PLANNING APPLICATION NUMBER:P07/1198 Type of approval sought Full Planning Permission Ward Kingswinford North & Wall Heath Applicant Baggeridge Brick PLC Location: OAK FARM QUARRY, HIMLEY, DUDLEY, WEST MIDLANDS Proposal REVIEW OF CONDITIONS ATTACHED TO PLANNING PERMISSIONS C/C/90/50811 AND 99/50093 FOR THE EXTRACTION OF BRICK CLAY AND THE RESTORATION TO WOODLAND AND OPEN SPACE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995 Recommendation APPROVE SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS Summary: SITE AND SURROUNDINGS 1. The quarry site is entirely within Dudley, and the Staffordshire boundary abuts the north of the site. Dudley town centre is some 5 kilometres east of the site. The size of the entire site is 13.85 hectares. 2. The site setting comprises a largely rural area to the north created following restoration of the Himley landfill site. To the south, off Oak Lane, is substantially fragmented by industrial activity comprising a scrap yard and waste transfer station. A traveller’s site is also located in this area. South of Oak Lane is the entrance to the Cory landfill site, infilling the clay quarry forming part of Ibstock Stourbridge works. West of the Oak Farm site is Oak Lane, leading to Holbeache Lane and further industrial activities. 3. The B4176 Himley Road is approximately 1km east of the site. Between the site and Himley Road is substantially woodland area on colliery spoils heaps, the Lower Gornal Sewage treatment works and the restored Wimpy Landfill, now known as Conference Wood. To the south the Himley Road connects to Dudley whereas to the north it extends to the A449 trunk road. The A449 links Wolverhampton to the north and Kidderminster to the south. 4. Clay extracted from the site is currently supplied to the Sedgley brickworks located some 3 km north of the site and accessed along privately owned haul roads based upon former mineral railway lines. 5. Bordering the northern boundary of the site is Crooked House Lane, serving the Crooked House pub (Glynn Arms). Access over Crooked House Lane is facilitated by a bridge constructed as part of Oak Farm quarry. 6. Holbeache Brook also forms the northern boundary of the site, immediately to the south of Crooked House Lane. The brook flows in a westwards direction along the northern boundary. Towards the eastern extent of the site boundary the brook is formed by the confluence of Bobs Brook flowing from the north east and Holbeache Brook, which is substantially in culvert, flowing from the south east of the site. 7. The site is bordered on the east and southern boundaries by old railway lines and a further line exists in close proximity to the western boundary. All of these old lines are now being used as footpaths. 8. Very few residential buildings exist around the perimeter of the site, with the closest being the Crooked House pub to the north. A property also exists within the scrap yard area to the south of the site and Home Farm, some 500 metres west of the site. The gypsy site is located immediately to the south of the Kingswinford railway walk but is in itself surrounded by the waste transfer activities and scrap yards on Oak Lane. None of these properties have direct views into the site. PROPOSAL 9. This application is for a ‘Review of Minerals Permission’ (ROMP) and the application comprises an Environmental Impact Assessment which has been produced relating to ongoing operation of the Oak Farm quarry which supplies clay raw materials for use at the Sedgley brickworks. The 1995 Environment Act requires planning permissions for mineral working to be reviewed on a 15 year cycle. This process provides a mechanism whereby planning conditions on continuing mineral working permissions can be reviewed and updated, where necessary, to reflect changes in circumstances since the permissions were first granted. 10. This application is a review of the conditions attached to planning permissions 90/50811 and 99/50093. The existing conditions are attached to the rear of this report as Appendix 1 (90/50811) and Appendix 2 (99/50093). The new proposed conditions can be set out into a list of relevant issues that comprise the following:- • Waste Licensing • Geological, Hydro geological, Hydrological issues • Landscape and Visual Impact • Soil Resources • Noise • Dust • Ecology • Highways • Archaeology These issues are reviewed in the Assessment section of this report. 