Agenda item

The Committee considered a County Matter planning application to vary Condition 15 of planning permission 407501, dated 18 June 2001 to enable the continued temporary retention of an aggregate wharf, aggregates processing plant, ancillary uses and structures, access and fresh water lagoons at Ryall House Farm Quarry, Tewkesbury Road, Ryall, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire.

The report set out the background of the proposal, the proposal itself, the relevant planning policy and details of the site, consultations and representations.

The report set out the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy's comments in relation to landscape character and appearance of the local area and residential amenity, the water environment, ecology and biodiversity, traffic, highway safety and impact upon public rights of way, restoration and aftercare, other matters – economic impact, historic environment, and crime and security.

The Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy concluded that subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions carried forward from the extant planning permission, the proposal would be acceptable in terms of its noise and dust impacts and would not cause any unacceptable overbearing, overshadowing or overlooking implications that detract from residential amenity due to its design, size and location and would have no adverse or detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the local area.

The Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority, South Worcestershire Land Drainage Partnership and Severn Trent Water Limited all raised no objections to the proposal. The proposal would not alter the existing wharf arrangements, drainage arrangements, or working practices at the site, therefore, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that there would be no adverse effects on the water environment.

Based on the advice of Natural England, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and the County Ecologist, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy considered that subject to the imposition of appropriate condition carried forward from the extant planning permission and the imposition of conditions recommended by the County Ecologist, that the proposal would not have any adverse impacts on ecology and biodiversity at the site or on the surrounding area.

Based on the advice of the County Highways Officer and County Footpath Officer, the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy was satisfied that the proposal would not have an unacceptable impact upon traffic, highway safety or Public Rights of Way.

With regards to the restoration of the processing plant, the applicant had confirmed that extant planning permission (Application Ref: 407501) required Ryall House Farm Quarry and Wharf to be restored in accordance with approved drawing no. RYA3/6. The applicant did not propose to deviate from this requirement and had confirmed that significant stockpiles of soils remained within the site for eventual use in the restoration of the plant site and wharf. A condition was recommended to require the restoration of the plant and wharf area.

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies WCS 1, WCS 2, WCS 5, WCS 5, WCS 6, WCS 8, WCS 9, WCS 10, WCS 11, WCS 12 and WCS 14 and Policies SWDP1, SWDP 2, SWDP 3, SWDP 4, SWDP 6, SWDP 21, SWDP 22, SWDP 24, SWDP 25, SWDP 28, SWDP 29, SWDP 31 and SWDP 32 of the adopted South Worcestershire Development Plan, it was considered the proposal would not cause demonstrable harm to the interests intended to be protected by these policies or highway safety.

The representative of the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy commented that members had visited the site and walked along the public right of way to the existing wharf and observed the processing plant in operation. A further letter of support had been received.

In the ensuing debate, the following principal points were raised:

·         The facility was necessary for the processing of sand and gravel therefore it would be sensible to prolong the life of this facility

·         There could be a detrimental impact on the river to destroy the wharf after work on site was concluded. Could anything be done to retain the wharf for potential future use?  The representative of the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy stated that it was possible to vary the condition to remove the wharf if so desired in the future. It was possible that the Minerals Local Plan could deem it appropriate to protect infrastructure assets of this kind in the county

·         Were any improvements to on-site security necessary? The representative of the Head of Strategic Infrastructure and Economy commented that he was not aware of any security issues on site. Mr Denny, a representative of the applicant stated that cctv was in operation at the site.

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted for the carrying-out of development pursuant to planning permission reference 407501, dated 18 June 2001 without complying with Condition 15 of that permission so as, to enable the continued temporary retention of aggregate wharf, aggregates processing plant, ancillary uses and structures, access and fresh water lagoons at Ryall House Farm Quarry, Tewkesbury Road, Ryall, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, subject to the following conditions:

a)    The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the details shown on submitted Drawing Numbers: RYA 3 / 1a, RYA 3 / 2a, RYA 3 / 3, RYA 3 / 4, RYA 3 / 5 and RYA 3 / 6a, except where otherwise stipulated by conditions attached to this permission;

b)    The surface of the access road to the A38 shall be sealed and wheel cleaning equipment shall be provided and used to prevent mud and detritus from the site being deposited on the adjacent public highway;

c)    The height of the plant and any stockpiles of processed or unprocessed materials shall not exceed 12 metres;

d)    The planting area as shown on Drawing Number RYA 3 / 3 shall be maintained, with failures replaced as necessary for the duration of operations at the site;

