Buckminster Road, Sproxton, Melton Mowbray
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D DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AND REGULATORY BOARD 23 RD APRIL 2009 REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES COUNTY MATTER PART A – SUMMARY REPORT APP. NO. & DATE: 2009/0033/06 (2009/C009/06) – 5th January 2009 PROPOSAL: Extension to existing composting site LOCATION: Buckminster Road, Sproxton, Melton Mowbray APPLICANT: Craig & Neil Birch MAIN ISSUES: Policy objectives for waste activities, traffic generation and environmental impacts. RECOMMENDATION: PERMIT subject to the conditions listed in Appendix 1. Circulation Under Local Issues Alert Procedure Mr. J. B. Rhodes, CC Officer to Contact Georg Urban (Tel. 0116 305 6756) Email: [email protected] 2 2009/0033/06 (2009/C009/06) - continued PART B – MAIN REPORT Background 1. This application relates to an extension to an existing on-farm composting site near the village of Sproxton. A temporary planning permission was granted in February 2006, allowing composting operations to take place for a period of three years. 2. The 2006 permission limited the operators to a maximum of 12 deliveries per week. The permission also limited the capacity of the site to no more than 1000 cubic metres of composting material at anyone time. The finished compost product is ultimately spread on land within the applicant’s ownership. 3. The operators are now seeking permission to extend the current site and to retain the site, as extended, on a permanent basis. Location of Proposed Development 4. The village of Sproxton is located in the eastern part of Melton District, approximately 11km east northeast of Melton Mowbray. The B676 Melton Mowbray to Colsterworth road runs 2km south of the village. 5. The existing composting site is located in a field to the south of the village, adjacent to a smaller unclassified road leading south towards Coston and the B676. The application site includes the existing site and an area of 53 by 63 metres directly to the south, onto which composting operations would be transferred from the existing site. Access to the site is from the Sproxton- Buckminster road, just north of its junction with the unclassified minor road. 6. The site is set in an open, gently rolling landscape with extensive views mainly to the east, south and west. The existing composting area is located in the north eastern corner of a large arable field measuring approximately 140 x 240 metres, which slopes gently towards the east and south. Field boundaries are formed by hedges of varying heights, the hedge along the northern field boundary being approximately 1.7 – 2m high. 7. The nearest properties in Sproxton are along The Nook and Coston Road, in the south western part of the village, about 420-450m north west of the site. Due to the topography of the area the site cannot be seen from these properties. However, it is visible from a number of properties along Stow Hill at the southern edge of Sproxton. 8. Footpath E68a, which runs in a north-south direction from Sproxton to the unclassified Sproxton-Coston road south of the village, follows the western edge of the field in which the application site is located. Footpath E57 runs from Sproxton south east to Buckminster and crosses fields south of the village. The footpath meets Buckminster Road approximately 60m north of the site access and 150m north of the composting site. DC®. BOARD 23/04/2009 3 2009/0033/06 (2009/C009/06) - continued DC®. BOARD 23/04/2009 4 2009/0033/06 (2009/C009/06) - continued 9. The River Eye, a local stream, runs to the west and south of Sproxton and at its closest point comes within 700m of the site. A small unnamed tributary watercourse runs parallel to the Sproxton to Coston road and at its nearest point is approximately 350m west of the site. Description of Proposal 10. The proposed development involves the construction of a concrete hardstanding which would be linked to the existing site by a 25m long internal access road; a concrete retaining wall along part of the southern and eastern edges of the proposed extension to the composting area; the installation of a weighbridge and portable building; and associated landscaping works. Once the additional concrete hardstanding has been completed, all composting operations would be moved to the new part of the site. The proposal would also result in an increase in the throughput of the composting site and associated vehicle movements. The composting site 11. The area currently used for the composting of waste would be retained and used as circulation space. An access road would be constructed, leading from the south eastern corner of the existing site southwards to the proposed extension area. A weighbridge would be installed in the existing composting area between the main access to the site and the new track leading to the proposed extension. A portable building measuring approximately 6m long x 3m wide x 3m high, serving as a site office and accommodating the weighbridge equipment, would be placed adjacent to the weighbridge. 