DEVELOPMENT CONTROL and REGULATION COMMITTEE 17 March 2009 a Report by the Head of Environment

DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATION COMMITTEE 17 March 2009 A Report by the Head of Environment

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Application No 3/08/9017 District Eden District Council

Applicant Hanson Quarry Products Parish Shap Rural and Thrimby Europe Ltd Date of Receipt 5 September 2008 ______

PROPOSAL Application for determination of Conditions under Review of old mineral planning permission (3/92/9013) in accordance with the Environment Act 1995. Shap Beck Quarry, Shap, Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2NX ______

1.0 RECOMMENDATION

1.1 That, having taken account of the environmental information in the Environmental Statement submitted with the application, planning permission is GRANTED for the reasons stated in Appendix 1 and subject to the conditions in Appendix 2.

1.2 That the planning assessment in Section 4 of this report shall form the basis of the statement required to be made public under Regulation 21 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 This application is for the determination of conditions relating to planning permission 3/92/9013 (incorporating permission WCC491) which was granted consent in September 1993 in accordance with Section 95 of the Environment Act 1995.

2.2 The Environment Act 1995 places an obligation on planning authorities to undertake a Periodic Review of old mineral planning permissions every 15 years. The applicant has submitted a scheme of conditions supported by an Environmental Statement (ES) to assess the potential effects arising from continued operation of the permissions.

2.3 The National Park boundary runs through the north of the site which comprises the quarry working area. The County Council are the planning authority for that part of the site which falls outside the national park boundary, which consists of the plant and access. This application does not seek permission for new works at the site or within the quarry or to alter the current method of operation.

2.4 Shap Beck Quarry is a large limestone quarry of some 118ha lying 2m north of Shap village. The site is operated on a 24hr basis (weekdays) and produces approximately 750,000 tonnes of limestone per annum. The site operates a two- shift system employing 30 people (September 2008) and many more in associated activities.

2.5 The limestone deposit contains both high quality white limestone and standard quality pink limestone. The high-grade mineral is utilised in the manufacture of steel. Pink limestone is more often utilised as a general aggregate and roadstone and utilised locally and regionally.

2.6 This review relates to the 70.5ha of land known as the plant site where there are no active areas of mineral extraction.

2.7 Mineral is exported from the quarry by road and rail. There is a railway connection running through the site. Hanson operates its own fleet of Heavy Goods Vehicles and also sell directly to merchants who self collect. Sinter dust is transported to Corus Teeside plant at the present rate of one train per day, six days per week (in excess of 175,000tpa). Normally kiln stone is delivered by road to Corus Shap Fell at a present rate in excess of 275,000tpa. A small fleet of HGVs make deliveries on a semi- continuous basis.

2.8 The application includes a restoration scheme for the site. This comprises all

plant and machinery and hardstanding removed, the land reprofiled to gentle undulating contours, construction of new fields, bounded by hedgerows and new stone walls, restoration of the larger areas to low maintenance grassland and approximately 8ha designated for nature conservation in three areas based upon the existing water management areas. This site is expected to continue working until 2042.

3.0 CONSULTATIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS

3.1 Eden District Council have no objections.

3.2 The Lake District National Park Authority consider that the operation of the quarry under the proposed conditions is unlikely to have an adverse impact on the National Park and therefore have no objections to the proposed conditions.

3.3 The Highway Authority have no objections and state that they are not aware of any problems occurring as a result of the present quarrying operations and the findings of the statement appear to be satisfactory. It is noted that no change to highway conditions are required.

3.4 The Highways Agency have no objections.

3.5 Shap Parish Council comment as follows:

Effects of workings, stockpiles, elevators’ illumination at night. Whilst they appreciate the need for lighting they request that consideration is given for shielding on the lights to minimise light pollution.

There is a persistent problem of dust pollution levels within the village from lorries leaving the site and dust being dragged through. They feel this needs to be monitored and reported on.

