Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning, Design and Access Statement
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Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning, Design and Access Statement 662939 DECEMBER 2020 RSK GENERAL NOTES Project No.: 662939 Title: Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension, Planning Design and Access statement Client: Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Date: December 2020 Office: Manchester Status: Final for Planning Technical Author Poppy Grange reviewer Sydney Hougrand Signature: Signature: Date: 23.12.2020 Date: 23.12.2020 Project Manager David Conway Signature: Date: 23.12.2020 Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning Design and Access Statement 662939-01 (03) Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning Design and Access Statement 662939-01 (03) CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The Planning Application Submission .................................................................................... 1 1.3 Structure of this Statement ..................................................................................................... 2 2 SITE DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Site Location ........................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Site Description and Existing Operations ............................................................................... 4 2.3 Site Access ............................................................................................................................. 5 3 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE ..................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Access and Trip Generation ................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Landscape .............................................................................................................................. 6 3.3 Ecology ................................................................................................................................... 7 3.4 Arboriculture ........................................................................................................................... 8 3.5 Cultural Heritage..................................................................................................................... 8 3.6 Ground Conditions.................................................................................................................. 9 3.7 Flood Risk and Drainage ........................................................................................................ 9 3.8 Noise ………………………………………………………………………………………………..10 3.9 Odour ………………………………………………………………………………………………..10 3.10 Public Rights of Way ............................................................................................................ 11 3.11 Planning History ................................................................................................................... 11 4 THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................. 14 4.1 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Layout ………………………………………………………………………………………………..14 4.3 Scale ………………………………………………………………………………………………..15 4.4 Design ………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 4.5 Use ………………………………………………………………………………………………..16 4.6 Need for the Proposal ........................................................................................................... 17 4.7 Project Benefits .................................................................................................................... 19 5 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT .................................................................................................. 20 5.1 Energy White Paper ............................................................................................................. 20 5.2 Online Planning Practice Guidance: Renewable and low carbon energy ............................. 20 5.3 National Planning Policy Framework .................................................................................... 21 5.4 Local Planning Policy ........................................................................................................... 23 6 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ..................................................................................... 26 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 26 6.2 Transport and Access ........................................................................................................... 26 6.3 Landscape and Visual .......................................................................................................... 26 6.4 Ecology ................................................................................................................................. 26 6.5 Arboriculture ......................................................................................................................... 28 6.6 Cultural Heritage................................................................................................................... 28 6.7 Ground Conditions................................................................................................................ 29 6.8 Flood Risk and Drainage ...................................................................................................... 30 Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning Design and Access Statement 662939-01 (03) 6.9 Noise ………………………………………………………………………………………………..31 6.10 Odour ………………………………………………………………………………………………..31 7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 33 APPENDIX A – COUNCIL PRE-APPLICATION RESPONSE ........................................................... 34 APPENDIX B – POLICY ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................... 35 Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning Design and Access Statement 662939-01 (03) 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.1.1 This Planning and Design and Access Statement (PDAS) has been prepared on behalf of Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited (hereafter “the applicant”) in support of a full planning application for proposed alterations to the existing Castle Eaton Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant, located at Castle Eaton, Swindon SN6 6JX. 1.1.2 The proposed development seeks to upgrade the existing plant and machinery to meet current industry standards and relevant Environment Agency (EA) requirements. The proposal will refine the layout of plant and equipment that forms part of the existing AD facility and also extend the site to the south in order to provide space for new silage clamps, rainwater lagoon, effluent lagoon and relocated feed hoppers. The existing site facility comprises approximately 2.1 hectares (ha) while the adjoining land to the south comprises a 3.7ha arable field. 1.1.3 This PDAS provides a description of the proposed development and sets out the need for the scheme before assessing it in the context of national and local planning policy. It also summarises the environmental assessments and explains how they have helped to inform the evolution of the site layout. 1.2 The Planning Application Submission 1.2.1 This PDAS has been prepared pursuant to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2015 (‘DMPO’) and should be read in conjunction with the following supporting documents: • Completed application forms including Certificates of Ownership and notices; • Plans and drawings prepared to national and local validation requirements; • Landscape and Visual Appraisal; • Arboricultural Planning Statement; • Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (included as part of the pre-application enquiry); • Hedgerow Survey; • Ecological Impact Assessment; • Biodiversity Assessment (including BNG Calculations); • Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment; • Geo-Environmental and Geotechnical Assessment; • Noise Assessment; 1 Biomethane (Castle Eaton) Limited Castle Eaton AD Plant Upgrade and Extension Planning Design and Access Statement 662939-01 (03) • Flood Risk Assessment (including Drainage Assessment); • Odour Impact Assessment; • Preliminary Risk Assessment (included as part of the pre-application enquiry); and, • Highway Statement. 1.2.2 The site lies within the administrative area of Swindon Borough Council (SBC) and as such this planning submission has been prepared in accordance with SBC’s validation checklist. It has also taken into consideration comments received through SBC’s pre- application response (planning ref. S/PMIN/20/0991) dated 23rd September 2020 (See Appendix A). 1.3 Structure of this Statement 1.3.1 This PDAS is divided into 6 sections. Following this introduction (Section 1) the