Foyle - Gloucester Environmental Permit Application EPR Ref: UP3700PX/A001 SCR – Support Information Document Ref: Attachment B.2.3.B SCR SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOYLE LTD, CINDERFORD, GLOUCESTER, UK 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 Introduction This report contains the necessary information to supplement the Site Condition Report that has been prepared for the Foyle Slaughtering and Processing facility, Forest Vale Industrial Estate, Forest Vale Rd, Cinderford GL14 2PH, UK, in support of an application for a Bespoke Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (2016) for England and Wales. The main facility is located on a 13,000 M2 site and includes an intake/cattle lairage, Slaughter Line Building, Main Processing Building (de-boning, boxing, chilling), car parks and an effluent treatment plant. Summery Table 1.1: Foyle Production Facility Site Area 13,000 M2 Location Forest Vale Industrial Estate (25 Ha) 160 m (south-western corner to north-eastern corner) Max Dimensions 162 m (north-western corner to south-eastern corner) Current Use Cattle Slaughter and Meat Processing Predominantly concrete, approx 6,120 M2. Surfacing Compacted Gravel Carpark, approx 1,550 M2. Vegetation The site contains no green areas Ground slopes down gently from East to West. According to online altimeter tools, the NE & SE Ground Slope corners are 150m AOD and the western corner is 146m AOD. No significant signs of structural distress noted in Buildings and State of Repair existing buildings. Water Course Cinderford – approx 25m west. The east of the site is bounded by the B4227 road. The south of the site is bounded by a car breakers yard. The north of the site is bounded by an industrial facility. Boundaries The west of the site is boundary by the Cinderford Brook, beyond which is the Severn Trent municipal plant. Potential Contaminant Sources None - short standing historical use. Geotechnical issues None Ordnance Survey Explorer OL14 – Map / Scale Map of Wye Valley & Forest of Dean Head - Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay. Superficial Deposits Alluvium - Clay, Silt, Sand and Gravel Cinderford Member - Mudstone, Siltstone and Bedrock Geology Sandstone 2 SCR SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOYLE LTD, CINDERFORD, GLOUCESTER, UK Summery Table 1.2: Cinderford Industrial Area District Forest Parish Cinderford Size 83 Ha (approx) The overall area is a large industrial region on the outskirts of Cinderford Town. The units on the area range in size and age. Along the western boundary there are a number of newer units. There is a large amount of vacant land in the industrial area, which is used for storage (trailers etc). In the north of Description the area there is a small region called Steam Mills, while the southern area is made up of the Forest Vale Industrial Estate. Access from the main road is good. Some of the internal roads are of poor quality. There is no public vehicle access to Steam Mills. There are areas of housing to the south-east. The area is located on land that has been mostly developed Landscape and is not within or adjacent to a national landscape designation such as AONB. Green Belt The area is outside of the Gloucester/Cheltenham Green Belt. Route Access B4227 & A4151 Aerodrome Safeguarding The area lies outside all safeguarding zones. There were no recorded geological features within the Geodiversity industrial area. A minor watercourse, Old Engine Brook, flows beneath Steam Mills Road before flowing along the western boundary of the industrial area. The watercourse then enters the area at SO 6454 1496 (by Forest Vale Road) and continues to flow parallel to the road as it continues through the area. A series of drains are located to the west of the boundary, all of which Water Course appear to converge on the western boundary at SO 6454 1432. Downstream of this point, the watercourse is referred to as the Cinderford Brook and continues to flow along the western area boundary, intermittently entering the area as it continues on its course. Within the area itself, a series of unnamed minor watercourses and drains can be identified on the OS maps. An impounded water body is located to the west to the area at Dam Green. The Cinderford industrial area lies predominantly in Flood Zone 1. The western and north-western boundary of the area is marginally affected by Flood Zones 2, 3a and 3b from the Flood Zones Old Engine Brook/Cinderford Brook. While the unnamed minor watercourses and drains do not show fluvial flood risk, in reality some risk is posed. There are no records of historic flooding and flooding from other sources including groundwater and surface water have Historic Flooding not been recorded in the area. The impounded water body to the west of the area may present some residual risk from breach or overtopping. 