11. If the Council have not given written notice of their determination within 3 months of receipt of the application, the application and the conditions submitted therein are deemed to be approved from that date. HISTORY 12. APPLICATION PROPOSAL DECISION DATE No. C/C/90/50811 Extraction of brick clay and the Granted 25/11/91 restoration to woodland and open space 90/1298 Reinstatement of bridge – Granted 05/02/91 Land north of Oak Farm 99/50094 Diversion of part of Holbeache Granted 22/04/99 Brook and creation of a wetland feature 99/50093 Application under Section 73 Granted 15/06/07 to vary conditions 22, 23, 26 of application no. 90/50811 to amend the restoration strategy and omit the wetland feature PUBLIC CONSULTATION 13. Public Consultation time expired 21 July 2007. One letter has been received from the agent for the adjoining landowner raising the following concerns: Comments about the S106 agreement connected with the 1999 application approved on the 15 June 2007 regarding vehicular access, land ownership and the ROMP system. • Landfill gas • Timescale of works OTHER CONSULTATION 14. Head of Environmental Protection - No adverse comments in respect of land contamination. The facility has operated without significant complaint and there are no adverse comments as to the continuation of the use, subject to the existing conditions being retained which includes control of operational laws. 15. Severn Trent Water – No objections 16. Natural England – Adequate information on potential protected species should be provided in reviewing the conditions of the mineral permission. 17. Nature Conservation Officer – More effort should be given to planning future habitat creation and landscape features, such as utilising the anticipated topography to allow water collection for ponds for great crested newts, grass snakes and white clawed crayfish. Similarly enhancements of the present water course could be made by adding further naturalistic channels, rather than the French-drain methods proposed (which would limit wildlife) to aid water movement out of the site. RELEVANT PLANNING POLICY 18. Adopted UDP (2005) M1 - Minerals M2 - Minerals and After Use NC5 - Sites of Local Importance for Nature Conservation UR9 - Contaminated Land National Planning Documents Mineral Planning Guidance 11: The Control of Noise at Surface Mineral Works Mineral Planning Guidance 14: Environment Act 1995: Review of Mineral Planning Applications ASSESSMENT 19. The assessment of this ‘Review of Mineral Permission’ (ROMP) will be to determine if the proposed conditions are appropriate to the current status of the site. The relevant issues can be assessed as follows: Waste Licensing Geological, Hydro geological, Hydrological Assessment Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Soil Resources Noise Dust Ecology Highways Archaeology Waste Licensing 20. The UK is now required to implement the provisions of the Landfill Directive. This is being achieved through the provisions of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999, the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000, and the Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002. 21. A pollution prevention and control permit (PPC) is now required under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations before landfilling can commence at the site. These Regulations replaced the requirements for a waste management licence for a landfill site, as originally required under the Environmental Protection Act. 22. The Oak Farm site is permitted to receive waste. A PPC permit would however have to be granted by the Environment Agency before landfilling at the site can commence. The PPC permit application would contain full details of how the site would be engineered, operated, the waste types to be handled, monitoring, environment control procedures, restoration and aftercare. 23. Strict control exists to ensure that the planning process does not duplicate these responsibilities of the Environment Agency. This control has been extended to specifically encompass the Review of Mineral Permissions. Paragraph 118 of MPG 14 clearly states that the Mineral Planning Authority (Dudley Council) should rely on the Environment Agency. 24. Planning permissions can not convey any consent that maybe required from other statutory authorities. Equally, planning conditions should not seek to control matters that are the proper concern of other statutory agencies, except where planning interests are clear and the conditions in the non planning consent, authorisations or licences are not sufficient to protect those interests. This is particularly relevant in the field of pollution control. 25. The Environment Agency now control the specifics of landfill development through the PPC regime. Detail such as the ‘gas and leachate control may still be submitted to the Council but this is in the capacity for land use planning matter, for example the siting and amenity issues associated with the leachate collection wells, or the location of gas flares etc. 26. In respect of the information above, proposed conditions 1-3 (see recommendation for the full list of conditions) would state the following: Condition 1 Details of gas and leachate control infrastructure to be submitted for written approval to the local planning authority. Condition 2 Requirement for a PPC permit and refers to waste types. Condition 3 Treatment of exact types of waste subject to PPC process. Geological, Hydrogeological and Hydrological Assessment 27. The site is geologically located within the Carboniferous Upper Coal Measures overlying the Middle Coal Measures. The clay extracted within these Upper Coal Measures is Etruria Marl which is of limited incidence and can only be readily found in the West Midlands areas.