Agenda Item No 5c. Committee: Regulatory Planning Committee Date: 11 June 2008 Report by: Director of Transport and Environment Proposal: Proposal seeking retrospective planning permission for the construction of two sheds. Site Address: Greystone Quarry, Southerham, Lewes. Applicant: M D J Light Brothers (SP) Limited Application No. LW/532/CM Key Issues: (i) Managing waste (ii) Effect on AONB (iii) Intensification of uses at the site (iv) Drainage (v) Local amenity SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 1. To grant planning permission, subject to conditions, as set out in paragraph 8.1 CONSIDERATION BY DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENT 1. The Site and Surroundings 1.1 The application site is about 0.16 of a hectare in area and comprises two large buildings and is located within the existing waste transfer station (WTS) in the upper quarry to the west of the worked out lower chalk quarry of Greystone Quarry on the south-eastern side of Southerham, near Lewes. 1.2 A stand of trees is situated on an embankment at the south-western side of the WTS, beyond which is a transit site for travellers and the A27 Trunk Road. Plant, machinery and both processed and unprocessed waste stockpiles are located to the east. Trees are also present on the northern boundary of the WTS and the downland area of Machine Bottom rises beyond. Existing office buildings are present to the west of the application site as well as a weighbridge and the entrance to the WTS. 1.3 Access to the WTS is via the slip road leading from the A27 or from the minor road leading from the A26 through Cliffe Industrial Estate and Southerham to the north-west, although the latter is physically restricted in size and involves the use of a private road. Residential properties are situated to the north-west of the WTS along this minor road. 1.4 The WTS is within the Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and lies on a Major Aquifer. 2. The Proposal 2.1 The applicant is seeking retrospective planning permission for the construction of two sheds. 2.2 Although planning permission was granted in 2003 for the construction of two sheds within the upper quarry (reference LW/393/CM), they were not constructed in accordance with the approved drawings. This application, therefore, seeks to regularise the situation. According to the applicant, the primary reason for the changes in the design and layout of the buildings, particularly in relation to the southern shed, was to allow sufficient circulation space between the buildings for vehicles associated with the waste transfer operations. 2.3 The design of the southern shed has led to the removal of a section of the quarry’s chalk embankment and cliff, together with associated trees and scrub and is now a vertical face, which has the potential to undermine the vegetation at the top of the cliff face and open the quarry up to views from the south and south-west. The additional space which has been created to the rear of the building has been used to re-locate various structures, including an electricity sub-station, and to undertake various works associated with the transfer operations. 2.4 The floorspace of the sheds is slightly less than that which was approved under permission LW/393/CM (1575m2 compared to 1650m2). The northern shed is 55 metres in length and 8.3 metres in height and the southern shed is 50 metres in length and 8.9 metres in height. The main purpose of the sheds is to provide both storage for waste materials and cover for waste transfer operations and accommodation for working practices on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV). 3. Site History 3.1 Most of the upper quarry has been used as a scrap metal yard for many decades and more recently, as a waste transfer station. As noted above, planning permission was granted for two sheds in the upper quarry in 2003, although technically this application was not implemented, as the buildings were not constructed in accordance with the permission (reference LW/393/CM). 3.2 Various temporary planning permissions have been granted in the lower quarry over the last few years and there are currently proposals for development in both the upper and lower quarries, including a further planning application seeking retrospective planning permission for additional development in the upper quarry, in addition to this proposal. 4. Consultations and Representations 4.1 Lewes District Council has not submitted any observations. 4.2 Glynde and Beddingham Parish Council has not submitted any observations. 4.3 The Environment Agency raises no objections. 4.4 Representations: one letter has been received from a local resident who raises a concern that the drainage from the site is by soakaway to groundwater and as ELV are being treated at the site, it has the potential to lead to pollution of nearby domestic groundwater supplies. 5. The Development Plan policies of relevance to this decision are: 5.1 Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) – Waste and Minerals, 2006: Policies: W6 (recycling targets); W7 (waste management capacity); W17 (location of waste management facilities). 5.2 East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Structure Plan 1991-2011: Policies: EN2 & EN3 (AONB); EN11 (water quality). 5.3 East Sussex and Brighton & Hove Waste Local Plan 2006: Policies: WLP1 (strategy); WLP6 (expansions or alterations to existing facilities); WLP13 (transfer and recovery facilities); WLP37 (surface water); WLP38 (groundwater). 5.4 Lewes District Local Plan 2003: Policies: ST3 (design, form & setting of development); CT2 (AONB). 6. Considerations Introduction 6.1 The planning permission for the sheds in application LW/393/CM was subject to a number of conditions, including the submission of details relating to various matters associated with the development, which were subsequently approved. Although the buildings, the subject of the current application, are different to those which were approved under LW/393/CM, the considerations remain similar. Managing waste 6.2 Since construction, the buildings have been used for waste management purposes, including the storage of waste and cover for transfer operations, including accommodating working practices for managing ELV and waste electrical and electronic equipment. As a result, they have provided additional facilities for managing different waste streams resulting in increased efficiencies at the site. 6.3 The development is supported by waste management policies, as it has contributed to the diversion of waste being disposed of to land and increased net self-sufficiency in managing waste in the Plan area. It has also contributed to an increase in the recycling of household and commercial waste and therefore is in accordance with Policy W6 of RPG9 and Policy WLP1 of the Waste Local Plan. Effect on AONB 6.4 Under application LW/393/CM, it was considered that the buildings would not be contrary to the aims of protecting the character and qualities of the AONB, as the development was proposed within an established WTS and would not be out of character within the setting of the WTS or involve change or damage to the countryside qualities of adjoining land. 6.5 Although the buildings, the subject of the current application, are not in themselves out of character within the setting of the WTS, the construction of the southern building has resulted in the removal of part of the quarry’s chalk embankment and cliff and associated vegetation. This has had the effect of reducing the area of trees and scrub on the south-western side of the quarry and undermining its importance as a visual screen from the south and south- west. 6.6 Although it was acknowledged under application LW/393/CM that the WTS benefited from tree screening and the local topography, it was also recognised that the maintenance and enhancement of this screening was important in concealing quarry activities in the long term, particularly as the site is within the AONB. 6.7 The removal of the embankment and cliff and associated vegetation conflicts with policies to protect the AONB. Remedial work is therefore required to provide for some compensation for this loss and provide for the long term stabilisation of the chalk face, including its protection from the adjoining operational waste activities. Consequently, I recommend the inclusion of a condition requiring details to be submitted on how the chalk face will be stabilised and secured from erosion, thereby avoiding any further damage. The condition should also provide for additional planting to enhance the remaining tree and scrub screen, as well as a landscape maintenance programme for the long term management of the south-western part of the quarry. Intensification of uses at the site 6.8 Policy WLP6 of the Waste Local Plan supports, in principle, the expansion or alteration of existing waste management facilities. 6.9 Under application LW/393/CM, it was considered that the proposal had the potential to lead to conflict with other uses at the WTS due to the latter’s restricted size, unless appropriate controls were included. The proposed buildings were to be used for more intensive waste management activity and would reduce the area available to accommodate vehicular movement, together with the parking of lorries and storage of skips and containers. This would leave very little space to provide facilities for additional plant and machinery associated with existing uses. There was a concern that the new buildings should not prevent the proper working of the WTS nor result in activities associated with the WTS taking place outside the area, which did not benefit from planning permission. 6.10 Consequently, a condition was included on permission LW/393/CM, which required a plan to be submitted showing the storage, processing and parking areas, together with the vehicular turning area.