2014/Reg3mi/0175/LCC) – 18 Th August 2014
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179 Agenda Item 11 DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATORY BOARD 9TH OCTOBER 2014 REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE COUNTY MATTER PART A – SUMMARY REPORT APP. NO. & DATE: 2014/0844/07 (2014/REG3Mi/0175/LCC) – 18 th August 2014 PROPOSAL: Proposed extension to existing recycling facility for the erection of a new Waste Transfer Station with additional vehicle parking area for HGVs, 2.4m high fencing to the site and additional lighting columns. LOCATION: Waste recycling facility, off Linden Way, Coalville (North West Leicestershire District). APPLICANT: Leicestershire County Council. MAIN ISSUES: Highway safety, noise, odour, loss of local amenity and impacts upon Coalville Urban Forest Park. RECOMMENDATION: PERMIT subject to the 8 conditions as set out in the appendix to the main report. Circulation Under the Local Issues Alert Procedure Dr. T. Eynon, CC Officer to Contact Mr. P. Bond (Tel. 0116 305 7325) Email: [email protected] 180 2014/0844/07 (2014/REG3Mi/0175/LCC) – continued PART B – MAIN REPORT Description of application site and proposed development 1. North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) currently operates a facility off Linden Way for the bulking up of household recyclable waste. Linden Way is an industrial cul-de-sac accessed from Ashby Road. Many district council HGVs are also parked at the site when not in use. The site is located directly to the north of the County Council’s civic amenity site. 2. The existing site is bounded to the south by the County Council’s civic amenity site, to the north and west by the Coalville Urban Forest Park (UFP) and to the east by a vacant industrial plot of land. The nearest residential properties are located about 120 metres to the south along Ashby Road, with newer housing about 170 metres to the west, beyond the urban park, along Discovery Close. The houses to the south of the site are generally screened from the site by existing industrial development and those to the west are partially screened from the site by existing vegetation within the UFP. The Coalville Conservation Area is located about 100 metres to the east of the proposed site. 3. This proposal is for an extension to the existing site northwards in to the UFP to provide a new Waste Transfer Station (WTS) building, additional HGV parking and a new security fence around the extension. The UFP (and the existing site) has been created on the site of a former landfill site which was restored and opened up to the public. 4. It is proposed to erect a new building where household residual waste would be delivered by refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) and bulked up for onward treatment/disposal at appropriate sites. The building would consist of a steel portal frame and measure 31.5m by 23.5m and be 11.5m high at the ridge of its roof. It is proposed to clad the walls and the roof with a Goosewing Grey (10 A 05) finish with eight rooflights to be fitted to allow natural light into the building. There would be three vehicular entrances with roller shutter doors and a separate personnel door on the western elevation of the building. Pre-cast concrete wall units will form a ‘push wall’ around the base of the north, east and south-west sides of the new building and if required, 3m pre-cast concrete A- frames will be utilised within the proposed WTS to create designated tipping bays. 5. The erection of the new building would lead to the loss of several HGV parking bays on the existing site and it is proposed that additional HGV parking be provided as part of this application. NWLDC parks its RCVs and other public service vehicles at the site and wishes to ensure that this capability is carried forward. The current northern fence-line would also be moved northwards to accommodate the larger site. The new fence would be 2.4m high and be galvanised steel palisade fencing or similar. 6. The applicant states that the new WTS would be expected to manage an annual throughput of up to 35,000 tonnes of residual waste. This is likely to lead to an increase of 108 HGV movements to the site per week based on current waste arisings and housing stock. DC® BOARD 09/10/2014 181 2014/0844/07 (2014/REG3Mi/0175/LCC) – continued DC® BOARD 09/10/2014 182 2014/0844/07 (2014/REG3Mi/0175/LCC) – continued 7. The applicant predicts the following additional daily HGV movements: • 2 no. Recycling & Household Waste Site vehicle; • 10 no. HGV collections to transport the bulked up waste; and • 12 no. RCVs (4 days per week). It is also anticipated that some deliveries may occur on weekends, particularly on those weekends immediately prior to a bank holiday. 8. The applicant states that suitable piling/ground improvement techniques will be utilised beneath the building stanchion to provide appropriate support for the structure. Suitable control measures would be utilised to prevent contamination from gas and leachate. 