Perry's Farm, Isle of Grain Proposed Hazardous Waste Management Facility Application for Development Consent Order the Planning
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Perry's Farm, Isle of Grain Proposed Hazardous Waste Management Facility Application for Development Consent Order The Planning Act 2008 as amended Request for Scoping Opinion SLR Ref : 402-02536-00005 November 2013 Version: Rev 1 Peel Environmental Ltd i SLR Ref No. 402.02536.00005 Scoping Report for Perry’s Farm, Isle of Grain November 2013 CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Peel Environmental Limited ................................................................................. 1 1.2 Environmental Impact Assessment .................................................................... 1 1.3 Scoping Exercise .................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Planning and Pollution Control ........................................................................... 3 2.0 SITE DESCRIPTION AND PLANNING HISTORY .......................................................... 4 2.1 Land Designations ................................................................................................ 4 2.2 National Policy Statement for Hazardous Waste – June 2013 ........................ 4 2.3 Proposed Development ........................................................................................ 5 3.0 SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION ............................................................ 7 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Transport and Access .......................................................................................... 7 3.3 Noise Assessment ................................................................................................ 8 3.4 Air Quality Assessment...................................................................................... 10 3.5 Hydrogeology, Hydrology and Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) ..................... 12 3.6 Archaeology/Cultural Heritage .......................................................................... 15 3.7 Ecology and Biodiversity ................................................................................... 17 3.8 Landscape and Visual Impact ........................................................................... 22 3.9 Soils and Agriculture .......................................................................................... 25 3.10 Land Quality ........................................................................................................ 25 3.11 Socio- Economic Impacts .................................................................................. 26 3.12 Human Health and Cumulative Impact ............................................................. 26 3.13 Planning Policy, Need and Alternatives ........................................................... 26 4.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 28 FIGURES Figure 3-1 Extract of Environment Agency Flood Zone map (from www.environment- agency.gov.uk) ..................................................................................................... 13 DRAWINGS Drawing PF 1 Site Location Plan 1:10,000 Drawing PF 2 Existing Land Use 1:10,000 Drawing PF 3 Existing Topographic Survey Drawing PF 4 Outline Site Layout Drawing PF 5 Designated Ecological Sites APPENDIX 1 Scoping Response Medway Council – 26th May 2010 SLR Peel Environmental Ltd 1 SLR Ref No. 402.02536.00005 Scoping Report for Perry’s Farm, Isle of Grain November 2013 1.0 INTRODUCTION Peel Environmental Ltd has commissioned SLR Consulting Ltd. (SLR) to produce a scoping report for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in respect of proposals for a potential hazardous waste management facility at Perry’s Farm on the Isle of Grain in Kent. The proposed facility would include a hazardous waste landfill and a hazardous waste treatment facility. Initial discussions were held with Medway Council in 2010 resulting in the receipt of a scoping opinion from Medway Council on 26th May 2010 (Appendix 1). A pre-application meeting was held with Medway Council in July 2011. Following the introduction of the Planning Act 2008 responsibility for determination of applications for hazardous waste facilities of the scale proposed at Perry’s Farm has passed to the Planning Inspectorate and the ultimate decision rests with the Secretary of State. Therefore this new scoping submission is being submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. A preliminary meeting was held with Planning Inspectorate on 26 April 2012 in order to discuss the DCO application process and the requirements for consultation. This scoping report provides an overview of the site, a description of the development proposals, identifies potential environmental impacts and reviews the policy context which could affect the development in this location. It has been prepared in order to obtain a formal opinion from the Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Directorate on the ‘scope’ of the Environmental Statement (ES) to accompany the application for a development consent order. 1.1 Peel Environmental Limited Peel Environmental Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Peel Group, The Peel Group is one of the leading infrastructure, investment and real estate companies in Britain with assets valued in excess £6 billion. Peel Group includes the Medway Ports - the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks. These form part of Peel Ports, the UK's second largest port group, which also includes the Port of Liverpool, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Port of Heysham and Clydeport in Scotland. 1.2 Environmental Impact Assessment The Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009 (as amended) implement Council Directive No 85/337/EEC (as amended) on the assessment of the potential effects of specified development proposals on the environment. The Secretary of State is prohibited from making an order granting development consent for EIA development without having taking the environmental information produced into consideration. Responsibility for compiling information regarding environmental effects lies with the developer, and the information is presented as an ‘Environmental Statement’. The EIA Regulations specify the types of development for which an EIA is mandatory (EIA development). This includes Schedule 1 Projects and categories of development where an EIA may be required (Schedule 2 Projects). A proposed hazardous waste landfill falls under Schedule 1 of the EIA Regulations. SLR Peel Environmental Ltd 2 SLR Ref No. 402.02536.00005 Scoping Report for Perry’s Farm, Isle of Grain November 2013 Under Article 6 of the EU Habitats Directive (92/34/EEC), transposed into UK law through The Conservation of Habitat and Species Regulations 2010, a Competent Authority (in this case the Secretary of State) is to make an Appropriate Assessment of the implications for European sites in view of a site’s conservation objectives, before deciding to undertake, or give consent, permission or other authorisation for, a plan or project which: i. is not directly connected with or necessary to the management of that site; and ii. is likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans and projects in view of its conservation objectives. As there are two European sites within close proximity to the proposed development, namely the Medway Estuary and Marshes Special Protection Area (SPA) / Ramsar site and the Thames Estuary and Marshes SPA / Ramsar site, it will be necessary to consider whether the proposed development is likely to significantly affect the European sites. If likely significant effects cannot be ruled out a Habitats Regulations Assessment will be undertaken and the Competent Authority will be required to consider whether the project will adversely affect the integrity of these European sites, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, in terms of the conservation objectives and in respect of each interest feature for which the site was classified as SPA under the EEC Council Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (Directive 79/409/EEC – The Birds Directive) or Ramsar site under the Ramsar Convention. 1.3 Scoping Exercise The proposed development comprises the construction of a new hazardous waste management facility for the disposal of hazardous waste by landfill with a capacity of more than 100,000 tonnes per year and a treatment facility for hazardous waste with a capacity of more than 30,000 tonnes per annum. It is therefore is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project in accordance with Section 14(1)(p) and Section 30 of the Planning Act 2008 as amended. Having established that an Environmental Statement will be required to accompany the proposed application, this report forms a written request to the National Infrastructure Directorate of the Planning Inspectorate, under Regulation 8 of the EIA Regulations, for its opinion as to the information to be provided in the Environmental Statement. Referring to Regulation 8(3), requests for Scoping Opinions should be accompanied by: “a plan sufficient to identify the land; a brief description of the nature and purpose of the development and of its possible effects on the environment; and such other information or representations as the person making the request may wish to provide or make.” The purpose of the scoping