d x m KEY: CLIENT: SIZE: TITLE: . y r r a u A4 Q Site Boundary Oxfordshire County Council Site 11: Finmere Quarry (Premier), Finmere e r e m n i F \ D ERM X M Eaton House \ 0 1 Wallbrook Court e s a North Hinksey Lane h P \ Oxford, OX2 0QS S DATE: 20/07/2007 CHECKED: PROJECT: 0051809 L _ S Telephone: 01865 384800 I G d Facsimile: 01865 204982 DRAWN: IG APPROVED: SCALE: 1:10,000 r o f x . O 0 200 Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data. © Crown 9 SOURCE: DRAWING: REV: 0 8 copyright, All rights reserved. 2007 License number 0100031673. 1 5 0 British National Grid FinmereQuarry.mxd 0 0 PROJECTION: : e l Metres i F SITE 11 FINMERE QUARRY (PREMIER), FINMERE GRID REFERENCE: 462674, 232849 Criteria Description Site Description and It is a large open site being currently in use for mineral extraction and landfill. Presently Existing Use quarrying is not taking place, further permission is being sought - awaiting the outcome of appeal. Site Area 3.63 ha Surrounding Land Uses The area nominated by the site operators (marked on the map) is surrounded by landfill cells that have been filled and capped or are currently being filled, and areas where further quarrying can be carried out. To the north east of the site is area of plantation which offers good screening. The wider site is surrounded by agricultural land and associated farm buildings. A dismantled railway runs to along the west side of the site with the village of Finmere situated over 700 m to the north east. Traffic and Transport The site is accessed via an internal road leading off the B4031. This links with the A421 approx. 1.25 km to the east and the A43 approx. 5.5 km to the west. Proximity to Waste This site lies just further than 10 km from the centre of Bicester. The site is 28 km from Arisings the centre of Oxford. Planning Policy Adopted Cherwell Local Plan 1996 Policy AG1 Non-Statutory Cherwell Local Plan 2001 Policy EN16 Both policies seek to protect best and most versatile agricultural land. Planning History In 2005, an application was submitted for the extraction of sand, gravel and clay, the deposit of overburden and reject quarrying material, the relocation of plant and restoration of the quarry to agriculture, woodland and grassland using imported inert wastes. The application was refused as it was contrary to policy SD5 of the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan 1996 (OMWLP), and the site was not identified as a location for future clay extraction. The proposal also failed to provide a satisfactory form of restoration or end date and was therefore contrary to policy EN1of the Oxfordshire Structure Plan 2016 (OSP), PE1 of the OMWLP and EN34 of the Cherwell Local Plan (CLP). A similar application was made later in the same year and was again refused for similar reasons. Further, the proposal was not in line with policy W7 of the OWMLP and failed to demonstrate the need for an additional waste disposal facility at the specified location. A 2006 proposal for a materials recycling facility on the site has been refused. The reasons for refusal were non-compliance with policy WM2 of the OSP, W3 of the OMWLP and the proximity principle. The proposal was contrary to policy W4 of the OMWLP, as no overriding need was demonstrated for the site’s location in the open countryside and not on a mineral extraction/landfill site. It was also discussed that by virtue of the height and scale of the building the proposed development would have been visually intrusive and in conflict with policy EN34 of the CLP, policy EN1 of the OSP and policy W7 of the OMWLP. In 2007 a proposal was made for the installation of an electricity generation plant fuelled by landfill gas from the site. This application has been approved. Landscape Designations There are no landscape designations for this site. Landscape Character The site is situated within the landscape character area of West Anglian Plain. Land Stability This site has been previously worked and is not fully restored. There is a risk that it may be subject to land instability. