AGENDA ITEM NO. 4 REPORT TO: Development Control and Licensing Committee DATE: 26 th June 2002 REPORTING OFFICER: Executive Director, Environment and Development SUBJECT: Planning applications to be determined by the Committee WARDS: Boroughwide The following applications for planning permission are submitted to the Committee for consideration with a recommendation in each case. Those applications marked * are considered to have significant employment implications. Those applications now before the Committee in which the planning issues are clear will be included in a List (No. 1) to be circulated at the meeting. Unless a Member objects to a particular application on that list it is RECOMMENDED that each of the applications on List No. 1 be approved subject, where appropriate, to the conditions printed on the Agenda. Those applications now before the Committee in which the planning issues are clear but in respect of which objections have been received and/or which are recommended for refusal will be reported to the Committee and if no Member wishes to discuss an application further, it is RECOMMENDED that each of the applications on List No. 2 be either approved, subject, where appropriate, to the conditions printed on the Agenda, or refused for the reasons given on the Agenda. The remaining applications not included in Lists 1 and 2 and those about which further information is required by Members will be considered following consideration of those lists In addition, any planning application on which proper notification has been received from a member of the public to speak will normally be excluded from lists 1 and 2. PLAN NUMBER: 01/00714/HSC APPLICANT: Westlink Storage & Shipping Co Ltd. PROPOSAL: Application for Hazardous Substance Consent for the Storage of 12000 Tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate ADDRESS OF SITE: Weston Point Docks, Runcorn. WARD: Mersey DEV/26/6/9185/SAH SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION: Refuse. CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION: The application has been widely advertised on both site and in the local press. Numerous statutory bodies have been consulted and the Council's retained technical consultants DNV Ltd asked to appraise and review the application. As a consequence of this consultation process the following comments/representations have been received:- The Manchester Ship Canal Company, British Waterways and the Environment Agency raise no objection in principle. Similarly the Council's Highway and Drainage Engineers raise no objection. The Environmental Health Officer recommends that a detailed assessment be carried out. The Health & Safety Executive have concluded that the risks to the surrounding population arising from the operation are sufficiently high to justify advising against the granting of hazardous substances consent on grounds of safety - but have not quantified the increased risk to the public. The assessment/observations given by DNV Ltd on behalf of the Council are given in the observations section of this report and a copy of their findings appended to the rear of the agenda. SITE/LOCATION: 55 acres of dockland, including various buildings, bounded to the west by the Manchester Ship Canal, to the north and north-east by Salt Union and to the south by Ineos Chlor. The housing in Weston Point is approximately 250 metres to the south- east. RELEVANT HISTORY: In April 2001, Westlink were given a temporary/personal permission to store up to 10000 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate on the site, as a temporary measure due to the excess of the material not used as a consequence of the then imposed foot and mouth restrictions (App No 01/00014/HSC, refers). That permission expired in October 2001 and since that time the continued use of the site for this purpose has been unauthorised. Both this Council and the HSE have agreed that no action would be taken against this unauthorised activity until such time as this current application has been determined. LOCAL PLAN DESIGNATION, KEY POLICIES AND SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES: The policies of the Halton Local Plan seek to restrict new hazardous substance development that is likely to cause an unacceptable impact on the surrounding land DEV/26/6/9185/SAH uses and will not impose development restrictions in terms of off-site accidental risk assessment on surrounding land uses. (Policy P1 & P7). These general objectives have been refined, developed and carried forward within the emerging policies of the Unitary Development Plan. Policy GS4 Runcorn Docklands is also of relevance. OBSERVATIONS: This is an application for a hazardous substance consent to store up to 12000 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate on part of Weston Point Docks - see book of maps for precise location. The use, albeit the amounts of Ammonium Nitrate being store at anytime have varied, started initially in the spring of 2001 to meet the needs of a manufacturer in a nearby district who had an excess of stock due to foot & mouth restrictions imposed at the time. The storage of the product at Weston Docks has