Documentation states nearest dwellings are Brinns Farm and Southfield but Scarside Farm to the west of the quarry is the nearest and this has not been considered.

As Scarside Farm is the nearest dwelling, test results from blasting should be monitored. The buildings and field walls at Scarside Farm shake from the blasting and the owners who live at the property and the tenant who grazes the land should be consulted with results from tests carried out as they have done at the two other properties mentioned.

3.6 The Environment Agency recommends a condition that mineral excavation shall not take place below the topographic surface shown on the submitted drawing. The Mineral Planning Authority should not agree to any excavation below this specified surface until or unless Hydro-geological Impact Assessment and Habitats Directive Appropriate Assessment has been undertaken, in respect of the potential impact on local groundwater resources, abstractions and conservation status sites, and that the proposed development has either been shown to have no adverse effects upon them or that adequate protection or mitigation measures have been agreed.

3.7 Natural England requested an appropriate assessment of the impacts of the development on the River Leith, which is a tributary of the River Eden Special

Area of Conservation (SAC) and River Eden and Tributaries Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The key concerns relate to the potential for siltation, run-off and other pollutants affecting the River Leith during operation and future use; the potential for water quality to deteriorate as a result of quarrying activities and future use; water resource impacts such as alterations to river flows during operation and potential impacts of disturbance during quarrying.

3.8 An assessment under the Habitats Regulations has been prepared and this concluded that the scheme provides appropriate conditions to ensure that any adverse impacts are satisfactorily mitigated and as such the proposal would not adversely affect the integrity of the SAC and SSSI. They recommend a condition relating to Great Crested Newts.

3.9 Natural England are satisfied with the proposed restoration scheme and the soil restoration strategy.

3.10 Network Rail have recommended a number of conditions if there are any workings close to the railway line.

3.11 Local Members Mr Bird and Mr Strong have been notified.

3.12 Cllr M Tonkin, Eden District Council, comments that as there is no Thrimby Parish Clerk at the moment he has made extensive local inquiries and has had a tour of the quarry. Blasting takes place every two weeks and he noted that it had been 914 days since the last accident. The A6 outside the site is swept three times a week and Shap village is swept weekly. He visited three farms which are close to the quarry, two of which said they had no issues with the quarry and the third, Brinns Farm, no one was available to speak but he left his card if they had any issues. No response was received.

He made further inquiries in Little Strickland where a local complained about the state of the road and wondered why there was no wheel wash. Another resident said some lorries left the site without any tarpaulin covers. He was not able to substantiate this allegation. He consulted the district councillor for Shap Rural and he reported no problems with the quarry workings.

4.0 PLANNING ASSESSMENT

Environment Act 1995

4.1 The purpose of the legislation requiring that mineral working permissions are subject to periodic review, is to secure the updating of conditions to modern standards. Shap Beck Quarry is operated on the basis of two different permissions, one of which is for the working quarry which lies within the Lake District National Park. The other is under the 1993 consent for the plant, offices and access (the subject of this review).

4.2 As the working part of the quarry falls within the Lake District National Park boundary this is subject to a separate planning consent. It was last reviewed in 2004 and will be reviewed again in 2019.

Access and Dust

4.3 Shap Parish Council has raised the issue of dust pollution in the village from wagons leaving the site. The schedule of conditions incorporates a requirement for dust suppression measures, including water spraying of haul and access roads, working areas, plant area and stockpiling areas in periods of dry weather. There is also a requirement for all vehicles to be sheeted when leaving the site and I am proposing a further condition requiring that all wagons leaving the site should be in a clean condition. A road sweeper sweeps the A6 three times a week and once a week through Shap Village.

4.4 Currently the haul route, which is tarmaced, has a continuous spray of water to clean tyres and during recent visits to the site this appears to be working satisfactorily. Wagons and plant area are also sprayed during dry periods. I will continue to monitor the site and it may be necessary to require a wheel wash facility to be made available which could be required under the above proposed condition.