9. All liquid generated from within the new building will be directed by the floor slab grading to a dish channel flowing to either a sump located within the building or the foul drainage system with appropriate interceptor. Surface water drainage would be connected to the local surface water system via an interceptor and drain the hard standing HGV parking provision area, together with the access/exit ramp area and water from the new WTS roof. 10. The applicant is proposing the following hours of use for the facility, which mirror the current operational hours on the existing site: • Monday to Friday – 06:00 to 18:00 – throughout the year • Weekend and Bank Holidays – Deliveries of RHWS waste material and out of hours street sweepings deliveries. 11. The applicant states that presently, NWLDC delivers all of its kerbside residual waste (approximately 22,000 tonnes per annum (TPA)) to the New Albion Landfill site at Moira. However, the current planning permission for this facility expires at the end of 2014. The applicant is proposing the new facility in order to mitigate future landfill tax exposure, provide operational cost savings and provide better disposal options for residual waste in the light of the current situation at New Albion. The proposed facility is expected to provide the following benefits: • reduce the proportion of residual waste sent to landfill (in accordance with the Best Practicable Environmental Option); • provide LCC with the opportunity to transport residual waste to more cost effective and sustainable waste treatment/disposal facilities; • provide increased flexibility to meet future local waste management needs by providing a centrally located WTS for NWLDC refuse collection crews to use i.e. minimising time taken to travel to the disposal facility; • reduce overall vehicle emissions and resulting carbon footprint; • reduce transportation costs; and • reduce damage to NWLDC refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) caused by travelling over waste on active landfill sites. DC® BOARD 09/10/2014 183 2014/0844/07 (2014/REG3Mi/0175/LCC) – continued 12. The northerly extension of the current site would take mean encroaching 23 metres northwards on to the Coalville UFP. A Tree Survey has been undertaken which determined that the development would result in the loss of the following vegetation and trees: • Young trees on a bunded area on average 1.5 m tall and comprising of: • Ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ) no. 15 • Mountain Ash ( Sorbus aucuparia ) no. 6 • Hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna ) no. 17 • Scots Pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) no. 8 • Pedunculate Oak ( Quercus robur ) no. 19 • Alder ( Alnus glutinosa ) no. 15. • Older trees (c. 20 years) on the larger, flatter area approximately 4.5 to 6 m tall and comprising of: • Silver Birch ( Betula pendula ) no. 14 • Ash no. 30 • Pedunculate Oak no. 17 • Scots Pine no. 27 • Alder no. 24. The applicant goes on to state that these figures are an estimate. The Ecological Assessment carried out for the proposed development recommended that compensatory planting should be carried out with further planting of individual native tree and shrub species. These should be equal to or greater than those lost in the development of the WTS. 13. An Extended Phase-1 habitat survey was carried out in and around the application site. This survey helped guide the production of an Ecological Assessment. There are no previous records for protected or notable species for the site; however, there are records of great crested newt for the 2 km study area. The survey provided the following results: • Plants No specially protected or non-native/highly invasive species were recorded on the site. • Amphibians Great crested newts were thought to be highly likely to be using the site due to the possible connectivity of ponds on this site to those of Nature Alive where great crested newts are present. Therefore it would seem reasonable to suggest that other amphibians would be present too. • Badger Badgers were not identified to be using the site, and the surrounding urban landscape did not exhibit good potential habitat. However, a badger survey was undertaken as part of the survey suite for this site. • Bats Woodlands, trees and hedgerows surrounding the site provided some habitat for insects and therefore have possible potential for bat foraging and commuting opportunities. • Birds Woodlands trees, shrubs and hedgerows surrounding the site provided potential bird nesting habitat. DC® BOARD 09/10/2014 184 2014/0844/07 (2014/REG3Mi/0175/LCC) – continued 14. The Ecological Assessment concludes that the habitats recorded on the site are common but are considered to be of medium ecological value and important locally within the context of this widely urban environment. A habitat to the north of the site , Nature Alive, showed the presence of a good number of great crested newts (GCN) and the two sites may be linked.