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DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATORY BOARD

15TH JULY 2004

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES

APPLICATION UNDER REGULATION 3 OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING GENERAL REGULATIONS

LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL – CONSTRUCTION OF NEW SLURRY STORE, DIRTY WATER STORE AND EARTH BUND – HALFORD FARM, ROAD, KILBY ( DISTRICT)

2004/0578/01 – 27th May 2004

Location of Proposal

1. Halford Farm is situated on Fleckney Road on the eastern side of the village of Kilby. This established dairy farm consists of 81 acres (33 ha) and supports 60 dairy cows. The application site is a slightly sloping, mostly concreted, area surrounded by the existing farm buildings to the north and east, open farmland to the south and residential properties to the west.

Description of Proposal

2. It is proposed to construct a new slurry store, together with an adjacent dirty water store and a screening earth bund. There is currently no slurry storage facility at the farm and the existing dirty water store is inadequate for the size of the holding. The proposed slurry store would measure approximately 17m x 17m x 1m deep. The new dirty water store would measure approximately 12m x 3m and be underground with only the top lids visible. Both stores would be made from precast concrete panels. Dirty water would drain from the slurry store through weeping wall panels into the dirty water store.

3. Approximately 540m3 of soil would need to be removed as a result of the development. The excavated earth from the construction stage would be used on-site and be placed to the south and west of the slurry store in order to screen the slurry store from view. The soil would be arranged in an L-shape to form, at its maximum, a 1.0m high, 35m long x 30m wide flat-topped bund. The completed slurry store would not be visible from the south of the site. The dirty water store would be constructed below ground and therefore would also not be visible from outside the site. 2 2004/0578/01 – continued

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Planning Policy

4. The development plan in this instance is made up of the Structure Plan and the Blaby Local Plan. The site of the proposal is situated within an area designated as open countryside in the Local Plan, September 1999. The following policy from the Local Plan is particularly relevant to this proposal.

5. Leicestershire Structure Plan Strategy Policy 4: Development in the Countryside suggests that built development or other development having a significant adverse effect on the appearance or character of the landscape will not normally be appropriate. However, provision may be made for ….. limited small scale development for employment and leisure uses where there is limited adverse effect on the appearance and character of the landscape. The , Leicestershire & Rutland Structure Plan (as proposed to be modified July 2003) contains policies with a similar intent.

6. The application site is included in as area of open countryside where Policy C2 will apply. This policy states, inter alia, that planning permission will not be granted for development which would have a significantly adverse effect on the appearance or character of the landscape.

7. Policy C1 of the Local Plan suggests that planning permission will be granted for agricultural buildings providing that the development would have a satisfactory relationship with nearby uses, including considerations of vibration, emissions, hours of working, vehicular activity, privacy, light, illumination, noise, disturbance and overbearing effect.

Consultations

Blaby District Council

8. No objection.

Kilby Parish Council

9. No response received at the time this report was published.

Environment Agency

10. No objection.

Publicity

11. The application has been advertised by means of site notices and neighbour letter that were posted on 3rd June 2004. No representations have been received in the timescale prescribed.

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Assessment of Proposal

12. The slurry store would be screened to the north and east by existing farm buildings and to the south by the soil bund to be constructed from the excavated spoil. It would be a small-scale structure only visible from outside the site from the south along the existing farm access and would, therefore, not significantly affect the visual amenity of the locality. The bund would be seeded with grass on completion and would be in keeping with the character of the landscape. The sealed dirty water store would be constructed below ground level and therefore would not be visible from outside the site.

13. The slurry and dirty water would be disposed of on-site and not transported elsewhere, therefore, the proposal would not lead to any increase in traffic.

14. Any potential odour nuisance resulting from the slurry and dirty water stores could be addressed by a condition requiring the implementation of an odour mitigation scheme.

15. Consequently the proposal when considered against the criteria set out in the relevant policy of the Local Plan is acceptable in planning terms and is recommended for approval accordingly.