Visual Impact

4.5 The site is operated on a 24 hour basis on weekdays which necessitates night time illumination of the quarry and working areas. The Parish Council has requested the shielding of lights to reduce night time glare. The site is generally well screened, particularly from the A6, by a mixed woodland lying between the A6 and the site. However the quarry and workings are much more exposed from views into the site from the east and distant views from the south, particularly from the edge of Shap village. This is particularly so at night time given the high level of illumination.

4.6 I have discussed this issue with the site manager and it would be possible to review the current lighting at the site to reduce light spillage whilst at the same time maintaining sufficient lighting for health and safety reasons. I have therefore proposed a new condition which requires a lighting scheme to be submitted to ensure light spillage is kept to the minimum necessary.

Noise and blasting

4.7 The site lies in a rural area and the 3 closest noise sensitive receptors are Brinns Farm, Southfield Farm and Scarside Farm which are all located in excess of 600m from the closest part of the quarry. Noise meters were set up at the two closest properties to this current application, Brinns Farm and Southfield Farm. Scarside Farm, whilst closer to the quarry is not as close to the plant site the subject of this application.

4.8 Due to background road traffic noise, the noise levels monitored at the selected receptors are above normal guidelines, daytime, evening and night time noise criteria. Noise from the M6 (Southfield Farm) and A6 (Brinns Farm) was determined to be the dominant noise source.

4.9 Predicted quarry noise levels at the two receptors are well below the assessment criteria based on Government guidance for mineral operations both during daytime and evening. However the period 6.00 – 7.00 is classified in guidance as night time (but is day shift according to the quarry working hours) and the

predicted levels at this time exceed the recommended levels by up to 1.8dB at Brinns Farm and 1.0dB at Southfield Farm. A new noise condition is proposed to reflect current government guidance.

4.10 Blasting takes place on a weekly basis and conditions limit the times of blasts and control of the effects of air blast overpressure arising from blasting from the adjacent workings.

Nature Conservation

4.11 Two water features are considered to have the most ecological significance, Sweetholme ponds and Shap Beck.

4.12 In the southern section of the site are a complex of six ponds known as Sweetholme Ponds created as part of the surface water management system. They are considered to have good aquatic and marginal vegetation and are a suitable habitat for amphibians. Shap Beck forms the eastern boundary of the site and is a tributary of the River Leith and subsequently River Eden SAC and SSSI.

4.13 Natural England raised concerns about the potential for pollutants and run-off from the quarry affecting the beck and the potential for water quality in the beck to deteriorate (and its impact on the River Eden SAC and SSSI). They requested that an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Regulation is carried out.

4.14 The outcome of the Appropriate Assessment demonstrates that the continuation of the operations at the quarry should not adversely affect the integrity of the River Eden SAC and SSSI, subject to appropriate conditions on the review scheme. The schedule of conditions includes a requirement for ground and surface water monitoring and of monitoring of the quality of water discharges from the settlement lagoons located at Sweetholme Ponds. Natural England are satisfied with this assessment and have requested a condition to ensure that any Great Crested Newts which may be present are protected.

Human Rights Act 1998

4.15 The proposal will have a limited impact on the visual, residential and environmental amenity of the area. Any impacts on the rights of local property owners to a private and family life and peaceful enjoyment of their possessions (Article 8 and Article 1 of Protocol 1) are minimal and proportionate to the wider social and economic interests of the community.

Conclusion

4.16 The determination for approval of a new schedule of conditions for mineral working permissions is a mandatory process for which refusal is not an option. The schedule of conditions will apply to this for fifteen years. The conditions relating to the quarry working area were reviewed by the LDNPA in 2004. The review of these conditions relate to the plant, machinery and access.

