterised by other waste facilities.
2.3 The site is located within a Source Protection Zone 1 area. The Environment Agency has objected on grounds of risk to ground water resources.
2.4 The main issues to be taken into account are:
§ The need for the proposal;
§ The location of the proposal;
§ The environmental impacts of the proposal;
§ Impacts of the proposal on highways.
§ Impacts of the proposal in terms of odour;
3. Conclusion
3.1 The principle of this type of development has already been accepted by the prior grant of planning permission for a similar waste facility. The report concludes that there is an identified need for this type of facility in the County which would help to meet Government targets for waste and that the location of the development would provide an opportunity to re-develop a brownfield site and also to re-use a contaminated land area in line with Government Guidance. Furthermore it is considered that the proposal would not have a significant detrimental traffic impact and the environmental impacts could be adequately controlled by conditions in addition to the controls available to the Environment Agency as part of the required Waste management Licence.
3.2 It is therefore recommended that the application should be granted planning permission, subject to appropriate conditions to include:
1) Time limit for commencement
2) Hours of construction, working and deliveries
3) Method of construction
4) Parking for construction vehicles
5) Wheel/Chassis cleaning
6) Hours of operation
7) Details of the parking and storage
8) Contaminated land
9) Groundwater pollution control
10) Fencing
11) Nature of materials to be imported
12) Samples of finishing materials to be submitted
13) Vehicle movements
14) Vehicle log
15) Removal of Permitted Development Rights
16) External lighting
17) Measures to control litter, vermin and birds
18) Maintenance of hard standing
19) Noise
20) Parking
21) Landscaping
4. Description of the site and proposed development
4.1 The site lies within the western part of the Cranborne Road Industrial Estate, within an area characterised by waste management uses. The site was used, until recently, as a scrap metal yard and has been vacant since then. The site area has an extension of 0.25 hectares.
4.2 The site has one vehicular access which is obtained from Cranborne Road. This is the main road of the Industrial Estate and leads to Mutton Lane which is one of the main roads in Potters Bar. There are residential properties fronting Cranborne Road between the industrial area and Mutton Lane.
4.3 There is a local civic amenity site to the north of the site, a skip waste recycling operation to the south west of the site, a car repair workshop to the south of the site. Beyond that, to the south is the Hertsmere Borough Council’s waste management depot. There is a large factory building to the east, a large warehouse/depot to the north east and agricultural land to the north west, which is within the Green Belt.
4.4 The nearest residential properties to the site are situated at a distance of approximately 400m, at Warrengate Farm to the south west and on Cranborne Road to the south and south east.
Planning History
0/0444-08 Waste transfer station for biodegradable waste (Permitted).
0/1115-07 Construction and operation of waste transfer station for biodegradable waste (withdrawn).
The Proposal
4.5 The site has an existing planning permission reference no.0/0444-08 for a Waste Transfer Station for biodegradable waste. However, a fresh planning application has been submitted because the proposal is different from this previously approved development.
4.6 The proposal would provide reception and bulking facilities for source segregated biodegradable waste (kerbside collected kitchen and green waste) generated within the Hertfordshire area. The facility would handle 25,000 tonnes of waste per year and employ one new member of staff on site.
4.7 The waste would be stored on site for a maximum of 24 hours prior to its transfer for composting at the Envar site at St. Ives, Cambridgeshire.
4.8 The development would include a reception building and ancillary facilities to include a weighbridge, site office and toilet.
4.9 The number of vehicle movements proposed is 26 per day (Monday to Saturday). 18 vehicle movements would be generated by the local authority delivering the waste to the proposed waste facility and the remaining 8 vehicle movements would be generated by the applicant’s vehicles when they transfer the waste for composting to their facility in Cambridgeshire.
4.10 The hours of operation would be 7am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday and 7am to 2pm on Saturdays.
