planning report D&P/4011/01 5 July 2016 Fairlop Quarry, Little Heath, RM6 5SS in the London Borough of Redbridge planning application no. 2089/16 Strategic planning application stage 1 referral Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008. The proposal Planning application for the extension of mineral workings at Fairlop Quarry, into phases E and F, with establishment of new lagoon facilities, retention and modification of plant site and ancillary facilities, the establishment of a new conveyor and haul road with restoration to agriculture and nature conservation habitats by importation of inert restoration materials. The applicant The applicant is Brett Tarmac Ltd. and the agent is David L Walker Ltd. Strategic issues summary Mineral extraction: The proposals will contribute circa 1 million tons towards the maintenance of a 5 million tonne landbank (7 year supply). Green Belt: Mineral extraction is a compatible use in the Green Belt. The effects from mineral extraction will be temporary in duration and the restoration scheme will enhance the quality of Green Belt in the area. Waste: The restoration scheme will involve the importation of circa 750,000 tonnes of inert waste, which will assist in the beneficial re use of construction, excavation and demolition waste. Flood risk and surface water drainage: The site includes areas of Flood Risk 2 and 3 with extensive areas of surface water flood risk. The substantial site area also has the potential to affect drainage across a wider area. A flood risk assessment and drainage assessment is required to ensure that the proposals are acceptable in flood risk and drainage terms. Recommendation That Redbridge Council be advised that whilst this application is broadly supported in strategic planning terms, the application does not yet comply with the London Plan for the reasons set out in paragraph 54 of this report. However, the resolution of these issues could lead to the application becoming compliant with the London Plan. page 1 Context 1 On 24 May 2016 the Mayor of London received documents from Redbridge Council notifying him of a planning application of potential strategic importance to develop the above site for the above uses. Under the provisions of The Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor has until 4 July 2016 to provide the Council with a statement setting out whether he considers that the application complies with the London Plan, and his reasons for taking that view. The Mayor may also provide other comments. This report sets out information for the Mayor’s use in deciding what decision to make. 2 The application is referable under category(insert reference) 2A.1 of the Schedule to the Order 2008: 2A 1. “Development which comprises or includes mining operations where the development occupies more than 10 hectares”; 3 Once Redbridge Council has resolved to determine the application, it is required to refer it back to the Mayor for his decision as to whether to direct refusal; take it over for his own determination; or allow the Council to determine it itself. 4 The Mayor of London’s statement on this case will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description 5 Fairlop Quarry (the application site) is located approximately 4km north west of Ilford Town Centre in the London Borough of Redbridge. The site is split across six distinct areas designated as the plant site, Phase A (East and West) (worked and partially restored) and Phases C (worked and restored) D (worked and partially restored) with the proposed extension areas Phases E and F respectively. Access to the plant site area is derived via Hainault Road which is an unclassified road, which in turn affords access to the A12 trunk road to the south of the site which forms part of the primary road network. 6 The Fairlop Quarry complex has been supplying the building material needs of local construction projects for several decades. The nearby Fairlop Waters Country Park and golf club is a previously worked and restored area, which is now an important recreational resource of regional significance. 7 The application area extends over some 62.92 hectares covering the proposed extension areas (allocated as Phases E and F) and new haul routes, conveyor routes, existing water management areas in Phases A and D, along with the existing plant site and waste reception areas in Phase A. It is proposed to retain these ancillary features (in particular the water treatment facilities in Phases A and D) for the duration of the proposals detailed within the application. 8 The application site has the following planning designations: Green Belt; Site of Importance to Nature Conservation (SINC); Green Corridor; Archaeological Priority Zone; and Minerals Safeguarding Zone. page 2 9 The proposed Phase F extension area is located to the west of Hainault Road, to the north of a current operational area (Phase A East) and approximately 0.1km west of the existing plant site (refer Plan F10/PL09/01). The proposed Phase F extension area (including soil bund locations) extends to circa 7.7 hectares and currently comprises agricultural land bounded by perimeter hedgerow planting, and other agricultural fields that have already been worked and restored. Like Phase E, the proposed Phase F extension is situated on greenfield land and is found in close proximity to existing residential development in and around Hainault Farm. 10 Surrounding land uses, are primarily dominated by areas of previous mineral extraction, and the receding Hainault Forest. There are a number of housing areas in close proximity including Aldborough Hatch, and more dispersed housing around the Hainault part of the site. Other surrounding land uses include a horse riding school, municipal golf course, allotment gardens, a public house, a restaurant and football ground. 11 There are six listed buildings in the vicinity of the site mainly in proximity to Phase E. There are no listed buildings or any other surface heritage designations in proximity to Phase F or the other parts of the application site. Of the six listed buildings one is Grade 2* listed and the remainder are Grade 2. Details of the proposal 12 The main focus of the planning application is for the extension to Fairlop Quarry. It is proposed to extend into the areas designated as Phase E, located just north of Aldborough Hatch, and Phase F situated west of Hainault Farm. 13 The proposals seek to recover around 1 million tonnes of sand and gravel, from the two proposed extension areas. It is proposed that the phases will be worked simultaneously. It is proposed that the development, including site preparation, extraction and restoration in both phases, would take between 8 to 9 years to complete. 14 A comprehensive progressive working and restoration scheme has been prepared to ensure that the proposed extension is developed in an efficient and systematic manner. The proposal includes the provision of acoustic / visual screens in the form of soils bunds to protect the amenity of local residents and other sensitive land uses. 15 In addition to the proposals for the extension areas, this application also seeks the retention of previously consented ancillary operations for the duration of the scheme, including: (i) the consented processing plant site; (ii) the consented ready mixed concrete plant; (iii) existing consented access points off Hainault Road; (iv) facilities for the importation of restoration materials situated in Phase A (East); (v) water management infrastructure (situated in Phase A (East), Phase D and the plant site); and (vi) the existing haul road/conveyor networks, including the bridge over Hainault Road, and culverts over the Seven Kings water. 16 If consent is secured by late summer-2016, it is envisaged that the enabling works, soils stripping etc would be commenced Autumn 2016. Assuming that the typical rates of extraction and importation can be maintained, the extension will be restored during 2023. The plant site area and Area A would then be restored during 2024/2025. page 3 17 The restoration concept seeks to provide a holistic approach to the restoration of the proposed extraction areas, and the un-restored elements of the current site, restoring the land for use as agriculture, recreation and nature conservation. The restoration of Phases E and F will require the importation of circa 750,000 m3 of inert restoration materials, typically comprising soils and clays from local excavation and construction projects. No importation would be necessary to achieve the proposed enhanced restoration schemes in Phase A (East), the un-restored elements of Phase D and the plant site. The scheme in these areas will be achieved using on site resources. In addition the scheme could potentially create 2.km of new permissive rights of way. Case history 18 The application site is located to the south-west of a large area of the Fairlop Quarry Complex, for which planning permission was granted under consent reference 793/85 dated 8 January 1985. In addition to the extraction of sand and gravel, the scheme included processing or the as dug sand and gravel, and the erection of ancillary offices and workshops. Condition 22 of the permission required the site to be backfilled with inert waste to achieve restoration to agricultural use. 19 A further planning application was consented on land forming part of Hainault Farm, reference 1661/95, dated 29 March 1996. This granted planning permission for the extraction of sand and gravel, with the void being restored to agriculture by the importation of inert fill. 20 Area D is located to the east of the proposed extension and to the south of these two permission areas, and is the most recent area of mineral extraction under planning permission reference 2118/00 being granted on 2 August 2001.