Agenda No.
2
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE
TUESDAY 22 JUNE 2010 AT 10.00 AM
EAST HERTS DISTRICT
APPLICATION FOR THE PROPOSED CHANGE OF USE OF THE SITE TO SUI GENERIS (WASTE RECYCLING) TO INCLUDE THE ERECTION OF A WASTE BUILDING AND COVERED STORAGE AREAS, THE CREATION OF A WIDENED ACCESS AND ASSOCIATED WORKS ON LAND ADJACENT TO THE FORMER DAY CARE CENTRE, ON THE CORNER OF MARSH LANE, WARE, HERTFORDSHIRE.
Report of the Director of Environment and Commercial Services
Author: Conor Guilfoyle Tel: 01992 588 670
Local Member: Rosemary Cheswright
1 Purpose of Report
1.1 To consider planning application ref. 3/0018-09 for the proposed change of use of the site to sui generis (waste recycling) to include the erection of a waste building and covered storage areas, the creation of a widened access and associated works on land adjacent to the former Day Care Centre, on the corner of Marsh Lane, Ware, Hertfordshire.
2 Summary
2.1 The site is situated at the north-western side of Marsh Lane, near Ware town centre. A redundant car park lies on the other side of the railway line to the north opposite the site along Crane Mead. This road is fronted by a number of business premises and a large number of flatted residential dwellings, of up to four storeys in height, which have elevations facing in the direction of the railway and the site.
2.2 The site is located within Flood Zones 2 and 3a. It is also a designated County Wildlife Site, part of the Lea Valley Regional Park, and borders a conservation area. It is classed as an industrial area and designated for employment use in the East Herts Local Plan 2007.
2.3 The following waste types are proposed to be accepted on site:
· Bagged household/municipal waste for bulking and transfer
· General skip waste
· Construction and demolition waste
· Inert Waste
· Excavated soils
· Dry waste such as paper, plastic and cardboard
· Ferrous and non-ferrous metals
· Green waste such as garden waste
2.4 Inside the building, the equipment used would include a screener, picking station, shredder and baler. The machinery used is proposed to be powered by electricity in order to minimise noise impacts. The building would also house lockable storage areas for metal waste accidentally brought onto the site and for ‘quarantined’ waste which would be sealed separately
2.5 At the site entrance off Marsh Lane it is proposed to erect a two storey modular building measuring 52 m2 in area to house offices and staff facilities which would be positioned between two weighbridges. The building would be elevated for flood protection.
2.6 The site would be enclosed with palisade fencing to 2.4 metres in height, topped with 1 metre of barbed wire. Seventeen car parking spaces would be created for staff and visitors.
2.7 Once processed at the Marsh Lane site, it is proposed that the waste would then go to a range of local businesses and also across England for further recycling and processing. It is proposed that any remaining waste would be sent to nearby landfills
2.8 It is proposed that up to 150 daily Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) movements (75 in and 75 out of the site) would be required by the proposal.
2.9 It is proposed that the site would operate between 7am and 6pm on weekdays, between 7am and 4pm on Saturdays, with no operations on Sundays or Bank Holidays.
3 Conclusion
3.1 The Highway Authority does not consider the road network unsuitable for the proposed vehicle movements in terms of highway capacity or structural capability. The proposal is considered to accord with PPS10, and the applicant has demonstrated a quantitative need for such facilities, in accordance with Waste Policy 2. However, Waste Policy 2 requires any demonstrated need to outweigh any material landscape, conservation or environmental interest affected by the proposal. This is not considered to be the case with regard to environmental impacts.
3.2 The proposal partly complies with Waste Policy 13. However it does not meet some of the conditional criteria for Waste Policy 13 to be applicable, notably those concerned with the impact on local and natural environments and the proximity to existing residential areas.
3.3 The proposal is considered to pose an unacceptable risk to groundwater. Ecology impacts have been taken into account and it is considered that these could be managed by appropriate planning conditions and protection measures.
3.4 A conservation area borders the site and it is considered that the proposal, by virtue of its scale and massing, could harm the setting of the conservation area and the wider ‘heritage asset’ as defined in PPS5. It would not comply with policy BH6 and would be detrimental to the character of the conservation area.
3.5 In accordance with Waste Policies 2 and 13 and policy ENV1 of the East Herts Local Plan, amenity and environmental impacts need to be balanced against the benefits of the proposal. The potential for noise pollution and odour generation combined with the proposed hours of operation are considered to pose a threat to the amenity of nearby residents.
3.6 The report therefore concludes that the Director of Environment and Commercial Services should be authorised to refuse planning permission for the proposed change of use of the site to sui generis (waste recycling) to include the erection of a waste building and covered storage areas, the creation of a widened access and associated works on land adjacent to the former Day Care Centre, on the corner of Marsh Lane, Ware, Hertfordshire for the reasons set out above.
4 Description of the site and proposed development
4.1 The site is situated to the north-western side of Marsh Lane, near Ware town centre. The site is triangular in shape and fronts Marsh Lane at the south-east boundary, from which access is gained. Viaduct Road (A1170) forms the western boundary to the rear of the site. A railway line bounds the site to the north and north east. A business premises partly bounds the site to the east and south-east, while land owned by Hertfordshire County Council bounds the site to the south.
4.2 A redundant car park lies on the other side of the railway opposite the site along Crane Mead road. This road is fronted by a number of business premises and a large number of flatted residential dwellings, of up to four storeys in height, which have elevations facing in the direction of the railway and the site.