4.17 It is considered that the schedule of conditions now proposed reflects current government guidance and best practice. It is recommend that having taken account of the information in the Environmental Impact Assessment, approval is given for the schedule of conditions set out in Appendix 2.

Shaun Gorman Head of Environment

Contact

Mrs Jane Corry, Kendal, tel: 01539 713414, email: [email protected]

Background Papers

Planning Application File Reference No. 3/08/9017

Electoral Division Identification

Mr GB Strong. Penrith Rural Electoral Divsion Mr RA Bird, Eden Lakes ED

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Appendix 1 Ref No. 3/08/9017 Development Control and Regulation Committee – 17 March 2009

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE) ORDER 1995 (AS AMENDED)

SUMMARY OF REASONS FOR GRANT OF PLANNING PERMISSION

1 This application has been determined in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Acts and the Environment Act 1995. The proposed conditions are in accordance with the development plan and take account of material considerations.

Appendix 2 Ref No.3/08/9017 Development Control and Regulation Committee 17 March 2009

CONDITIONS IMPOSED ON PLANNING PERMISSION WCC491 AND 3/92/9013 PURSUANT TO SCHEDULES 13 AND 14 OF THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995

Time Limits

1 This permission shall be for a limited period only expiring on 21 February 2042, by which date the operations hereby permitted shall have ceased, all buildings, plant and machinery, including foundations and hardstandings shall have been removed from the site, and the site shall have been restored in accordance with the approved scheme.

Reason: In accordance with the requirements of the Environment Act 1995.

APPROVED OPERATIONS PROGRAMME

2 The development shall only be carried out strictly in accordance with the approved documents, hereinafter referred to as the approved scheme. Any variation to the approved scheme shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority prior to being carried out.

Reason: To ensure that the site is operated and restored in accordance with the approved scheme.

3 In the event that mineral working permanently ceases prior to the full implementation of the approved scheme, a revised scheme for the restoration of the site shall be submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority. Such a revised approved scheme shall be adhered to and the site restored within 12 months of the cessation of working.

Reason: To secure the restoration of the site in the event of permanent cessation of mineral extraction prior to implementation of the full scheme in accordance with Policies 21 and Policy 22 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

4 No working of minerals or any other development shall take place in the areas shaded grey on plan d115099.es.005.

Reason: For the avoidance of doubt.

5 Mineral excavation shall not take place below the topographic surface shown on drawing D115099.ES.005 (amended plan received 12 January 2009) without the prior written approval of the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To protect local water resources, ground water abstractions and ecological conservation sites..

ACCESS AND TRAFFIC

6 There shall be no vehicular access to or egress from the site other than via the approved access unless otherwise agreed by the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To minimise the potential for any disturbance to the flow of traffic on the public highway and in the interests of highway safety in accordance with Policy 1 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

7 The access road from the site to the public highway shall be kept clean and maintained in a good standard of repair, free of potholes for the life of the operations, to the satisfaction of the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To prevent the carriage of dust, mud and any other deleterious material onto the public highway in accordance with Policy 1 and Policy 4 of the Cumbria Minerals And Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

8 A drainage system shall be installed and maintained for the life of the quarrying operations to ensure that no slurry or water from the site flows on to the public highway.

Reason: To prevent the carriage of dust and mud on to the public highway in accordance with Policy 1 and Policy 4 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

CONTROL OF BLASTING, NOISE AND DUST

9 Except in the case of emergency, such instances to be notified to the Local Planning Authority, blasting shall not take place outside the hours of:-

10.00 to 16.00 Mondays to Fridays 10.00 to 12.00 Saturdays

and shall not take place at all on Sundays or Public Holidays.

Reason: To minimise the potential for any adverse impact arising from blasting in accordance with policy 3 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

10 The operator shall make every effort to reduce the effects of air blast overpressure arising from blasting. Such effort shall have regard to blast design, methods of initiation and the weather conditions prevailing at the time.

