DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATION COMMITTEE 23 Febuary 2010 A Report by the Head of Environment _____________________________________________________________________ Application No 2/09/9031 District Allerdale Applicant CoRE North West Parish Holme Low Workington Date of Receipt 3 November 2009 _____________________________________________________________________ PROPOSAL Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant Blackdyke Industrial Estate, Silloth, Wigton, Cumbria _____________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION 1.1 That planning permission is granted for the reasons stated in Appendix 1 and subject to the conditions listed in Appendix 2. 2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 CORE (Community Renewable Energy) North West proposes to develop an Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Blackdyke Industrial Estate near Silloth. Anaerobic Digestion is a process that recovers biogas (mainly methane) from biological material within a sealed oxygen-free tank. It produces a residue, called digestate which can be used as a fertiliser. The application is to process up to 27,000 tonnes per annum of agricultural waste, including chicken litter, farm slurry and manure, and also grass silage produced on local farms. It is anticipated that the development would create 7 full time jobs. 2.2 The AD plant, following completion, would be part-owned by a co-operative of local farmers who would contribute input materials and benefit from digestate, heat and power outputs. The outputs from the process would include1MW electricity supplied to the National Grid, heat to be used in the development and adjacent businesses, and liquid and solid digestates to be used as fertiliser by member farmers. The development if granted planning consent would also be subject to regulation by the Environment Agency. 2.3 The proposed development would comprise: • two metal clad concrete tanks 38.5m diameter x 6m tall, one the digester tank; and the other the digestate storage tank which would have a 5m gas cone on top of the 6m high cylinder; • 12.5m diameter, 2m tall, sealed liquid reception tank • Pitched roof, brick building (approximately 8.7m x 15.5m and 3.5m to the eaves) housing two combined heat and power gas engines • Weighbridge • 4m high concrete sileage clamp (20m x 87m at the longest point) • transformer building approximately 5m x 11m and 3.4m high, and • pipework and electrical grid connection. • additional vehicular circulation space, parking, and hardstandings • landscaping to include planted earth bunds around the digestion tanks and silage clamp, and enhanced hedgerow planting 2.4 The proposed development would access the highway via the existing access used by the adjacent concrete block factory. No alterations to this access are proposed. 3.0 CONSULTATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS 3.1 Allerdale Borough Council have no objections subject to conditions on materials, boundary treatment and lighting, included in suggested conditions 6 and 7. 3.2 Holme Low Parish Council have no objections subject to the imposition of the traffic routeing plan and the minor highway improvements in suggested condition 4. 3.3 Natural England have no objections. 3.4 The Environment Agency have no objections. 3.5 United Utilities(UU) have no objections. 3.6 The Highway Authority have no objections. 3.7 Environmental Health have no objections as the plant will be subject to control by the Environment Agency under a permit. 3.8 The AONB Staff Unit - Solway Coast support the application. 3.9 The local Member Mr AJ Markley has been notified. 3.10 Twenty seven representations had been received when this report was prepared. Three are objections from, or on behalf of, the two nearest neighbours, Blackdyke and The Yard. The first cites the “general unneighbourliness of the development and specifically: flood risk, noise nuisance, odour nuisance, visual impact, highway safety and site selection. These issues are considered in the planning assessment below. 3.11 The second is from the owner of “The Yard”, south of the site, but no details of the grounds of the objection had been submitted at the time this report was prepared. A third, from a member of the public on behalf of the owner of Blackdyke, lists 24 points on which the writer alleges breaches of process or failure to consider relevant issues. 3.12 Following the submission of a draft routeing plan, three representations were received objecting to the inclusion of the road past The Windmill, or the West Causewayhead road. One of these was from the Parish Clerk, one from the Chairman, and one from the occupier of The Windmill. The routeing plan has since been amended to their satisfaction. 3.13 Twenty one expressions of support have also been received. Some are from members of the public supporting the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and diversification for farmers, while many are from local farmers who support the principle for the same reasons. Some of these would benefit from the outputs. 3.14 Three are from local businesses. The two adjacent businesses support the application, as they would benefit from the outputs. • The adjacent poultry farmer, who is a potential member of the co-operative and currently grows cereals as well writes that growing grass for silage to feed the digestor would promise a much better income. • The manager of the adjacent concrete block plant states: “I am emailing our company’s support today for the anaerobic digester because the renewable heat it generates will play a valuable part in reducing our production costs, therefore helping to safeguard the employees jobs and the company as well in these difficult times and create some much needed employment for the area.” • A food and agribusiness in Penrith also wrote to support the application on the grounds that harnessing the gas given off by animal slurries and grass crops and creating renewable electricity from it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and provides a stable and consistent income to farmers. 3.15 Two co-operative organisations support the proposal. The Board of Co- operatives North West write that it would create sustainable and good quality employment opportunities in the area; maintain/sustain farms as viable entities and reduce the environmental impacts of farming. Co-operative and Mutual Solutions in Lancashire have also written to support the proposal. 3.16 Cumbria Vision’s Strategic Director and Director have submitted a letter and an email respectively, supporting the principle of the proposal, it’s contribution to Cumbria’s renewable energy targets, benefits to the rural economy and the value of the project as an exemplar and demonstration plant. Cumbria Vision have supported the feasibility funding of the proposal. 3.17 The University of Cumbria’s School of Sustainable Engineering at Newton Rigg Campus supports the sustainability and effectiveness of the process. Students and researchers would hope to work with the AD plant if consent is granted. 3.18 Letters of support have also been received from Envirolink North West, The Solway Coast AONB Staff Unit, and Penrith Action for Community Transition. 4.0 PLANNING ASSESSMENT 4.1 The proposal is primarily an energy from waste development, but would also use forage crops (initially grass silage) from neighbouring farms. The proposed plant would convert a number of problem materials into useful outputs, i.e. low carbon and renewable electricity, heat and fertilisers. Sustainability and carbon reduction 4.2 The contribution to combating climate change and developing energy security includes harnessing methane emissions from animal slurry and bedding; the replacement of synthetic fertilisers derived from natural gas; as well as displacement of fossil fuel by low carbon and renewable sources. DEfRA support the development of the technology as “a well proven renewable energy and waste management technology”; and state “We are committed to making the most of the potential of anaerobic digestion to contribute to our climate change, waste management and wider environmental objectives.” 4.3 The project was selected for funding support by the NWDA out of over 60 low carbon projects across the whole NW region on the basis of its strategic, technical, employment and CO2 significance. I consider that this plant would help to establish Cumbria as a leading sub region in anaerobic digestion as well as demonstrating the opportunity to other farmers of the economic benefit and carbon reduction capacity of this process. 4.4 The paragraphs below set out the specifics of the site and how the Development Plan translates the general national policy support for the process into relevant planning policy. Site description 4.5 The 2.3 hectare site is just over 800m from the Solway Firth Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is however adjacent to a concrete block factory, housed within an aircraft hangar but with a large amount of external storage, and includes a section of a second aircraft hangar and its associated concrete hardstanding. The majority of the site consists of fields which extend beyond the site boundary to an unclassified minor road that links to the B5302. This road bounds the fields to the north and east and is edged with close trimmed hedges with the occasional hedgerow tree. A similar hedge, part of which would need to be removed for the proposal, runs through the site. 4.6 South of the aircraft hangar are two chicken sheds occupied by Pearson’s Poultry Farm, which has a separate highway access on to the unclassified road mentioned above. South and east of that, with