5. Consultations
5.1 Hertsmere Borough Council - No comments received.
5.2 Herts County Council as Highway Authority does not wish to restrict the grant of permission subject to the following conditions:
1) Throughout the life of this planning permission, the total number of lorry movements shall be no more than 30 per day (15 in and 15 out) and no more than 18 per day on Saturdays (9 in and 9 out) visiting the site, unless agreed in writing with the Highway and Planning Authority.
2) All areas for parking and storage and delivery of materials associated with the construction of this development shall be provided within the site on land which is not public highway and the use of such areas must not interfere with the use of the public highway.
5.3 The Environment Agency objects to the proposal on grounds of risk to ground water resources. (This objection is made because a new policy document regarding ground water protection has recently been adopted by the Environment Agency.)
The Environment Agency also proposes a series of conditions should the County Council consider granting planning permission.
5.4 The Potters Bar Society objects to the proposal on grounds of detriment to residential amenity because of traffic generated by Cranborne Industrial Estate. There should be the construction of a new road at the Cranborne Industrial Estate to divert all heavy vehicles passing through the residential area of Cranborne Road.
5.8 A total of 70 properties were consulted on the application and 3 letters objecting to the application were received. The planning issues of concern can be summarised as:
§ odour;
§ safety on the highway network and increased traffic impact;
§ the need for a new road to access the Industrial Estate.
5.9 An advert was placed in the Enfield Advertiser newspaper on 4 July 2008 and a site notice was erected on 3 July 2008 adjacent to the main access.
6. Planning Considerations
The relevant development plan policies are:
6.1 The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) East of England Plan, adopted May 2008
SS1 Achieving Sustainable Development
SS2 Overall Spatial Strategy
E1 Job Growth
WAT4 Flood Risk Management
WM1 Waste Management Objectives
WM2 Waste Management Targets
WM3 Imported Waste
WM4 Regional Waste Apportionment
6.2 The Waste Local Plan 1995 - 2005 adopted January 1999
WP1 Sustainable Development
WP2 Need for Facilities
WP12 Areas of search for permanent facilities for re-use, recovery, recycling and transfer of waste
WP13 Criteria for facilities for re-use, recovery, recycling and transfer
of waste (except green waste composting) outside areas of search
WP18 Safeguarding of sites for re-use, recovery, recycling or transfer of waste.
WP41 Surface water and groundwater resources
WP42 Floodwater protection and risk flooding
WP43 Traffic
6.3 Hertsmere Local Plan (adopted 19 May 2003)
B3 Cranborne Road Employment Area
M13 Car Parking Standards
D3 Control of Development Drainage and Runoff Considerations
D4 Groundwater Protection
D17 Pollution Control
D21 Design and Setting of Development
6.4 National Guidance
PPS1 Delivering Sustainable Development
PPS10 Planning for Sustainable Waste Management (2005)
PPS23 Planning Pollution and Control (2000)
PPS25 Planning for Flood Risk (2006)
Planning for Sustainable Waste Management: Companion Guide to Planning Policy Statement 10 (2006);
Groundwater Protection: policy and Practice (GP3), adopted June 2008;
DEFRA Circular 01/2006 Contaminated Land.
7. Evaluation
7.1 The main issues to be taken into account are:
§ The need for the proposal;
§ The location of the proposal;
§ The Highway impacts of the proposal;
§ Impacts of the proposal on odour;
The need for the proposal
7.2 The proposal would be one of the few facilities of this type in the County. The proposal would assist with the diversion of 25,000 tonnes a year of biodegradable waste (kerbside collected kitchen and green waste) from landfill. This biodegradable waste would be composted at the facility that the applicant has in Cambridgeshire. Therefore, the proposal is deemed to comply with The Waste Local Plan 1995 – 2005, adopted January 1999, (WP2 Need for facilities).
7.3 It would also help to meet the Council and Borough recycling targets and it is therefore considered that the proposal complies with the relevant policies in the East of England Plan, adopted May 2008, (Policy WM1 Waste Management Objectives; Policy WM2 Waste Management Targets and Policy WM4 Regional Waste Apportionment).