12. The proposed extension area would be located to the south of the existing site. Topsoil would be stripped from an area of 40 x 50 m to a depth of 350mm. The resulting void would be backfilled with a 150mm layer of hardcore sub-base, on top of which a 200mm concrete hardstanding would then be constructed. The concrete area would incorporate a slight gradient to allow rainwater and run-off liquid to be channelled towards the south. A concrete retaining wall with a maximum height of 500mm would be constructed along the southern and part of the eastern edges of the area, containing any run-off from the site. The topsoil stripped from this area would be placed in two storage bunds to be constructed along the southern and eastern edges of the extension area. Site Access 13. The existing site is accessed from Buckminster Road. The site access was constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Highway Authority when the site was established. This proposal involves increased HGV traffic and the Highway Authority has requested that access improvements be made. The operators have confirmed that they are happy to improve the access as required. DC®. BOARD 23/04/2009 5 2009/0033/06 (2009/C009/06) - continued Proposed operations 14. The current composting operations at the site would continue, namely, green waste and other organic material would be brought to the site from various sources. The site currently accepts green waste and wood waste from LCC civic amenity sites at Bottesford, Melton and Somerby as well as “brown bin” waste (garden waste) from doorstep collections in Rutland. In addition, it is proposed to increase the waste throughput of the site from 2,000-4,000 tonnes currently per year to 8,000 per year. 15. On arrival, vehicles delivering waste to the site would pass the weighbridge before proceeding to the extension area, where waste would be deposited. Any material which requires shredding would initially be separated out. Once a sufficient amount of material has accumulated, a shredder would be brought onto the site to process the material. 16. Waste for composting would be stacked in a single pile, referred to as a “clamp”, where it would remain during the composting process. During composting, the temperature inside the clamp would increase to 55-65°C, which would pasteurise the material. The applicants propose to increase the height of the compost pile from currently 3m to 4m in order to allow a more efficient use of the site. 17. The clamp would be turned as necessary using a telescopic loader. The frequency of turning would depend on the type of material present, the stage of the process and the desired speed of the operation. In order to ensure proper aeration, the waste would have to be turned at regular intervals. The duration of the composting process varies depending on the type of waste materials involved and operational aspects such as whether material would be shredded or not. For the type of waste handled by the application site, the process would take approximately 12 weeks. 18. Following completion of the composting process, the composted material would act as an organic fertiliser which would be moved onto fields within the applicants’ landholding and stored until a suitable time is available for spreading. No sale or export of the finished product would take place. Vehicle movements 19. The applicant anticipates a maximum of 16 deliveries of waste per day to the site at peak periods. Hours of operation 20. The proposed hours of operation are Monday to Saturday 0800 to 1800 hours, with the exception of shredding of waste, which would only take place on weekdays (but not on Saturdays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays). No operations at all would take place on Sundays. DC®. BOARD 23/04/2009 6 2009/0033/06 (2009/C009/06) - continued Planning Policy National Guidance 21. Government advice on planning and waste management is set out in the Waste Strategy 2007 and Planning Policy Statement 10 (PPS10) : Planning for Sustainable Waste Management . The Waste Strategy was published in May 2007 and updates the earlier Waste Strategy 2000. It describes the need for a significant change in the way in which waste is managed to reduce the amount that is taken to landfill and to promote the recycling and re-use of materials. The Strategy sets a target to recycle or compost at least 40% of household waste by 2010, 45% by 2015 and 50% by 2020 and to recover 53% of municipal waste by 2010, 67% by 2015 and 75% by 2020. The Government therefore encourages efforts to reduce waste and substantially increase re-use, recycling and composting.