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT OCC 25 Criteria Description Ecology and Nature There are no ecology or nature conservation designations. Conservation The site is beyond 15 km from any Natura 2000 or Ramsar site. Agricultural Land The site is designated grade 3 agricultural land. Classification Flooding (potential) This site is not liable to flood. Groundwater Quality The site is located within a major aquifer with groundwater at intermediate vulnerability to pollution. The site is not located within an SPZ. Historic Environment There are a few listed buildings 800 m from the sites north east boundary. There is also a listed building on the Wildmore Farm, 400 m from the west of the site. There are no archaeological constraints for this site. Recreational Activities There are public rights of way within the vicinity of the site. Air Quality/Noise/ The nominated site is situated within previous mineral workings and landfill activities. Issues of Environmental It is set within a rural location, with residential properties located within 250 m (Foxley Nuisance Fields Farm and Boundary Farm). Proximity to Existing The site is an existing landfill facility. Waste Facilities Non inert facilities Proximity to Landfill: Premier Aggregates (Finmere) Proximity to Treatment: No non-inert facilities within 10 km Proximity to Recycling: No recycling facilities within 10 km Proximity to Transfer Station: No non-inert facilities within 10 km Proximity to Composting: Ardley Quarry, 10.4 km Landscape/ Visual Impact The site is set back from the access road and is well screened by trees and shrubs. The site contains raised capped landfill and open quarry workings. Site Ownership The site is owned by Premier Aggregates Limited. The company supports the inclusion of this site in the Waste Allocations Development Plan Document. Site 11 Finmere Quarry (Premier), Finmere Preliminary Conclusions Finmere Quarry is a large and open site, with the nominated area located centrally within it. The nominated site is well screened to the north and east by tree plantations. The site has had some extensive work carried out and there are bunded areas where quarrying has previously occurred. Landfill is obvious as raised areas waiting to be capped. Presently quarrying is not taking place, further permission is being sought and the outcome of an appeal to this is pending. The site is located to the north east of Oxfordshire, very close to the border with Buckinghamshire. Access to the site is via the B4031, which links with both the A421 and A43 and it does benefit from access into the wider road network using a satisfactory highway that does not travel through settlements. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT OCC 26 The site lies beyond 10 km from Bicester; as such, this site is the furthest from any significant source of waste arisings within Oxfordshire. However, it is located within 10 km of Buckingham, to the east and could accept waste from beyond the county boundary. ERM concludes that it is not appropriate to consider this site for a permanent strategic waste facility. This is primarily due its location distant from significant source of waste within Oxfordshire. The regional spatial strategy does not require Oxfordshire to handle waste from Buckinghamshire and therefore this cross boundary movement of waste is not considered to be a material consideration. Furthermore, the site is required to be restored by 2014. The nominated site is located centrally within the wider working area; permanent development would detract from comprehensive restoration, which is due to be completed within the next ten years. Notwithstanding this conclusion, there may be potential to develop the site for a non-strategic facility (for example a waste transfer station or materials recovery facility) that could be linked to the lifetime of the current landfill operations, thus enabling waste to be managed more sustainably whilst the landfill and site restoration is being completed. Figure 11.1 Site 11 Finmere Quarry (Premier), Finmere ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT OCC 27 d x m . s o l KEY: CLIENT: SIZE: TITLE: i S n i a r Oxfordshire County Council A4 Site 12: Gosford Grain Silos, Gosford G Site Boundary d r o f s o G \ D ERM X M Eaton House \ 0 1 Walbrook Court e s a North Hinksey Lane h P \ Oxford OX2 0QS S DATE: 17/07/2007 CHECKED: PROJECT: 0051809 L _ S Tel: 01865 384800 I G d Fax: 01865 204982 DRAWN: IG APPROVED: SCALE: 1:10,000 r o f x . O 0 200 Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data. © Crown 9 SOURCE: DRAWING: REV: 0 8 copyright, All rights reserved. 2007 License number 0100031673. 1 5 0 British National Grid GosfordGrainSilos.mxd 0 0 PROJECTION: : e l Metres i F SITE 12 GOSFORD GRAIN SILOS, GOSFORD GRID REFERENCE: 450250, 212050 Criteria Description Site Description and The site is open and currently used for storage. In the centre of the site is the grain silo, a Existing Use substantial building. Site Area 2.51 ha. Surrounding Land Uses Railway sidings, the Oxford-Bicester mainline and the A34 run alongside the northern boundary of the site. The railway sidings are used as an aggregates depot. Beyond these lie open farm land and the southern tip of Kidlington. Agricultural land also surrounds the site to the east and south, but immediately south is the Water Eaton Park and Ride. The A4165 runs along the south western boundary, beyond which is the North Oxford Golf Course.