3 SCR SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOYLE LTD, CINDERFORD, GLOUCESTER, UK Canals No canals exist in or adjacent to the area. Flood Defences No defences are known to exist in the area. Source Protection Zones Within 500M of Zone III Total Catchment Groundwater/Aquifer Minor Aquifer Low and Minor Aquifer High. See Attachment A: Map I for location of Foyle – Gloucester, Forest Vale Industrial Estate and Cinderford Industrial Area. 4 SCR SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOYLE LTD, CINDERFORD, GLOUCESTER, UK 1.2 Site Overview Foyle Food Group operates a slaughtering facility on a 13,000 M2 site located at Forest Vale Road, Forest Vale Industrial Estate, Cinderford, Gloucester, GL14 2PH, United Kingdom. Activities at the site include the slaughter of cattle and the dressing, chilling and quartering of beef carcasses, the cutting of beef and the harvesting of offal, cod fat and bones, the packing of beef, beef offal, cod fat and bones into vacuum pouches and lined cardboard boxes. The east of the site is bounded by the B4227 main road. The south of the site is bounded by a car breakers yard, while the north is bounded by an industrial facility. The west boundary of the site is made up of a mixture of trees, hedgerows and the Cinderford Brook, beyond which is the Severn Trent municipal plant. The Cinderford Brook watercourse also runs adjacent to the western boundary of the site. Regionally, the site is positioned in an industrial estate on the outskirts of the town of Cinderford which itself is located on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. The Forest of Dean is characterised by more than 110 km2 of mixed woodland. The actual tonnage of finished product produced in 2018 was 20,712 tonnes. The site at Gloucester was acquired from the family run business, Ensor’s Ltd, at the end of 2013. Major investment (> £3 million) has allowed an upgrade of the complete premises to a high standard. The site has approval from many of the major retailers in UK and Europe, however retail packing from the site is limited to the packing of primal joints for a single retailer on a seasonal basis. The site exports to Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and North America. The company’s customer base is split between commercial and retail. The site produces primal cuts and trims which are dispatched to wholesalers. The site carries out all their own boning. Previously some meat was dispatched as quarters for boning at the sister site in Omagh Ireland. The site employs approximately 230 staff and is approximately 13,000 M2 in area, with a weekly slaughter in excess of 1500 cattle from which carcase beef is processed. The plant operates production shifts on a five-day basis between 07:00-18:00, while cleaning occurs between 19.00 – 01:00. Week-end work may occur at peak production times and the engineering team provide 24/7 cover. The sites effluent treatment plants discharge volume for 2018 was 21,318 M3, which equated to an average discharge of 58 M3 per day. The 2019 annualized discharge volume, based on the first 24-week of the year, was calculated to be 28,043 M3, which equates to an average discharge of 77 M3 per day. The rate of treated effluent discharge is limited to 100 M3 per day as per the site discharge licence. All waste is segregated on site for removal to offsite waste facilities as appropriate. 5 SCR SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOYLE LTD, CINDERFORD, GLOUCESTER, UK 1.3 Listed Structure The site does not contain any listed building or structure within the boundary. The closest listed structure is a road marker, located adjacent to the Valley Road/Station Street junction approximately 225m east of the site boundary. This item is one of four in the parish. Protected Status: Listed Building Monument Types: Road Marker Grade: II (buildings that are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them) List Entry Number: 1123698 Date First Listed: 4th July 1985 Grid Ref: SO 65111 14034 Description Road marker, 1897, cast iron. Self-supporting plate like milestone approximately 600mm wide, with semi-circular top, raised rim and lettering: ‘Vr This Road For The Distance Of 670 Yards (Arrow Points To Right) Was Made At The Expense Of The Crown For The Benefit Of The Inhabitants And District 1897 E Stafford Howard Esq Commissioner Philip Baylis Esq Dep Sur'. Figure 1.3: Listed Road Marker 1.4 Previous Site Assessments Operations at the site involving the use, production or release of relevant hazardous substances and their control measures are outlined in the H1 Environmental Risk Assessment submitted in support of this application (Attachment B.2.5.A). 6 SCR SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOYLE LTD, CINDERFORD, GLOUCESTER, UK 2.0 DESKTOP STUDY 2.1 Sources of Information The sources of material used for the desktop survey, archive and current, are detailed in full in the reference section of this document.