The location of the proposal
7.4 The proposal lies within an Industrial Estate. It is also surrounded by other waste facilities, with reasonable access to the main road network. It is therefore considered that the proposal complies with the criteria set out in Waste Local Plan Policy WP13, Criteria for facilities for re-use, recovery, recycling and transfer of waste (except green waste composting) outside areas of search.
7.5 The application site is within a current “Area of Search” for a materials recovery facility as set out in Policy WP12 (Areas of search for permanent facilities for re-use, recovery, recycling and transfer of waste) and has been safeguarded as such in policy WP18 (Safeguarding of sites for re-use, recovery, recycling or transfer of waste) of the Waste Local Plan1995 – 2005, adopted January 1999. Although this is a different type of waste use, the designation indicates that the site is suitable in principle for waste management purposes.
7.6 The site is considered to provide a good opportunity for re-development of a brownfield area and also a good re-use of contaminated land. It therefore complies with The East of England Plan, adopted May 2008 (Policy SS2 Overall Spatial Strategy), Defra Circular 1/2006 Contaminated Land and PPS23 Pollution and Control, paragraphs 17, 18, 19 and 20.
7.7 The proposal should comply with Hertsmere Local Plan, adopted 2003, (Policy D4 Groundwater Protection) and Waste Local Plan Policy 41. However, as a material consideration, the Environmental Agency has objected to the proposal because they have adopted a new policy document Groundwater Protection: Policy and Practice (GP3). In this new document, Policy 3.10 Other Waste Activity Policy, is against all development of any waste facilities within the Source Protection Zone 1. The Environment Agency considers that this document outweighs Hertsmere Local Plan Policy D4 because this new policy document is an updated version of the one mentioned in the Local Plan.
7.8 However, the Environment Agency also suggest a series of conditions should the County Council be minded to grant planning permission. The Environment Agency policy needs to be balanced against the fact that there is an existing planning permission for a very similar type of activity that could be implemented. Further, the fall back use of a scrapyard is likely to carry a higher risk than the current proposal.
7.9 The proposed area also lies within a flooding zone 3. After consultation with the Environment Agency, they have not made an objection on this issue as; the proposal would not increase the risk of flooding. As a result of this consultation it would comply with Waste Policy 41 Surface Water and Groundwater resources and WP42 Floodwater Protection and Risk Flooding and with the Hertsmere Policy D3 Control of Development Drainage and Runoff Considerations and with the East of England Plan, adopted May 2008 Policy WAT4 Flood Risk Management.
The Highway impacts of the proposal
7.10 The site would utilise the existing access road to the Industrial Estate from Cranborne Road. Hertfordshire’s adopted Waste Local Plan indicates that a pre-requisite for future waste development in Cranborne Road Industrial Estate would be an alternative access. The application area is much smaller than the area of search identified and it is considered that a major new access is not appropriate for the vehicle numbers generated by the proposal. The use of the current access route is acceptable to the Highway Authority.
7.11 The vehicle movements proposed would be 26 (13 in and 13 out) Monday to Saturday. As indicated above, the traffic generated by this proposal does not represent a significant detrimental impact and Hertfordshire County Council as Highways Authority has not objected subject to a condition to limit vehicle movements. Therefore, the development complies with Waste Policy 43: Traffic.
Odour
7.12 The proposal has a potential risk of odour. However, the enclosure of all processes within the reception building, combined with the use of negative air-pressure should minimise any potential for odour and also dust and noise. Any impact on neighbouring amenity could be controlled through conditions, in combination with the controls imposed in a waste management licence.
7.13 The nearest sensitive receptors in terms of odour are two business premises located within 100 metres or less of the site and residential properties located within 400m south and south east of the site. The building would operate an extraction fan which would increase the air exchanges when the doors to the building are open. The building should be kept under negative pressure and doors shut. The air would be treated to destroy offensive odours. Treated air would be discharged at ridge height through a high velocity exit to provide good dispersion.