Port Salford and Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme Environmental Statement Addendum
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Port Salford and Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme Environmental Statement Addendum June 2013 Port Salford and Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme Environmental Statement Addendum Contents 1. Introduction 2. Site Description 3. Amended Development Proposals 4. Planning Policy Context 5. Alternatives 6. Ground Engineering and Construction 7. Water Quality 8. Traffic and Transport 9. Air Quality 10. Noise and Vibration 11. Nature Conservation 12. Landscape and Visual Amenity 13. Archaeology 14. Heritage Features 15. Agricultural Land Quality 16. Socio-Economic 17. Hazard and Risk 18. Overall Conclusions 2 Port Salford & WGIS ES Addendum Rail Realignment June 2013 1. Introduction Introduction 1.1. In August 2009 planning permission (Ref: 03/47344/EIAHYB) was granted by Salford City Council (SCC) on behalf of Peel Investments (North) Ltd, for the development of the Port Salford (PS) multimodal freight interchange including rail served distribution warehousing, rail link and sidings, intermodal and ancillary facilities and strategic road improvements (referred to as the Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme (WGIS)). 1.2. The proposals were accompanied by a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment. 1.3. The WGIS and Port Salford proposals have now received a significant award from the Regional Growth Fund and are listed within Government’s National Infrastructure Plan 2011 in recognition of the economic benefits that the scheme will deliver. 1.4. In September 2012 two further permissions were granted to cover minor amendments to the approved A57 road alignment. At the same time the opportunity was taken to amend planning conditions to facilitate a phased approach and update policy references. The two permissions are: I) 12/61611/EIAHYB Application to vary or remove a number of conditions attached to planning permission 03/47344/EIAHYB; and II) 12/61631/EIA Construction of a highway in connection with the re-alignment of the Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme (WGIS) and planning application 12/61611/EIAHYB. 1.5. An Environmental Statement (ES) Addendum (February 2012) updating the original Environmental Impact Assessment was submitted alongside the two applications. A further update Addendum was submitted in December 2012 in support of an application dealing with further amendments to the A57 road alignment (12/62701/EIAHYB). 1.6. The first phase of the Port Salford/WGIS scheme, known as Part WGIS, which includes improvements to the strategic road network is now on site and is expected to be completed in 2014. 1.7. Since the original consent was granted, Network Rail has determined that the design of the rail link between the Manchester to Liverpool main line and the consented multi-modal freight transfer interchange at Port Salford should allow for Overhead Line Electrification (OLE). The consented alignment does not allow for this and cannot be amended to accommodate it because of the constraints imposed by the protected flight envelopes of Barton Aerodrome, the levels of the A57 link road and permissible rail gradients. As a result it has become necessary to amend the alignment of the rail link by moving it eastwards. The proposed new alignment satisfies all the restrictions imposed by the above constraints. 1.8. A further S73 planning application is therefore necessary to take account of this change. This application seeks to amend Condition 4 of planning permission 12/61611/EIAHYB, which sets out a list of approved plans, in order to incorporate new plans showing the revised rail alignment. 1.9. The February 2012 ES Addendum has been reviewed and updated to take account of the proposed change to the rail alignment and is submitted with this application. 3 Port Salford & WGIS ES Addendum Rail Realignment June 2013 1.10. The only Chapter which has required significant change is Chapter 10 Noise and Vibration. The revised chapter has been prepared by RPS. The revisions to the chapter take account of the fact that the proposed amended alignment is closer to existing noise and vibration sensitive receptor (NSRs) than the consented alignment. They also provide an update in relation to changes in national planning policy arising from the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and revisions in relevant British Standards (BS). 1.11. The revised Chapter 10 concludes that the results of the assessment indicate that the environmental noise and vibration effects associated with the construction and operation of the re-aligned rail link will be no greater than those determined for the consented scheme. The residual effects are of negligible significance. Furthermore the assessment has also considered the construction and operational noise limits contained within the conditions attached to the extant planning consent and determined that the proposed scheme is likely to comply with these. 