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Application Details Application Ref No C/2013/0062 Application Type Outline Accompanied by Environmental Impact Assessment All matters reserved for future approval Case Officer Steve Smith Head of Planning & Building Control Lodged Date 15 th February 2013 Expiration of 16 week Target 7th June 2013 (extended by agreement to 10 th July 2013) Applicant Details Mr Peter Thomas Heads of the Valley Development Company The Coach House 79 Mill Way Grantchester CB3 9ND Agent Details Mr Mark Farrar Powell Dobson Urbanists Links Business Park Charterhouse St Mellons Cardiff CF3 0LT Location Land North of Rassau Industrial Estate Ebbw Vale Proposal Circuit of Wales Motorsport Facility (comprising: high performance circuit; motocross circuit; karting circuit; four-wheel drive circuit; riding academy; innovation centre; hotels; retail showrooms; ancillary retail; industrial and business uses; driver training area; solar park; camping; parking; landscaping and associated uses) Ward(s) Ebbw Vale Rassau and Tredegar Sirhowy 1 Content A. Introduction B. Location Plan & Masterplan C. Executive Summary D. Detailed Report 1.0 The Planning Application 2.0 Process 3.0 Site and Surroundings 4.0 Project Description 5.0 Internal Consultee Responses 6.0 External Consultee Responses 7.0 Publicity and Third Party Representations 8.0 Setting the Context - The Development Plan and Planning Policy 9.0 Phasing 10.0 Services 11.0 Landscape and Visual Impact 12.0 Noise & Vibration 13.0 Light 14.0 Waste 15.0 Air Quality 16.0 Ground Conditions & Hydrology 17.0 Archaeology and Heritage 18.0 Socio Economic 19.0 Ecology 20.0 Transport and Movement 21.0 Alternative Sites 22.0 Brecon Beacons National Park 23.0 Viability and Business Plan 24.0 Section 106 Planning Obligation 25.0 Common Land 26.0 Conclusion 27.0 Recommendation 28.0 Conditions Appendix 1 – Glossary of Terms Appendix 2 - Consultation response - Brecon Beacons National Park 2 Part A - Introduction 1.0 Introduction 1.1 This report considers the planning application submitted for the Circuit of Wales (CoW) - a proposed major motorsport venue on land north of Rassau Industrial Estate. By its very nature, the planning application documentation is technical and voluminous. The purpose of this report is not to repeat at length the information contained in the Environmental Statement (ES). Rather, I will attempt to set out in clear and concise terms the project, its impact on the area, the proposed mitigation and whether in planning terms it is an acceptable development. 1.2 I am aware of media reports over the past few months extolling both the potential positive impacts of the development and the potential negative environmental consequences. The issues raised by this proposal are indeed inter-related and complex. It is important the Council has regard to them all and Members must approach the application with an open mind. They must carefully consider the detail of this report and in applying planning policy and their knowledge of the area, come to a balanced and reasoned decision. 1.3 I have structured the report in four parts. Firstly, this brief introduction (Part A). This is followed by location plans (Part B). The third part is an executive summary (Part C). This is a short précis of the project, summarises the issues and the recommendation. It is not a substitute for reading the full report. The fourth and final section is the detailed report (Part D). It is the full consideration of the issues under specific and individual topic headings. This is structured in the traditional format used in Planning Committee reports. 1.4 Wherever possible I have tried to avoid the use of technical language and abbreviations. However, this is sometimes unavoidable when dealing with technical issues but I have included a glossary of terms at Appendix 1. If Members have any questions or queries, it is important that they seek clarification from officers before making a decision. 1.5 Finally, copies of the planning application including the ES and the subsequent Addendum remain in the Members room, Blaina District Office and BRC Tafarnaubach. If any more detail is required before the day of Council, you are advised to contact the Planning & Building Control Section immediately. 3 Part B - Location Plan and Masterplan 1.0 Site and Outline Masterplan 1.1 The extent of the planning application is delineated by the red line. 1.2 A detailed breakdown of the scheme is given later in this report but the illustrative masterplan is shown below. The main circuit is visible with ancillary tracks, grandstands and business units etc arranged around the main circuit. Rassau Industrial Estate is shown in the bottom right hand corner. 4 Part C - Executive Summary 1.0 Executive Summary 1.1 This executive summary provides an overview of the detailed report that follows. It is not a substitute for reading the full report but it should provide a useful aide memoir . 