Recommendation

A. Permit subject to the conditions, as set out in the appendix.

B. To endorse, as required by the Town & Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 (as amended) a summary of the:

(i) Policies and proposals in the development plan which are relevant to the decision, as follows:

This application has been determined in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Acts, and in the context of the Government’s current planning policy guidance and the relevant Circulars, together with the relevant Development Plan policies, including the following, and those referred to under the specific conditions, as set out in the appendix: -

Leicestershire Structure Plan Strategy Policy 4 Blaby District Local Plan: Policies C1 & C2

(ii) Reasons for the grant of planning permission as follows:

The County Council considers that the environmental benefits associated with the proposal outweigh any potential harm to the amenity of the area, and that any such harm would reasonably be mitigated by the imposition of conditions, as set out in the appendix.

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Circulation Under Sensitive Issues Procedure

Mrs. A.C.M. Pullen, CC

Officer to Contact

Miss A. Baker (Tel. 0116 265 7054) Email: [email protected]

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Conditions

1. The development hereby permitted shall be begun within 5 years of the date of this permission.

2. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Director of Community Services, the development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the details contained in the submitted application No. 2004/0578/01 and accompanying drawings nos. 2037/L3, Halfd1, HALFD2 and HALFD 3.

3. Within three months of the installation of the stores hereby permitted the earth bund shall be provided in accordance with the submitted plans and shall be sown in a satisfactory manner to an approved grass seeding mixture or other crop, in accordance with a scheme to be first agreed in writing by the Director of Community Services.

4. In the event of any complaint, relating to odour emanating from the site and considered to be reasonable by the Director of Community Services, a scheme of mitigating measures shall be submitted to the Director of Community Services for written approval within two weeks of the complaint occurring. The scheme of measures shall seek to minimise the effects of the nuisance and mitigate the offending circumstances. The scheme of measures shall be implemented within seven days following written approval.

Reasons

1. To comply with Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990

2. To ensure that the development is carried out in accordance with the submitted application.

3. To enhance the appearance of the development. (Blaby District Local Plan Policy C1).

4. To protect the amenities of the local residents. (Blaby District Local Plan Policy C1).

Note to Applicant

Your attention is drawn to the contents of the letter dated 21st June 2004 from the Environment Agency attached to this planning permission.

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DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATORY BOARD

The considerations set out below apply to all preceding applications.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IMPLICATIONS

Unless otherwise stated in the report there are no discernible equal opportunities implications.

IMPLICATIONS FOR DISABLED PERSONS

On all educational proposals the Director of Education and the Director of Resources will be informed as follows:

Note to Applicant Department

Your attention is drawn to the provisions of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Person’s Act 1970 and the Design Note 18 “Access for the Disabled People to Educational Buildings” 1984.

You are advised to contact the County Council’s Assistant Personnel Officer (Disabled People) if you require further advice on this aspect of the proposal.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

Unless otherwise stated in the report the background papers used in the preparation of this report are available on the relevant planning application files.

SECTION 54A OF TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990

Members are reminded that Section 54A of the 1990 Act requires that:

“Where, in making any determination under the Planning Acts, regard is to be had to the development plan, the determination shall be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.”

Any relevant provisions of the development plan (i.e. the Structure Plan or any approved Local Plans) are identified in the individual reports.

The circumstances in which the Board is required to “have regard” to the development plan are:

Section 70(2) : determination of applications; Section 77(4) : called-in applications (applying s. 70); Section 79(4) : planning appeals (applying s. 70); Section 81(3) : provisions relating to compensation directions by Secretary of State (this section is repealed by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991); Section 91(2) : power to vary period in statutory condition requiring development to be begun; Section 92(6) : power to vary applicable period for outline planning permission; Section 97(2) : revocation or modification of planning permission; Section 102(1) : discontinuance orders; Section 172(1) : enforcement notices (the phrase occurs also in the new s. 172 which is substituted by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, but not in the new provisions relating to planning contravention notices (new s. 171C) and breach of condition notices (new s. 187A); Section 177(2) : Secretary of State’s power to grant planning permission on enforcement appeal; Section 226(2) : compulsory acquisition of land for planning purposes; Section 294(3) : special enforcement notices in relation to Crown land; Sched. 9 para (1) : minerals discontinuance orders.

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