1.12. The overall conclusion of the review of the ES Addendum is that there are no significant environmental effects arising from the revised proposals that have not already been assessed. Proposed Changes 1.13. The proposed amendment to the rail alignment covers the Port Salford rail link to the Liverpool Manchester main line. It is shown on drawing ref. MMD-293621-Z-SK-00-XX-11050 P6 which provides a comparison between the original (consented) alignment and the proposed amended alignment. 1.14. Under the 2011 Regulations1, Regulation 8 requires the Local Planning Authority to screen subsequent applications to determine whether further environmental information is required. In this case, the applicant is providing a voluntary Environmental Statement (ES) Addendum to the existing Environmental Statement, as already amended by the Addendum of February 2012. 1.15. This ES Addendum will assess any environmental effects that may arise as a result of the changes to the previously approved scheme. It should be read alongside the original ES and the February 2012 Addendum. Structure of the ES Addendum 1.16. The ES Addendum is prepared in accordance with Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011. The Addendum is structured as follows; Section 2 describes the application site Section 3 describes the proposed amendments to the scheme The subsequent sections of the addendum consider whether the proposed amendments give rise to further environmental effects that must be assessed 1 S3 of The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 4 Port Salford & WGIS ES Addendum Rail Realignment June 2013 Availability of ES Addendum 1.17. The ES addendum can be viewed using the Council’s public access system on their website or can be obtained in hardcopy by writing to the LPA at the following address: Urban Vision Partnership Ltd Emerson House Albert Street Eccles M30 0TE http://publicaccess.salford.gov.uk/publicaccess/ Review Process 1.18. The original ES Chapters, as updated by the February 2012 ES Addendum, have been reviewed to determine whether the minor changes proposed are likely to give rise to significant environmental effects that have not already been assessed. 1.19. The result of this process is that the following chapter has been updated: Chapter 10: Noise and Vibration. 5 Port Salford & WGIS ES Addendum Rail Realignment June 2013 2. Site Description 2.1. The application site is entirely within the red line set out in the original August 2009 Planning permission (03/47344/EIAHYB) and concerns the proposed amended alignment of the rail link between the Port Salford multi-modal freight interchange and the Liverpool to Manchester main line. 2.2. The consented rail link runs in a north-west to south-east direction through an open, undeveloped corridor between Barton Aerodrome in the west and the residential development at Peel Green around Trident Road and Proctor Way in the east. 2.3. To the south is the A57 Liverpool Road, the realignment of which is part of the Part WGIS works which are currently on site and are expected to be completed in 2014. 6 Port Salford & WGIS ES Addendum Rail Realignment June 2013 3. Amended Development Proposals 3.1. The amended development proposals are shown on the following plan: MMD-293621-Z-SK-00-XX-11050 P6 3.2. The consented alignment does not allow for OLE as now required by Network Rail. OLE imposes additional height requirements due to the nature of the structures required to carry the overhead lines. The consented alignment could not accommodate this additional height without intruding into the protected flight envelope for aircraft taking off from Barton Aerodrome. This could not be resolved by deepening the cutting of the consented alignment as this would result in the maximum gradient for the rail line being exceeded because of the need to connect to two fixed points: the existing Chat Moss Line and the railway bridge over the realigned A57. A steeper rail gradient would be unacceptable because it would: Increase the braking with consequent increase in noise from the brakes and wagons buffering; Increase the engine noise when the train pulls up the grade; Increase the required activity at the head shunt as more wagons would need to be locked off. This would increase the amount of time that an engine is required to idle at the head shunt 3.3. To overcome these problems the proposed rail alignment runs some 25m to the east of the consented alignment. The new alignment allows al the constraints relating to the aerodrome flight envelopes rail gradient and A57 levels to be resolved, as is shown by Section A-A on drawing MMD-293621-Z-SK-00-XX-11050 P6. 3.4. The ES Addendum of February 2012 has been reviewed in relation to the proposed amended alignment. This exercise determined that the only issue that needed to be reassessed was Noise and Vibration. 3.5. The proposed alignment brings the rail link closer to the houses at Trident Road and Proctor Way. The shortest distance to the nearest residential property under the consented scheme is 70m whereas that for the proposed alignment is 45m.