proven to be beneficial to both the manufacturer and the applicant and as such this application seeks to regulate and authorise the continuation of the current operation. The site was formally visited by officers and Members of the Council in February this year. Discussions were held with the applicant so that all parties could have a clear understanding of the issues involved and the characteristics of the operation. Ammonium Nitrate is widely used in the UK as an agricultural fertiliser. Stocks are held in various places. Stock levels vary according to season, with levels tending to be high in the spring and autumn. In the UK, all stocks of Ammonium Nitrate of 500 tonnes or more are notified to HSE under the COMAH regulations. The threshold was set based on the knowledge of its harmful properties at the time which relate to the (remote) chance of explosion and toxic fire hazard. In September 2001, there was a major incident in Toulouse (France) which has caused this threshold to be challenged throughout Europe. The Toulouse incident led to 30 deaths (22 inside the premises, 8 outside) and 2,500 injuries. Thousands of properties were damaged upto a 4 kilometre radius. Although that site involve actual manufacture of Ammonium Nitrate and not just storage the building concerned held between 300 and 400 tonnes of different compositions of Ammonium Nitrate. As a consequence of this incident it is likely that revised regulations regarding the levels of permissible storage of Ammonium Nitrate in this country will be introduced tightening up on thresholds and associated controls. In addition to the storage of Ammonium Nitrate, the Westlink site stores other non- nitrate fertilisers, salt, caustic soda and glass silicate on the site, both externally and in buildings. In respect of the Westlink hazardous substances proposal the activity only involves storing the product in bags externally and cannot be directly compared to the circumstances as they existed at Toulouse. Ammonium Nitrate is in itself not combustible, but can promote burning of other materials. The material is insensitive to friction encountered in normal handling, but can be detonated under certain conditions. If mixed with other organic matter the probability of explosion is greatly DEV/26/6/9185/SAH increased. Under fire conditions, Ammonium Nitrate may also melt and decompose, giving off toxic fumes. A number of safeguards are required to ensure Ammonium Nitrate is stored safely. In particular, the risk of explosion is increased by a combination of the heating of the product or its involvement in a fire, the product becoming contaminated or the product becoming confined i.e in drains or enclosed equipment. The storing and handling of Ammonium Nitrate is therefore the subject of detailed controls by the HSE which need to met to safely operate an Ammonium storage facility. From the report from DNV’s investigation from the site visit referred to earlier in the report and from subsequent visits it was observed that the guideline for storage were not being strictly adhered to. Pallets were being stored and propped against the Ammonium Nitrate. The product was being stored close to existing propane tanks on the site used for drying other stored products. Cars were parked close to stored product, required gaps between storage areas of Ammonium Nitrate were not always kept clear. Without prejudice to the current application the applicants have indicated that they are in the process of implementing numerous site management improvements, to overcome some of these difficulties. It should however be noted that storage has now been taking place for over 12 months. The Council's Technical Adviser - DNV, have made a number of recommendations: These include: • Certificates of conformity should be obtained with each load/delivery to ensure quality/percentage content of Nitrogen being delivered; • Permission to store off grade or contaminated Ammonium Nitrate products on the site should be reviewed; • Storage and location of all new materials should be notified; • The Nitrate stored on the site is 34.5% Nitrogen Content. This may be considered an explosive; • Storage of combustible materials should be well away from Ammonium Nitrate; • All operators working on site should undergo specialist training; • The Council should give consideration to the reports and recommendations following the Toulouse incident regarding 'Greater Regulation of Urban spread near Plants'. Although the advice from DNV does not go as far as recommending that the application for consent should be opposed, it does raise a significant number of concerns and in particular points to the need to look at land use patterns and proximity to urban areas, especially proximity to dwellings. The site is within 250 metres of the nearest dwellings and any significant incident, based on the Toulouse experience, will clearly have serious consequences for these properties and their occupants. Matters of public safety are clearly of the up most importance, and although rejecting the present proposal will have certain economic and employment implications, these cannot override this principle objective.