Committee and date Item/Paper South Planning Committee 22 May 2012 7 Development Management Report Responsible Officer: Stuart Thomas email: [email protected] Tel: 01743 252665 Fax: 01743 252619 Summary of Application Application Number: 11/05101/EIA Parish: Clun Proposal: Erection of three additional poultry units; feed bins, formation of hard standing; internal access road; alterations to existing vehicular access; associated works and landscaping scheme Site Address: Shadwell Hall Mardu Clun Shropshire SY7 8NJ Applicant: R.T Bright & Son Case Officer: Julie Preston email: [email protected] Grid Ref: 327517 - 285655 © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved. Shropshire Council 100049049. 2011 For reference purposes only. No further copies may be made. Contact Stuart Thomas (01743) 252665 South Planning Committee: 22 May 2012 Recommendation:- i. The Committee formally record that the Environmental Statement submitted with the application as required by the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999 has been taken into account in making a decision on the proposal ii. Grant Permission subject to the conditions sets out in Appendix 1. Recommended Reason for Approval The proposal involves the expansion of facilities for poultry rearing at an established farm in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The development will generate employment in a remote rural area and improve the economic base of the farming business. The environmental impact has been examined through the submission of an Environmental Statement under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999. The Council considers that the proposal will have an adverse impact on the landscape and local road network but this can be satisfactorily mitigated through a substantial landscaping scheme and the provision of additional passing places in the lane leading to the site. The decision takes into account the guidance set out in the National Planning Policy framework and the proposal conforms with the policies of the Development Plan so far as they are relevant to the application. In determining this application the Local Planning Authority gave consideration to the following policies: Central Government Guidance: National Planning Policy Framework (March 2012) West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy Policies: QE1 - Conserving and enhancing the environment QE6 - Conservation, enhancement and restoration of the landscape QE7 - Protecting, managing and enhancing biodiversity and nature conservation resources QE9 - The water environment PA14 - Economic development and the rural economy PA15 - Agriculture and farm diversification Shropshire Core Strategy Policies: CS5 - Countryside and Green Belt CS6 - Sustainable design and development principles CS7 - Communications and transport CS13 - Economic development, enterprise and employment CS16 - Tourism, culture and leisure CS17 - Environmental networks CS18 - Sustainable water management Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plan 2009 - 2014 Contact Stuart Thomas (01743) 252665 South Planning Committee: 22 May 2012 REPORT 1.0 THE PROPOSAL 1.1 This is a full planning application for the erection of three additional broiler sheds at Shadwell Hall. Each new building will be 92 m long x 24.4 m wide, with a height of 4.6 m at the apex of the roof and 2.44 m at the eaves. The sheds will each have a control room, 8.5 m x 3 m wide, at the southern end of each unit and two rows of five 5.5 m high feed bins are situated between the sheds. Six gas tanks, 2.5 m x 1 m diameter, are located on the west side of the development. 1.2 The buildings will be steel framed and clad in profiled steel sheeting coloured a dark slate blue to match the roof colour of the existing sheds on the site. The southern gable ends will be clad in vertical timber treated with a dark preservative. The applicant offers to colour the feed bins, if required. 1.3 The new buildings would be set into a sloping field at the head of a small valley , immediately adjacent to the southern side of the two existing poultry sheds erected in 1994 and 1996 and aligned perpendicularly to them. This would require the excavation of a level development platform into the slope, with excavated materials arising used to achieve local levelling on the down slope side and to modify the adjacent landform to the east and south, so as to assist in assimilating the new sheds into the landscape. 1.4 The new sheds will each hold approximately 40,000 birds depending on the type of production cycle and target weight. The maximum capacity of the whole site will be 182,000 birds. There will be a maximum of 7.6 crops per annum. 1.5 As part of the application, a new farm access road is proposed connecting the site of the broiler sheds with the main valley access road. This road would be 4 m wide and surfaced with macadam and approximately 0.58 km long. 1.6 A substantial landscaping and tree planting scheme is proposed to assimilate the new poultry sheds and access road into the landscape. Key features include: Planting an area of approximately 1190m2 of short-rotation ash coppice woodland immediately to the south east and east of the proposed broiler sheds, to be managed for fuel wood production. Re-planting much of the depleted eastern field boundary hedge with a mixed native species hedgerow with occasional trees, between the edge of the farmstead and the southern site boundary (approximately 358 linear metres); Planting a new section of hedgerow along each side of the new entrance gateway to the farm access track at its junction with the public road (approximately 16 metres); Management to enhance the screening value of the existing trees between the existing and proposed broiler sheds. Contact Stuart Thomas (01743) 252665 South Planning Committee: 22 May 2012 1.7 The proposal is development requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment as a result of the total number of birds on the site exceeding the threshold in Schedule 1 (Part 17) of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999. The Council has provided screening and scoping opinions which have been used by the agent to produce an Environmental Statement in accordance with the Regulations. The report describes the proposed development and considers the environmental effects in detail. A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment forms an important part of the report and this has been supplemented by photomontages and a topographical survey with sections and landscaping scheme. 2.0 SITE LOCATION/DESCRIPTION 2.1 Shadwell Hall farm is located 5.5 km north west of Clun and has an existing access off a narrow lane between Cefn Einion and Three Gates. It is a mixed farm of around 160 ha, based on poultry rearing, livestock and arable production. Most of the holding is grassland supporting a flock of 850 ewes with 28 ha of arable land. A herd of 90 suckler cows has recently been sold due to lack of profitability. The farmhouse and a range of traditional agricultural buildings are grade II listed buildings. The proposed site for the new poultry houses is just over 100 m to the south of the listed buildings on the far side of two existing poultry houses. The area of buildings and yards at the farm currently extends to 2.9 ha. 2.2 The site for the new sheds is a rectangular shape and slopes down to the south east. The site of the buildings and access covers an area of 1.5 ha with an additional 2 ha of proposed woodland. It is currently pasture with hedgerows to the west and east. Access is gained to the site from the A488 via Bicton along a 4 km length of narrow, unclassified highway. The proposal includes altering and improving an existing field access to the lane. 2.3 The area is sparsely populated and the nearest dwelling, other than the farm house at Shadwell Hall, is located 700 m to the west. 2.4 The site is in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 3.0 REASON FOR COMMITTEE DETERMINATION OF APPLICATION 3.1 The local member has requested that the application is determined by the South Planning Committee and required a Schedule 1 Environmental Statement. 4.0 Community Representations 4.1.0 Consultee Comments 4.1.1 Drainage Engineers Initial comment: The application form states that the clean surface water drainage from the proposed development is to be disposed of via an attenuation tank prior to pumping off site to a ditch at a rate which mimics natural surface water flows from the site. However no details of the proposed attenuation system have been supplied. We now require agricultural developments to cater Contact Stuart Thomas (01743) 252665 South Planning Committee: 22 May 2012 for a 1 in 100 year return storm event plus an allowance of 20% for climate change. Full details of the proposed attenuation system should be submitted for approval. The requested design and calculations were subsequently submitted and the Drainage Officer has confirmed that the proposed surface water drainage system is acceptable. 4.1.2 Public Protection – Pollution No objection in principle to the proposals but would comment as follows: The isolated location of the proposed additional units and topography of the area indicate that the risk of pollution impact on neighbouring properties is low. Additionally, due to its nature and capacity the facility will be subject to control by the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) 2010. The required permit to operate will provide on- going regulation of the site with respect to control of emissions to soil, water and air (including noise and odour). Planning Policy statement 23 advises that it should not be necessary to use planning conditions to control the pollution aspects of a development that are subject to prior approval by a pollution control authority.