4.3 The site is located within Flood Zones 2 and 3a. It is also a designated County Wildlife Site, part of the Lea Valley Regional Park, and borders a conservation area. The site is classed as an industrial area and designated for employment use in the East Herts Local Plan 2007. The site is currently disused and overgrown with vegetation. There is a paved path connecting to a Thames Water pumping station which is excluded from the application boundary, but to which access is required by the relevant bodies.
4.4 The proposal seeks a change of use from general industrial use to sui generis use to allow a waste recycling and waste transfer station to operate on the site. The proposal involves the erection of a new building along the western boundary which would house the waste treatment processing. The building would be 1,125 m2 in area, measuring 45 metres x 25 metres. It would be 12 metres in height to the eaves.
4.5 The following waste types are proposed to be accepted on site:
· Bagged household/municipal waste for bulking and transfer
· General skip waste
· Construction and demolition waste
· Inert Waste
· Excavated soils
· Dry waste such as paper, plastic and cardboard
· Ferrous and non-ferrous metals
· Green waste such as garden waste
4.6 Inside the building, the equipment used would include a screener, picking station, shredder and baler. The building would also house lockable storage areas for metal waste accidentally brought onto the site and for ‘quarantined’ waste which would be sealed separately. Outside of the building, three open fronted covered bunkers with an area of 660m2 are proposed at the north-eastern boundary of the site. It is proposed that they would be used to store wood and inert waste. They would be sheltered on top by a canopy of up to 6.5 metres high and 4 metres wide.
4.7 At the site entrance it is proposed to erect a two storey modular building measuring 52 m2 in area to house offices and staff facilities which would be positioned between two weighbridges. The building would be elevated by up to 1.6 metres to enable the floor level to be the same as that of the main processing building, with the intention to allow water to flow underneath in the event of a flood. It is also proposed to surface the site in heavy-duty permeable paving which would have a link to a foul sewer for drainage off-site.
4.8 Other works include the widening of the existing site access to 12 metres to enable large vehicles to enter and exit the site in a manner which would not disrupt vehicular traffic on Marsh Lane. The site would be enclosed with palisade fencing up to 2.4 metres in height, topped with 1 metre of barbed wire, except for the site entrance and an emergency exit gate which would be created fronting Viaduct Road. The existing fencing around the Thames Water pumping station would be retained.
4.9 A bunded oil tank would be located at the southern end of the waste recycling building.
4.10 Seventeen car parking spaces would be created for staff and visitors to the site, most of which would be along the north-eastern boundary. Five parking spaces would also be created for use by skip lorries which would remain at the site overnight.
4.11 Under the proposal, waste would arrive on site in skips, ‘ro-ros’ and similar waste vehicles. Lorries would enter the site over the weighbridge, and deposit waste on an area in front of the main building. The deposited waste would then be loaded into the waste recycling plant by front-end loaders where it would then be separated into separate materials.
4.12 From here, it would be carried on a conveyor belt past the picking station, and the remainder of the waste would be shredded to minimise the lorry movements required to transport this unwanted waste off-site. The retained waste would then be screened into large and smaller sizes, picked again and put through a blower to remove lighter plastics and passed through an overhead magnet. Any remaining waste would be deposited into a waste bin and sent to landfill.
4.13 The plant itself would be electric powered, which is proposed to minimise noise impacts arising from the operation. Inert waste would not be crushed on site.
4.14 It is proposed that where bagged municipal waste is found in the skips, this would be deposited in a specified area on the site where it would remain bagged, before being removed, in bulk, within 24 hours. It is proposed that in the event that removal of the waste is not possible within 24 hours, it would be stored on the site in a covered container and removed within 48 hours, with a record made in the site diary.
4.15 Where other waste is found which is not accepted at the site, including any hazardous material, it is proposed that this would immediately be separated into a locked ‘quarantine’ bin for removal off site as soon as possible.
4.16 The remainder of the sorted and processed wastes would be stored in the bunkers along the north-eastern boundary of the site.
4.17 The source of the waste is intended to originate from within Hertfordshire and other locations within close proximity to the site. The applicant states that they have identified a need for a waste processing site in the proposed location which would serve the local area and complement its existing range of waste sites in the region.
4.18 Once processed at the Marsh Lane site, it is proposed that the waste would then go to a range of local businesses and also across England for further recycling and processing. It is proposed that any remaining waste would be sent to nearby landfills, with the Westmill Landfill site on the north-western side of Ware the most likely destination for such waste.
4.19 It is proposed that up to 150 daily Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) movements (75 in and 75 out of the site) would be required by the proposal. With the exception of waste originating within Ware, it is proposed that HGVs would avoid travelling through Ware town centre where possible, instead accessing and exiting the site via the A1170 to the south which provides access to the A10 and A414 at Great Amwell.
4.20 It is proposed that the site would operate between 7am and 6pm on weekdays, between 7am and 4pm on Saturdays, with no operations on Sundays or Bank Holidays. It is proposed that fifteen people would be employed on the site.
5 Consultations
5.1 East District Council objects to the proposal on the following grounds:
· Impact on conservation area
· Flood risk
· Employment area
· Lea Valley Regional Park
· Access and vehicular movements
· Impact on residential amenity
5.2 Ware Town Council objects to the proposal on the following grounds:
· Size and scale of development
· Traffic flows and road safety