Retrospective planning application for the retention of an existing bund and its remodelling with appropriate engineering works and landscaping of the remodelled bund.

The application was approved in accordance with the Case Officer’s recommendation.

The Principal Planning Officer gave a presentation on the application and updates / additional representations received following the publication of the agenda were provided in the update sheet. She advised the Committee that the application was linked to, but not dependant on, the previous agenda item.

 

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking, Mr Davis, representing Bromyard & Winslow Town Council, spoke in objection to the application.

 

In accordance with paragraph 4.8.2.2 of the Council’s Constitution, Councillor A Seldon, one of the local ward members, commented on a number of issues, including:

 

·         The Town Council had regularly requested updates in respect of enforcement action since the first communication in April 2006.

·         Would the bund actually now be required as the housing on the site had been refused?

·         The bund was actually a spoil heap of construction waste and should be treated accordingly.

·         The bund should be processed on site to ensure that the material used for it is not contaminated or unsafe.

 

Councillor JG Lester, the other local ward member, also commented on a number of issues, including:

 

·         The Town Council had raised an objection as soon as the bund had been erected.

·         The structure did not have planning permission and should therefore be classed as unlawful.

·         Should be treated in the same manner as fly tipping.

·         The makeup of the bund was unknown, with no confirmation as to where the soil had come from.

·         The soil should be processed and distributed evenly on the site.

 

The Committee discussed the application and noted that it did not conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework recently outlined by the government. It was further considered that the approval of the application would result in a better regulation of the bund.

 

In response to a number of issues raised, the Development Manager (Northern Localities) advised that if the soil was processed on the site and distributed evenly it would just need to be removed again at a later date. He added that the bund had not been designed as an acoustic buffer but was a landscape buffer. He also stated that the Council’s enforcement team had been monitoring the site which had resulted in the submission of the application the Committee had before them. Finally he stated that it was impossible to trace where the soil had initially come from and that any cost of maintaining the bund would be met by the landowner.

 

The Principal Planning Officer added that the remodelling of the bund would identify any contaminated waste within the bund. She added that the contamination report submitted with the application was acceptable.

 

Councillors A Seldon and JG Lester, the local ward members, were given the opportunity to close the debate. They reiterated their opening remarks and requested that the application be refused.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That planning permission be granted subject to the following conditions:

 

1.         B01 Development in accordance with the approved plans

           

2.         Within 9 months of the date of this permission, and in any case before the bund remodelling and landscaping development hereby permitted begins, a final Remediation Method Statement for handling the soils and other materials in order to improve the form of the bund shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.  The Method Statement shall include the following in particular:

 

a)         Estimated timescales for the start and completion of the work, including any phased working;

b)         That all the recommendations made by Pam Brown Associates Ltd in the submitted reports reference ‘Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental Investigation ....... Porthouse Farm - Landscape Bund 776-06 (May 2011)’, and ‘PBA.SH.776-06 Additional SI to the bund (3 January 2012)’  will be observed in full;

c)         That observation of the work in progress shall be made available to the Council’s Environmental Health Officer on request;

d)         A site diary to be established and retained by the applicant, to be made available for inspection by the local planning authority at reasonable times, in which plastic, metal, cement, wire and all other deleterious materials encountered will be recorded along with details of their removal and responsible disposal;

e)         Provision for specialist advice to be made available and promptly sought, should any unexpected contamination be encountered during the works, and contingency plans for dealing with any such unsuspected contamination encountered at the site but not previously identified;

f)          That, in the absence of historic evidence being available, any further sampling deemed to be required should be undertaken to a specified appropriate testing suite, to include heavy metals, pH, speciated TPH, PAH and asbestos screen, plus any other suspected substances, to the written satisfaction of the Council’s Environmental Health Officer ;

g)         An estimation of the likely volume and type of any additional soils that will be required to complete the remodelling as approved, and where that additional material will be obtained from;

h)         That any further soil to be imported shall be tested for fitness for purpose and its source thoroughly investigated and analysed with regard to its composition and any likely contamination; the results to be recorded and retained;

i)          A scheme of reporting to ensure any imported material is the same as that tested at source;

j)          Provision for validated documentation to be submitted in writing to the local planning authority within two months following completion of the works, to verify that completion including final soil depths and the source/s of any imported soils used in the bund remodelling; 

k)         Provision for tool-box talks with contractors, and review of the above Method Statement as necessary, and the means of reporting any revision to the local planning authority.