e)    Best practicable means shall be used to control dust and noise from the site including suspension of barge unloading in the event of high winds causing dust emissions;

f)     Any stockpile of materials shall be sited more than 10 metres from any watercourse (including ditches) and land drains;

g)    Any facilities for the storage of oils, fuels or chemicals shall be sited on impervious bases and surrounded by impervious bund walls.  The volume of the bunded compound shall be at least equivalent to the capacity of the tank plus 10%.  If there is multiple tankage, the compound shall be at least equivalent to the capacity of the largest tank, vessel or the combined capacity of interconnected tanks or vessels plus 10%.  All filling points, associated pipework, vents, gauges and sight glasses must be located within the bund or have separate secondary containment.  The drainage system of the bund shall be sealed with no discharge to any watercourse, land or underground strata.  Associated pipework shall be located above ground and protected from accidental damage.  All filling points and tank/vessels overflow pipe outlets shall be detailed to discharge downwards into the bund;

h)    The planting on the sides of the proposed pond shall be carried out in the next available planting season following the replacement of soil and shall thereafter be maintained for the duration of operations at this site and any plants which die are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next available planting season with others of similar size and species unless otherwise agreed in advance in writing with the Mineral Planning Authority;

i)     All operations and uses on the site including barge unloading shall only take place between 7am and 7pm Monday-Friday, 7am-12 noon on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays or Public Holidays;

j)     The access to the trunk road and visibility splay as shown on drawings. RYA3/7 and 3/8 respectively dated February 2001 shall be provided and maintained, with the access surfaced to a minimum depth of 150mm in either concrete or bituminous materials for a distance of 10m from the kerbline of the trunk road, for the duration of the operations hereby permitted;

k)    No work involving the movement of soil, other than that on the bankside connected with the construction of the wharf and associated facilities, shall commence before a phased scheme for the handling and respreading of previously stripped and stored soils and overburden has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Mineral Planning Authority.  Soils and overburden shall not be handled other than strictly in accordance with the approved scheme unless the Mineral Planning Authority agree otherwise in writing;

l)     Proposals for the decommissioning and restoration of the wharf and plant area as shown on Drawing Numbered: RYA 3 / 6a shall be submitted to the Mineral Planning Authority for their approval by 31 December 2023, unless the extraction operations at the associated Ryall's Court Quarry (Application Ref: 15/000013/CM) cease permanently prior to that date in which case decommissioning and restoration proposals shall be submitted within 3 months of the date of permanent cessation of working;

m)   Prior to respreading of soil making materials, subsoil or topsoil, the upper 600mm of the surface shall be:

              i.        Prepared so that it does not contain material injurious to plant growth;

            ii.        Ripped at a spacing of 500mm or closer to remove rock, stone, boulder, other foreign objects or compacted layers capable of impeding normal agricultural and land drainage operations including mole ploughing or subsoiling;

           iii.        Stones, materials and objects which exceed 200mm in any dimension and occur on the surface of the ripped and loosened ground shall be removed from the site or buried at a depth of not less than 2 metres below the final pre-settlement contours;

n)    Any part of the site which is significantly affected by differential settlement that occurs during the restoration and aftercare period, and would interfere with agricultural operations, shall be filled.  The operator shall fill the depression to the final settlement contours specified with suitable imported soils to the specification to be agreed in writing by the Mineral Planning Authority.  Topsoil, subsoil and other overburden moved in the course of the work shall not be mixed and shall not be handled and replaced in accordance with the above conditions;

o)    An agricultural aftercare scheme outline strategy shall be submitted for the written approval of the Mineral Planning Authority at least 3 months before spreading of subsoil commences.  This strategy shall outline the steps to be taken, and the period during which they are to be taken, and who will be responsible for taking those steps, to bring the land to the required standard so that the physical characteristics are restored, as far as it is practicable to do so, to what they were when the land was last used for agriculture i.e. the standard that satisfies the requirements of Paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 5 of the 1990 Act.  The aftercare scheme shall include provision for a field drainage system and an annual meeting;

p)    Within 9 months of the date of this permission, details of the review of the wharf lighting shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Mineral Planning Authority. The wharf lighting review shall include details of the existing and any proposed lighting, and shall include:

              i.        Height of the lighting posts

            ii.        Intensity of the lights

           iii.        Spread of light (in metres)

           iv.        Any measure proposed to minimise the impact of the lighting or disturbance through glare;

            v.        Any measures to minimise the impact of lighting upon protected species and habitats, in particular bats; and

           vi.        Times when the lighting would be illuminated;

Thereafter, the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.