Contact Officer; Mary Thompson Tel: (01865) 815901 Division(s): Dorchester & Berinsfield ITEM PN8 PLANNING AND REGULATION COMMITTEE – 14 SEPTEMBER 2009 APPLICATION FOR AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTION BIOGAS PLANT COMPRISING OF A SERVICE BUILDING, A TECHNICAL BUILDING AND FOUR TANKS. INCLUDING A HARD STANDING AND CAR PARKING AREA. TO INCLUDE THE CLOSURE OF THE EXISTING VEHICULAR ENTRANCE ONTO PAIN WAY FROM THE A329 AND CREATE A NEW ACCESS FROM THE A329 TO CONNECT PAIN WAY. TO INCLUDE PROVISION OF RIGHT OF WAY TO THE NORTH WEST OF PAIN WAY AND PROVIDE A LINK BRIDLEWAY BETWEEN THE EAST SIDE OF THE A329 AND BRIDLEWAY 15B AT PLUS HARDSTANDING AND CAR PARKING AREA TOGETHER WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EXISTING SITE ACCESS FORMED BETWEEN THE A329 AND PAIN WAY, UPPER FARM, WARBOROUGH. Report by the Head of Sustainable Development Location Upper Farm, Thame Road, Warborough Applicant Midland Pig Producers Ltd Application No PO9/W0076-CM Division Dorchester and Berinsfield District Council Area South Oxfordshire Introduction 1. This is an application for a facility to recycle food waste, farm slurry and possibly also green waste through anaerobic digestion. This process converts the waste into fertiliser, which would be spread on agricultural fields surrounding the application site, and biogas which is used to generate electricity. Location 2. The site is located on an existing pig farm on the northern edge of the village of Warborough. Warborough is in South Oxfordshire and located 18 km (11 miles) south east of Oxford and 5 km (3 miles) north of Wallingford. The site is in the Green Belt. The Site and its Setting (See Plan 1) 3. The site is surrounded by agricultural land although it is close to the village of Warborough. The closest properties each lie approximately 600 metres from the application site, Upper Farm farmhouse and properties on Hammer Lane to the south and Lower Grange to the north east. The Little Wittenham Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) lie 3 kilometres (2miles) from the application site and the Ewelme Watercress Beds Local Nature Reserve (LNR) lies 5 kilometres (3 miles) away. PNSEP1409R020.doc PN8 - page 2 4. Access to the site is from the A329 which is the main road through Warborough. The access point lies approximately 800 metres north of the edge of the built up area of Warborough. 5. Pain Lane is a bridleway and forms the access to the site, then continues between the existing pig unit and the site for the proposed biogas plant. No other public rights of way run through or adjacent to the site. Details of Application (See Plan 2) 6. This proposal is for an anaerobic digestion plant which would process food waste and pig slurry and produce heat and biogas which is then converted into electricity and fertiliser. The application suggests that green waste might also be accepted if there was a shortage of food waste, but the final tonnages of different types of waste cannot be clarified at this time. There would be a maximum throughput of 33 000 tonnes per year. 20 000 tpa of this would be imported green and food waste and 13 000 tonnes would be pig waste and water from the pig farm adjacent to the application site. 7. The plant itself would comprise of a service building, a digester tank, a receiving tank, a residue storage tank, an effluent treatment plant technical building and a liquid bio-fertiliser storage tank. 8. The food waste would arrive at the service building by lorry. The pig slurry would be piped to a receiving tank and then transferred to the service building for mixing with the food waste. The mixed waste would then be pasteurised. From the service building it would be piped to the digester tank. Methane gas would be captured from the top of the tank during the digestion process and returned to the combined heat and power unit in the service building. This would generate electricity to be exported to the national grid and also create hot water which would be used to heat the existing pig buildings. Following the completion of treatment through anaerobic digestion in the digester tank the material would be transferred to a residue storage tank and then to an effluent treatment plant which would separate the solids. This process would produce water, liquid bio-fertiliser and fibrous solids for soil improvement. The water would be piped to an existing lagoon and some will be re-circulated within the biogas plant, the liquid bio-fertiliser would be sent to the bio-fertiliser storage tank and then removed by vacuum tanker for spreading on the surrounding agricultural fields. The second type of fertiliser that would be produced is a fibrous solid which would be dried out and transferred by tractor and trailer to the surrounding agricultural land. The transfer of the outputs from the process, water, liquid fertiliser and solid fertiliser would not result in any vehicle movements on the public highway network. 