1.2 The scale of this application is unprecedented in this County Borough. In terms of site area and development footprint it exceeds even the major regeneration site at The Works. 1.3 The Circuit of Wales (CoW) has received extensive press and media coverage. This has included views for and against the proposal and it is important that Members set aside any pre-conceived ideas or assumptions about the project. The planning application must be decided on its own merit having regard to the Council’s development plan and all other material considerations. This is required by law. 1.4 The Environmental Statement (ES) provides a basis for a critical analysis of the impacts of the development. Council officers, consultees and the general public have had the opportunity of scrutinising the application and have required further clarification on many aspects. The results of that process are in this report. 1.5 CoW has the potential to create a significant number of jobs. I do not need to rehearse the economic difficulties facing the County Borough here for the importance of that statement to be fully realised. However, this of itself does not provide justification for granting planning permission. The planning process is a quasi judicial one and the Council is required by law to follow certain rules and processes. 1.6 Perhaps the most important is s38 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. This requires that planning applications be determined in the light of the Council’s development plan unless material considerations justify setting aside the policies in that document. In this case, the Council’s new LDP was adopted as recently as November 2012. It is an up to date policy statement from the Council. It sets the vision for development of the County Borough for the next 10 years. It must be afforded considerable weight in the decision making process. 1.7 However, the task of assessing such a complex planning application against the LDP is not an easy one. There are detailed policies that can be legitimately interpreted for and against CoW. The responsibility placed upon the Council is to consider the proposal in the light of the development plan in the round. In other words, have regard to detailed policies as well as the underlying aims and the holistic aspirations of the plan. 5 1.8 The LDP proposals map defines a settlement boundary beyond which development is not usually allowed. The entire CoW application site, all 344ha (850 acres) of it is outside the settlement boundary. A simplistic interpretation of the LDP would therefore suggest a straightforward refusal of planning permission. However, the Council must have regard to all other policies in the plan and of course the caveat built into s38 i.e. unless material considerations lead Members to a conclusion departing from the LDP. 1.9 The ES argues that the socio economic benefits outweigh other considerations and makes bold claims for the employment generating potential of the development. During construction, it claims 4000 employment hours over 8 years amounting to 500 FTE per year. It is also predicts around 1,500 public facing jobs once the circuit is operational. This figure of 1,500 is split roughly 50/50 between jobs on site and off site throughout the wider region and indeed Wales. Some of these are seasonal and part time. In addition the associated business and technology units could generate in the region of 2,000 – 3,000 jobs. 1.10 There are various means of estimating employment figures but in my experience they are informed estimates. What is indisputable is that a significant number of construction and post construction jobs would be created if the development proceeds to completion. If planning permission is granted, a s106 agreement can go some way to ensuring these jobs are delivered locally. The Council must form its own opinion on the likelihood of employment on the claimed scale materialising and how this might impact the local area. 1.11 The other side of the equation is the environmental impact of the development. This must be acknowledged by even the most ardent of CoW supporters. These impacts range from noise to ecology, archaeology to transport, hydrology to visual. The ES has sought to assess the nature and magnitude of impact. 1.12 The key questions facing Council are these; i. does the Council have sufficient information to decide the application? ii. is the employment generating aspect of the development real and deliverable? iii. is that sufficient to set aside the policy presumptions against development of this site and the environmental impacts? iv. can negative impacts be avoided or appropriate mitigation measures secured to offset the environmental affects? 6 1.13 I have no doubt that if approved, CoW will irrevocably change the noise, visual and ecological environment of the site and its environs.