9-1-2017 Tunstead Quarry
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Public Agenda Item No. 3.2 DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL REGULATORY – PLANNING COMMITTEE 9 January 2017 Report of the Strategic Director – Economy, Transport and Communities 2 (i) INITIAL REVIEW OF MINERAL PLANNING PERMISSIONS CODE NUMBERS 1986/9/2/5, 1986/9/2/8, CHA/1173/5, HPK/1181/1091, HPK/022937 AND HPK/030328 UNDER SCHEDULE 13 OF THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995: APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF NEW CONDITIONS; AND (ii) FIRST PERIODIC REVIEW OF THE 1946 INTERIM DEVELOPMENT ORDER (IDO) MINERAL PLANNING PERMISSION CODE NUMBER TQ/659A UNDER SCHEDULE 14 OF THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995: APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF NEW CONDITIONS AT TUNSTEAD QUARRY, TUNSTEAD, BUXTON APPLICANT: TARMAC LTD CODE NOS: R1/1197/11 and R1/0913/27 1.36.R and 1.36.R1 Introductory Summary New schemes of conditions have been submitted by Tarmac Ltd under the requirements of schedules 13 and 14 of the Environment Act 1995 to update planning controls on future operations at Tunstead Quarry, Tunstead, Buxton under planning permission code numbers TQ/659A (1946 Interim Development Order (IDO)), 1986/9/2/5, 1986/9/2/8, CHA/1173/5, HPK/1181/109, 1 HPK/022937 and HPK/030328. The schemes, together with an Environmental Statement (ES), provide details of the proposed working of the site, environmental protection, the form of restoration and the suggested planning conditions under which the site should be worked. I consider that certain changes to the submitted conditions are necessary and my recommendation relates to an amended schedule of conditions. I do not consider that the amended conditions would restrict the working rights of the applicant so as to provide any ground for a claim for compensation. As this is a Mineral Planning Permission review, the principle of the permission for the development is not under question. Valid planning permissions exist and, therefore, the main planning issues are whether: • the submission as a whole, including operational and restoration proposals, meets the expectations of the relevant development plans for the area; and H:\H9\RP466.doc 1 9 January 2017 Public • the proposed planning conditions are sufficient to ensure that the development can be controlled, such that it does not cause unacceptable impacts upon local residents or the wider environment. I have considered the application in light of the above and my conclusions are that, as a result of the submission of amended details and information, it meets both of these requirements. (1) Purpose of Report To enable the Committee to determine new schemes of conditions under the powers of the Environment Act 1995, to replace those of the original planning permissions, as well as those deemed approved in respect of the Initial Review of the 1946 IDO permission at Tunstead Quarry, and for the Committee to endorse the conclusion of the assessment work relating to the applications for the purposes of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. (2) Information and Analysis Site and Surroundings Tunstead Quarry is located approximately 4 kilometres (km) to the east of Buxton and is one of the largest quarries in Britain, encompassing an area of over one square mile. The quarry produces a range of limestone products and has operated under planning controls since 1946, benefiting from several related permissions for the winning and working of minerals, and the disposal of mineral waste. In 1980, planning permission was granted by the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) and by Derbyshire County Council (DCC) for the winning and working of minerals at Old Moor Quarry, which effectively formed an extension of Tunstead Quarry. The quarry complex contains two separate extraction areas – Tunstead Quarry and Old Moor Quarry. The two areas are separated by Great Rocks Dale, a dry valley within which runs a freight railway line, and are connected by a causeway bridge over the railway. Stone extracted from both areas is processed within Tunstead Quarry. The applications take the two areas as forming a single site and the applicant has submitted a single ES that covers them both. As well as the main TunsteadIOld Moor site, the application also includes related sites that are ancillary to the quarrying operation along Great Rocks Dale, these are Dove Holes Dale Quarry, Bold Venture Lagoon, and Buxton Central Quarry, all of which are mineral waste disposal sites; referred to by the applicant as the Tip Permissions. The overall operational area of the quarry, including ancillary areas, is over 340 hectares (ha). The combined operation at the site is one of the largest in the UK’s, with between 5 and 6 million tonnes of limestone being extracted from the site per year. The quarry was established in the 1920s to supply high purity industrial limestone for