Regulatory and Other Committee Open Report on behalf of Richard Wills Executive Director, Environment & Economy Report to: Planning and Regulation Committee Date: 8 December 2014 Subject: County Matter Application - (E)N199/2021/14 Summary: Planning permission is sought by Welton Aggregates Limited (Agent: Hughes Craven Limited) for the restoration of the southern section of the quarry to an agricultural afteruse using quarry fines and soils screened from existing on-site materials at Highfield Quarry, A1028 (Bluestone Heath Road), Welton le Marsh, Spilsby. A significant volume of imported construction, demolition and excavation (C, D and E) wastes are already present within the quarry and these are located outside the existing authorised storage and processing areas associated with the permitted waste recycling operations. The applicant states that the presence of these imported wastes poses a significant barrier not only to the working of consented mineral reserves which remain within this part of the quarry but also the progressive restoration of the site. The applicant proposes that these C, D and E wastes (as well as mineral wastes within the site) be relocated and processed in a number of phases with recoverable materials such as brick, concrete and other aggregate products being exported as a secondary aggregate. Recovered soils and materials not suitable for sale (or which have a limited market) would be retained and landfilled within a defined area of the site in order to facilitate its restoration to an agricultural after-use. The main issue to be considered in the determination of this application is whether the proposed development is appropriate in waste planning policy terms and whether it would give rise to any unacceptable adverse environmental, traffic or amenity impacts. Recommendation: Following consideration of the relevant development plan policies and the comments received through consultation and publicity it is recommended that planning permission be refused. Background 1. Highfield Quarry is a historic and active chalk quarry. The first permission was granted in January 1948 under an Interim Development Order (IDO). This permission covers the north-western section of the quarry and can be separated into two areas. The southernmost of these areas has been partially worked whilst the northern area remains in agricultural use. Under the provisions of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, new conditions were approved for this permission in January 2010 (ref: (E)S199/1904/02). Conditions attached to this permission do not allow for the use of imported materials in the restoration of the site and the restoration design secured by this permission involves the creation of calcareous grassland using mineral wastes derived from on-site (i.e. chalk fines) and the retention of quarry faces for geological conservation/interest. 2. A further area of mineral extraction in the southern area of the quarry is permitted by a permission first granted in 1954 and in September 1997 new conditions for this area were agreed under the provisions of Environment Act 1995 (ref: (E)S199/0913/97). The bulk of the reserves within this part of the site have been worked out and again conditions attached to this permission do not allow for the use of imported materials in the restoration of the site. The land subject of the current proposal/application lies within this permission area and the waste materials identified to be processed and deposited within the site currently occupy the majority of this part of the site. 3. In addition to the mineral extraction operations/permissions, a number of further operations/activities are undertaken at the site and a series of planning permissions for these operations/activities have been granted over the last 15 years. A summary of those consented operations/activities relevant to this current application are summarised as follows: (E)S199/0667/99 – granted on appeal in 1999 for the use of existing crushing facilities for the crushing and screening of imported concrete and brick for recycling as aggregate. (E)S199/0575/10 – granted in May 2010 to enlarge and relocate the existing recycling area and to broaden the range of materials accepted from concrete and brick to general construction and demolition wastes. This planning permission limited the capacity of the recycling facility to a total tonnage of waste not exceeding 25,000 tonnes per annum. (E)N199/2496/12 – granted in April 2013 to locate a wash plant within the recycling area authorised by permission (E)S199/0575/10 for use in connection with the recycling operations and the construction of a number of recycled product stocking bays. This permission again limited the total tonnage of wastes to be handled by the wash plant and existing recycling facility to no more than 25,000 tonnes per annum. (E)N199/0184/14 – granted in April 2014 for an additional stocking area for use in conjunction with the permitted waste recycling activities. (E)N199/01519/14 – resolved to be granted for the relocation of the proposed wash plant (consented by permission (E)N199/2496/12) to a new position within the site. Planning permission has yet to be issued as this decision is subject to the applicant completing a legal agreement (S106 Planning Obligation) which would revoke planning permission (E)N199/2496/12 so as to ensure that only one wash plant could be operated at the site. The Application 4. Planning permission is sought for the permanent deposition and use of residual imported wastes and recovered soils in order to help facilitate and restore part of Highfield Quarry (approximately 3ha) to an agricultural after- use. A significant volume of imported waste materials are already present within the quarry and these are located outside the existing authorised storage and processing areas associated with the permitted waste recycling operations. The applicant states that the presence of these imported wastes poses a significant barrier not only to the working of consented mineral reserves which remain within this part of the quarry but also the progressive restoration of the site. The applicant states that prior to making this application, a number of potential alternative options were considered in order to address this situation and these included: Option 1: Removing the historically imported material to landfill; Option 2: The processing of the material and off-site sale of the resultant range of recycled products (i.e. soils and aggregates); Option 3: Landfilling the imported materials directly on site to achieve the early restoration of the quarry. 5. Option 1 was discounted by the applicant as they felt it would involve the removal, transport and re-tipping of material at consented landfill sites elsewhere and would generate a significant level of vehicle movements leading to unnecessary environmental impacts. The deposit of the unprocessed wastes to landfill was also considered to be contrary to both local and national planning policy as it would lead to the depletion of available landfill void space and was therefore considered to be the least favourable option on economic, environmental and policy grounds. 6. Option 2 was also discounted as although the processing of the waste materials would enable a range of recycled products to be recovered, given the nature of the markets for aggregates and soils in the area, the applicant did not consider it realistic to process and remove all the materials within a reasonable timeframe, especially the finer soil fractions which have a limited market. The applicant therefore considered it unlikely that all such materials could be successfully marketed and taken off site without significantly delaying the restoration of the quarry. 7. Option 3 was also discounted by the applicant as the use of such materials in the restoration of the site without recovering any potentially recyclable elements is considered to be against both the principles of sustainability and waste planning policy. 8. The applicant states that none of the above options are considered to achieve a satisfactory solution, however, a combination of Options 2 and 3 would allow for the recovery and sale of the more desirable aggregate fractions derived from the wastes whilst the less easily marketable soils could be retained and used to aid the restoration of the site. This application therefore proposes that the imported waste materials already on site be processed and screened as part of the consented waste recycling operations with any residual unsaleable wastes and recovered soils (along with chalk fines derived from the mineral extraction operations) being deposited so as to facilitate the restoration of part of the quarry to an agricultural after-use. The applicant argues that there is an on-going requirement for arable land within the County and that the restoration of part of the quarry to agriculture would therefore meet this need and also helps to offset the loss of arable land as the quarry expands into its existing consented areas. Specific planning permission is required for the landfilling and use of wastes in the restoration of the quarry as planning conditions attached to the mineral permissions and consented waste recycling operations prevent the permanent deposit and use of imported wastes in the restoration of the site. Phasing and Operational Details 9. The materials are located within four broad locations within the quarry (Areas A, B, C and D on Drawing No. 151-1-17 below) and the applicant proposes that these be worked in a phased manner with the works being completed within seven years from commencement. Existing Site Layout Phase 1 (Year 1) 10. During this phase existing chalk fines along with an additional 35,000m3 of chalk fines present within Area A would be re-profiled to create a landform ready for restoration. Once the principal landforming works have been completed, approximately 15,000m3 of C, D and E wastes from within Area C would be processed and screened to produce approximately 10,000m3 of recovered aggregates and around 5,000m3 of recovered soils.