9. The plant itself would operate continuously 24 hours a day 7 days a week. However deliveries to the plant would be restricted to standard operating hours. 10. The service building would be the largest building and would measure 35 metres by 39 metres with a height of 9.7 metres to the roof ridge. The digester tank would have a 30 metre diameter and the liquid bio-fertilizer storage tank PNSEP1409R020.doc PN8 - page 3 would have a 25 metre diameter, each would be 8 metres high. The residue storage tank would have a 15 metre diameter and the receiving tank would have a 14 metre diameter. Each would be 6 metres high. The effluent treatment plant technical building would be 6 metres high at its highest point and measure 14 by 22 metres. 11. The application proposes a 2 metre high galvanised fence surrounding the site, an earth bund along the north west and south western boundaries of the site. Areas of potential new tree planting are identified to mitigate visual impact. It is also proposed to maintain the existing newly planted hedgerow to minimise visual impact from the bridleway. 12. The site is currently an agricultural field. It is located close to the existing pig unit but on the other side of Pain Way bridleway and a hedge. 13. The development would generate an average of 6 HGV movements per day from waste deliveries to the site. The 2 employees at the site might generate an additional 4 vehicle movements per day through their journeys to work. Traffic would enter the site from the A329 using a new access that would cut across a field and join the existing track Pain Way. In order to reach the site from the south and the A4074, traffic would have to travel through Warborough village. Additional Information and Amendments – See Plan 2 14. Additional information and amendments to the application were submitted in May 2009. This included a change to the description of development. The main change is to the access arrangements. Originally it was proposed to improve the existing access point onto the A329 from Pain Way. However the amended application proposes a new access at a point further south on the A329. There would also be a new length of access road from Pain Way across a field to reach the new access point. The red line area was changed to include an area for rights of way improvements. 15. Rights of way improvements are proposed as part of the amended application. There was concern during the first round of consultations about the effect that the traffic associated with the plant construction and operation would have on users of the bridleway. Therefore the applicant has proposed to divert the bridleway from Pain Way to ensure there is no conflict between HGV traffic and other users. The applicant intends to make an application for the permanent diversion of the bridleway, to run alongside Pain Way but on the other side of the hedge. This process can take some time so the applicant is also intending to provide this route as a permissive right of way before the development commences. This now forms part of the development proposals and could be required by condition. The applicant has also applied to provide a new bridleway link from the access from Pain Way onto the A329 along the eastern side of the A329 to link with bridleway 15b. 16. The additional information also includes detailed landscaping and planting proposals, an ecological survey, a flood risk assessment, further information on archaeology and a response to objections received during the first round of PNSEP1409R020.doc PN8 - page 4 consultations, including to the comments from South Oxfordshire District Council. The additional information has been the subject of a further round of consultations. 17. The latest consultation exercise has resulted in a further response from SODC in which they continue to object to the proposal. As a result of this objection the applicant asked for a deferral to consider the points raised. However, they have now asked for the application to be determined as submitted, rather than submit any further amendments. The applicant has provided a letter further justifying the location of the application site and proposed improvements to the planting scheme and clarification regarding cut and fill. Consultations (Consultation period finished on 25 June 2009) South Oxfordshire District Council First Consultation 18. Object - Site is within the green belt and very special circumstances have not been demonstrated. There is insufficient information regarding landscape. Buildings would be much more prominent in the landscape than the existing farm buildings.