use within the chemical and other industries: the H:\H9\RP466.doc 2 9 January 2017 Public site is acknowledged to be of national strategic importance. The site also produces aggregates for the construction industry and cement. All mineral processing takes place within Tunstead Quarry. Products from the site are despatched by both road and rail, the split currently being around 50:50. The operational access to the site is from Waterswallows Road to the north of the quarry. Operations at the site are permitted to be carried out 24 hour a day throughout the year. However, the quarries are operated on a two shift basis; 0600 hours – 1400 hours and 1400 hours – 2200 hours Monday to Friday and 0600 hours – 1400 hours Saturday and Sunday with most activities being carried out during these periods. Approximately 2km to the east of the quarry is the large residential area of Fairfield in Buxton. Several farmsteads and small settlements lie within a kilometre of the site, most notably Blackwell Mill Cottages to the south, and Wormhill, Hargate Wall and Tunstead to the east. Dove Holes Dale Quarry is close to Dove Holes village, and Bold Venture Lagoon is close to the village of Peak Dale. A public right of way (PRoW) (Wormhill Footpath (FP) 19) passes through Tunstead Quarry north of the plant site, crosses the railway and skirts the northern soil storage area of Old Moor Quarry. A public bridleway (52) to the north-east of Tunstead Quarry begins adjacent to Buxton Bridge near the Quarry entrance and runs south-east towards Tunstead settlement and links to the Pennine Way. The Peak District National Park (PDNP) boundary runs through the site, on a rough north-south alignment, to the east of Great Rocks Dale. The majority of Old Moor Quarry lies within the PDNP. There are six International, European, or Nationally designated sites of nature conservation importance within 2km of the Site. The most notable of these are the Wye Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Topley Pike SSSI, Deep Dale SSSI and Monk’s Dale SSSI, which are components of the Peak District Dales Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The River Wye which forms part of the Peak District Dales SAC is located to the south of the quarry. A number of non-statutory designated sites of nature conservation importance are located in close proximity, including within Tunstead Quarry and adjacent to Dove Holes Dale Mining Waste Operation. The Cow Low Scheduled Monument is located in the south of Tunstead Quarry within the planning permission boundary but outside of the permitted mineral extraction area. Procedures for the Review of Mineral Planning Permissions The Environment Act 1995 has required conditions attached to all ongoing mineral planning permissions to be reviewed and periodically updated to ensure they reflect modern best practice. For older permissions, these procedures involve an initial review and then periodic reviews to be carried out every 15 years thereafter, as set out in schedules 13 and 14 of the Act. Schedule 13 sets out the procedures for the initial review of old mineral planning permissions (or ‘ROMP’) and Schedule 14 sets out procedures for H:\H9\RP466.doc 3 9 January 2017 Public subsequent periodic reviews of mineral planning permissions (or ‘RoMP’). For the purpose of this report the applications made under schedules 13 and 14 of the Act shall be collectively referred to as ‘the mineral review applications’. A mineral review application is an application for determination of the planning conditions under which the remaining mineral development under the permission shall be carried out and results in the issue of a revised set of planning conditions with which the Operator of the quarry must comply. This process does not call into question whether or not the planning permissions should or should not have been granted. Planning History Planning permissions for the quarrying of limestone and associated activities at Tunstead Quarry were granted in 1946, 1951, 1980, 1985 and 1991. Two other planning permissions were granted in 1980 for an extension of the quarry operation at Tunstead into land at Old Moor, one by DCC covering land within its jurisdiction and a second by the PDNPA on the direction of the Secretary of State relating to a much larger tranche of land within the National Park. The relevant planning permissions are detailed below: • 1946 Interim Development Order (IDO) TQ/659A – granted by the Secretary of State for the quarrying of limestone and associated activities. The Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (the 1991 Act) introduced new procedures for the review of conditions attached to IDO Consents. A new schedule of conditions relating to the IDO area within Derbyshire was deemed approved under the 1991 Act on 4 September 1993. • Planning permission code nos. 1986/9/2/5 and 1986/9/2/8 – granted in 1951 for the winning and working of Limestone and disposal of mineral waste at Tunstead, Derbyshire.