 

The remodelling and remedial work hereby permitted shall be undertaken in accordance with the approved details and within the timescales specified unless otherwise agreed in writing in advance by the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To prevent pollution, to secure the function of the bund as a noise and spatial barrier and to ensure a satisfactory form of development in compliance with policies S1, S10, DR2, DR4, DR10, DR11, DR13, W2 and W8 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan.

 

3.         Within 9 months of the date of this permission, and in any case before the bund remodelling and landscaping developmemt hereby permitted begins, a final Working Method Statement, and a plan, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.  The details and plan shall include the following, having regard to the submitted ‘Soil Management Strategy’ (Illman Young, May 2011) and the Remediation Method Statement as approved under condition 2:

 

a)         Soil handling methodology to recommended quality standards including soil stripping and separation;

b)         Arrangements and a location plan for the temporary storage or stockpiling of bund material during the remodelling work;

c)         The means of providing for and storing any additional material including final topsoil for finishing the bund;

d)         Location plan, area and enclosure arrangements for any temporary compound for storage, materials, equipment, facilities and/or vehicles;

e)         Arrangements and timetabling for removal of temporary storage, equipment, compound, enclosure, facitlities and any other paraphernalia associated with the work hereby permitted, on completion of the scheme.

 

The details shall be implemented as approved unless otherwise agreed in writing in advance by the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To protect local amenity, to secure the function of the bund as a noise and spatial barrier and to ensure site safety, proper soil handling and storage and site tidiness during the works, in accordance with policies S1, S2, S10, DR2, DR4, DR10, DR11, DR13, W2 and W8 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan.

 

4.         Within 9 months of the date of this permission, and in any case before the bund remodelling and landscaping development hereby permitted begins, a finalised Landscaping and Ecology Scheme shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority having regard to the recommendations made on page 15 of the submitted Ecological Appraisal (Richard Tofts Ecology, March 2010).  The following shall be included in particular:

 

a)         The appointment of a named suitably qualified and experienced ecologist to oversee the scheme, and to advise in particular on how to deal with any Japanese Knotweed rhizomes that may be encountered;

b)         Provision and timetabling for supplementary ecological surveys immediately prior to starting the remodelling work, notably to establish the presence or absence of nesting birds or any European Protected Species such as badgers, bats, reptiles or flora, and mitigation measures as a contingency for any such protected species being found to be present;

c)         Adequate protection measures for all trees and hedges identified for retention, in accordance with BS 5837:2005 Trees in Relation to Construction;

d)         Illustrative details of the type, specification, extent, design, height, and colour of all fencing and/or boundary treatments, including access gates and  any acoustic fencing.

 

The scheme shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details in conjunction with the approved landscape masterplan unless otherwise agreed in writing in advance by the local planning authority.

 

Reason: To improve the visual and ecological amenity of the area, to contribute to noise mitigation and  separation of the site from existing industrial premises, to protect wildlife, and to comply with PPS9, the NERC Act and policies S2, DR1, DR13, LA5, LA6, NC1, of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan, having regard to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

 

5.         In the first available planting season following completion of the bund remodelling in accordance with the approved plans, schemes, timescales and details, the final landscaping, seeding and planting of the remodelled bund shall be undertaken in accordance with the following submitted documents unless otherwise agreed in writing in advance by the local planning authority:

 

a)         Annotated plan reference 2912/10 Rev B, Feb11 ‘Landscape Masterplan’ received 5 December 2011;

b)         Annotated plan reference 2912/16 Rev A Mar11 ‘Detailed planting of bund’ received 5 December 2011;

c)         Annotated plan reference 2912/18 Rev A, May11 ‘Landscape management strategy’ received 5 December 2011;

 

The planting shall include a proportion of mature specimens, the details of which have first been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. All plants shall be maintained for a period of 5 years from the planting date. During this time, any plants that are removed, die, or are seriously retarded shall be replaced during the next planting season with others of similar sizes and species unless the local planning authority gives its written consent to any variation.  If any trees fail more than once they shall continue to be replaced on an annual basis until the end of the 5-year maintenance period.