Reason: To minimise the potential for any adverse impact arising from blasting in accordance with policy 3 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

11 Blasting operations shall be so carried out that no component of the peak particle velocity attributable to any blast, measured at any point along the railway boundary exceeds 12 mm per second.

Reason: To minimise the potential for any adverse impact arising from blasting in

accordance with policy 3 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

12 No secondary blasting shall be carried out within the site.

Reason: To minimise the potential for any adverse impact arising from blasting in accordance with policy 3 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

13 Drilling equipment shall be fitted with effective dust suppression equipment and maintained such that dust does not constitute a nuisance outside the site.

Reason: To prevent any potential adverse impact from dust emissions from the site in accordance with Policy 4 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

14 All plant, machinery and vehicles used on site shall be effectively silenced at all times in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations so as to minimise the level of noise generated by their operation.

Reason: To prevent any adverse impact from noise emissions arising from the site in accordance with Policy 2 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

15 Free field noise levels shall not exceed 55dBLAeq1hr between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00 and 42dBLAeq1hr at all other times as measured at any noise sensitive receptor.

Reason: To prevent any adverse impact from noise emissions arising from the site in accordance with Policy 2 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

16 The operator shall provide, implement and maintain such suppression measures as may be required by the Local Planning Authority to prevent the emission of dust from the development hereby permitted. Such measures shall include the water spraying of haul and access roads, working areas, plant area and stockpiling areas with water to satisfactorily suppress dust in periods of dry weather in order that it does not constitute a nuisance outside the site.

Reason: To prevent any potential adverse impact from dust emissions from the site in accordance with Policy 4 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

17 All vehicles used to transport mineral from the site onto the public highway shall be sheeted so as not to emit any mineral upon the highway.

Reason: To prevent the carriage of dust and mud on to the public highway in accordance with Policy 1 and Policy 4 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

18 No vehicle shall leave the site unless it is in a clean enough condition to prevent it depositing mud, dirt or dust on the A6.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety and in accordance with Policy 1 and Policy 4 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

19 No laden vehicles shall leave the site before 0700 unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority.

Reason: To minimise impact on residential amenity.

ILLUMINATION

20 A scheme to minimise light spillage from the quarry shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority within 6 months of the date of this consent. Once approved the scheme shall be implemented in its entirety.

Reason: To minimise the visual impact and impact on the amenity of nearby residents from the quarry lighting during evenings and night time.

SAFEGUARDING OF WATERCOURSES AND DRAINAGE

21 The operator shall at all times implement measures, to safeguard the site and any adjoining land, for the collection, treatment and disposal of all water entering or arising on the site, including an increased flow from the land, to ensure that there shall be no pollution of watercourses or flooding of adjacent land by the approved operations.

Reason: To prevent any incident of ground or water pollution or flooding and the safeguard any designated nature conservation interest in accordance with Policy 5 and Policy of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies and Policy E34 of the Cumbria And Lake district Joint Structure Plan 2001 – 2016.

22 Any chemical, oil or diesel storage tanks on the site shall be sited on impervious bases and surrounded by impervious bund walls; the bunded areas shall be capable of containing 110% of the largest tank's volume and must enclose all fill and drawpipes.

Reason: To prevent any incident of ground or water pollution and the safeguard any designated nature conservation interest in accordance with Policy 5 and Policy of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies and Policy E34 of the Cumbria And Lake district Joint Structure Plan 2001 – 2016.

PROTECTED SPECIES

23 No use or operation hereby permitted shall be carried out so as to adversely affect the implementation of the mitigation report prepared by URS Ecology dated 30 July 2008.

Reason: To provide satisfactory protection for great crested newts.

STRIPPING, STORAGE AND USE OF SOILS AND OVERBURDEN

24 The Mineral Planning Authority shall, for each phase of soil stripping operations, be given at least 48 hours notice by the operator of their intention to commence such operations and the planned duration. If the boundary of the area to be stripped is not marked by identifiable features it shall be clearly marked with suitable pegs.

Reason: To ensure the proper removal, storage and replacement of soils.

25 All available topsoil shall be stripped from any part of the site before it is excavated or is traversed by heavy vehicles or machinery (except for the purposes of stripping that part or stacking topsoil on that part).

Reason: To ensure the proper removal, storage and replacement of soils.

26 All topsoil, subsoil, soil-making material and other overburden which has been stripped or removed shall be stacked separately in accordance with the approved plans and prevented from mixing.

Reason: To ensure the proper removal, storage and replacement of soils.

27 The stripping, movement and respreading of soils shall be restricted to occasions when the soil is in a suitably dry and friable condition and the ground is sufficiently dry to allow passage of heavy vehicles and machinery over it without damage to the soils and the topsoil can be separated from the subsoil without difficulty.

Reason: To ensure that the restored landform is capable of supporting the approved after use in accordance with Policy 21 and Policy 22 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Polices).

28 All topsoil and subsoil shall be retained on the site and none shall be sold off or removed from the site. After the formation of every soil storage mound the quantity of soil shall be measured by the operator and details of the volume and location shall be provided to the Mineral Planning Authority on request.

29 All soil storage mounds shall be sown down to grass in the first available sowing season after their construction.

CARE OF BOUNDARIES, HEDGES AND WALLS

30 The operator shall maintain and make stockproof all existing hedges, fences and walls including gates around the perimeter of the workings, throughout the period of operations until the restoration and aftercare of the site has been completed. Where an operational boundary does not coincide with an existing stockproof

hedge or fence the operator shall provide, prior to the commencement of working in that part of the site, stockproof fencing with gates or cattle grids at every opening which shall thereafter be maintained until that part of the site has been fully restored. Undisturbed hedgerows shall be maintained, cut and trimmed at the proper season throughout the period of working and restoration of the site.

Reason: To safeguard the site from ingress from grazing animals.

RESTORATION

31 By 21 February 2040 or within 12 months of the permanent cessation of mining operations, a detailed scheme and programme for the final restoration and 5 year aftercare of the site, based upon plan D115099.ES.007 (or a revised scheme if applicable) shall be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for approval in writing.

The scheme and programme shall include details of:

i. the removal of all plant, machinery, buildings, structures, erections and their foundations including the removal of all internal haul roads, subsidiary site roads and hardstanding areas; ii. the final levels of the site; iii. the re-spreading of any soil making materials; iv. grassland seeding methods; v. works for the treatment of the quarry floor and any faces so as to leave the quarry in a safe and stable condition; vi. tree planting; vii. drainage information; viii. the methods to be employed to promote natural re-vegetation of the nature conservation areas during the aftercare period.

Thereafter all working restoration, landscaping and planting shall take place in accordance with the details of the approved scheme.

Reason: To secure and to define the terms of the restoration of the site in accordance with an approved scheme in accordance with Policy 21 and Policy 22 of the Cumbria Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 – 2006 (Saved Policies).

32 The approved documents for this planning consent shall comprise:

32.1 the submitted planning application form 32.2 the Supporting Statement 32.3 the Environmental Statement 32.4 plans numbered: DA115099.SS.001 DS115099.SS.002 DS115099.SS.003 DS115099.ES.004 DS115099.ES.005 (amended plan received 12/01/09) DS115099.ES.006

DS115099.ES.007 32.5 Soil and Restoration Strategy dated December 2008. 32.6 Plant Site Restoration and Soil Strategy Plan S108/126 32.7 the Decision Notice

33 From the commencement of the development to its completion a copy of this permission including the approved documents and other documents subsequently approved in accordance with this permission, shall always be available on site for inspection during normal working hours. Their existence and content shall be made known to all operatives likely to be affected by matters covered by them.

Reason: To ensure all operators are aware of the approved scheme and the conditions attached to the permission.