 

Reason:  To maintain and enhance the visual amenity of the area and to comply with policies S2 and LA6 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan.

 

6.         No stores or temporary stockpiles of soils or other materials shall be to a height exceeding 3 metres above the previously existing ground level.

 

Reason: To protect amenity and ensure safety during the construction period and to comply with policies S2, S10, DR4 and W8 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan.

 

7.         I16 Restriction of hours during construction

 

8.         No deleterious or contaminated material, or any other wastes, shall be removed from the application site unless it is transported in sealed or securely covered vehicles and taken to an approved premises licensed for the handling of such material.

 

Reason: In the interests of road safety, to prevent pollution, and to ensure the responsible disposal of unsuitable materials that may be encountered during the course of the remodelling work to the bund, in accordance with policies S2, S10, DR1, DR4, DR11, T8 and W3 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan.

 

9.         I43 No burning of material/substances

 

10.       F14 Removal of Permitted Development Rights

 

 

INFORMATIVES:

 

1.         Due to the site’s known former uses, there is a possibility of unforeseen contamination at the site.  In the event of unexpected contamination being discovered, the applicant is advised to seek specialist professional advice in such circumstances. This should be reflected in the required Method Statement outlined above.

 

2.         Any waste produced as part of this development must be disposed of in accordance with all relevant waste management legislation. All waste volumes should be minimised and excavated materials should be kept within the site for re-use/recycling. 

 

3.         HN01 Mud on highway

 

4.         Developers should incorporate pollution prevention measures to protect ground and surface waters. Guidance is available from the Environment Agency at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business.

 

5.         N11C General

 

6.         The proposal is to retain an earth bund which has been constructed from waste soils without the benefit of planning permission and to remodel it to a more acceptable landform.  The development is considered to be a use of land for the deposit of inert waste material.  The bund has been in place for some years, certainly since 2006, and was constructed with a uniform hard-engineered profile to a steep gradient of approximately 40%.  As such it was considered to be contrary in particular to policies W2 and W8 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan (UDP). According to the applicant, the main purpose of the bund was to provide a landscape buffer and noise barrier between the allocated housing site at Porthouse Farm and existing industrial premises to the south.  This accord with the text of UDP policy H2. 

 

During the course of considering this proposal, comprehensive investigations into the exact nature of the bund material were undertaken, to ensure its fitness for purpose.  Recommendations were made to remove two small areas of 5 cubic metres each, where some ash-related contamination was identified.  These measures, along with revised landscaping proposals resulting from detailed negotiation, have addressed the key issues of soil quality and land-form which apply in this case.  Soft landscaping and extensive planting would result in a satisfactory form of development to fulfil the buffer function and comply with UDP policies DR110, DR11 and LA6.  Furthermore, the additional noise assessment commissioned by the Council, in response to Members’ concerns about possible adverse effects on new housing by existing factories, concludes that amenity criteria can be met. This would be achieved by a combination of the remodelled bund and additional acoustic fencing along its southern edge.  The bund would also serve as a screen to the high fence and help to deter crime.  It would not cause any additional overshadowing and would contribute to wildlife habitat.

 

The site is not in any designated sensitive area and comprises a buffer zone between an existing industrial estate and (currently) derelict vacant farmland allocated for housing.  Adopted policy takes account of this function, and the need to accommodate surplus soils and excavated material within the county.  The aim is to avoid or reduce such material going to landfill in the interests of sustainable development.  Where adequate justification for disposing of soils on a particular site or project can be provided, and a demonstration that no harm would occur; there is no reason why approval should not be granted. In this case there is the added factor that the bund is in situ and therefore there would be no traffic implications arising from its approval. On this basis the proposal to retain the bund is regarded as the Best Practical Environmental Option (BPEO) as outlined in UDP policies S10 and W2.  It does not conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework or the principles of PPS10.

 

For all of the above reasons and factors the proposal is recommended for approval.  Detailed conditions are proposed to take account of the need for careful management of soils and landscaping schemes.  The proposals as finally negotiated, in conjunction with these conditions, are therefore considered to be acceptable development which is compliant or capable of compliance with the NPPF and policies S1, S2, S7, S10, DR2, DR4, DR10, DR11, DR13, H2, LA6, W2, W8 and W9 of the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan.