Agenda item

The Committee considered a planning application made under Section 73 of the Town and Country Act 1990 (as amended) to vary condition 5 (operational hours) of planning permission ref: 18/000016/CM, at Croome Farm, Croome D'Abitot, Severn Stoke, 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 Planning and Transport Planning’s comments in relation to Traffic and Highway Safety, Historic Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity, Landscape and Visual Impact, Residential Amenity and Other Matters - Economic Impact.

 

The Head of Planning and Transport Planning concluded that Condition 5 of planning permission Ref:18/000016/CM stated:

 

“The development hereby approved shall only operate between the hours of 09:00 to 17:00 Mondays to Fridays with no operations including shredding and chipping on Saturdays, Sundays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays with the exception of deliveries which can be made to and dispatched from the site between the hours of 09:00 to 17:00 on Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 09:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays only, with no deliveries on Sundays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays”.

 

The applicant was seeking to amend to condition to state:

 

“The development hereby approved shall only operate between the hours of 08.00 to 16:00 Mondays to Fridays with no operations including shredding and chipping on Saturdays and Sundays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays with the exception of deliveries which can be made to and dispatched from the site between the hours of 08:00 to 16:00 on Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays only, with no deliveries on Sundays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays”

 

The applicant stated the change in operating hours was required in order to address the increasing popularity of the waste management service provided by the applicant (increase in Saturday working hours). It would also allow contractors who shred the green waste to commence work earlier, as at the moment they arrived at site at 08.00 hours but then could not start until 09.00 hours. The applicant also stated it would allow their operational hours to synchronise with that of their principle supplier, Severn Waste Services / Mercia Waste Management who operated Worcestershire's Household Recycling Centres and the transport system that supported them. The applicant stated by amending the operating hours of the composting site to 08.00 hours would mean that loads could be collected from Household Recycling Centres and delivered to the application site for 08.00 hours. The change in Saturday hours would also enable further processed material (compost) to be removed from the site, which was important to ensure the flow of product from the site was maintained.

 

In terms of traffic and highways safety, the County Highways Officer had no objections to the proposal subject to the imposition of the relevant extant conditions.

 

Based on the advice of Historic England and the National Trust, it was considered that this application would not have an unacceptable impact on the historic environment, subject to the imposition of an appropriate landscaping condition.

 

Based on the advice of Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and the County Ecologist, it was considered that this application would not have an unacceptable impact on ecology and biodiversity at the site or on the surrounding area, subject to the imposition of an appropriate landscaping condition.

 

Based on the advice of the County Landscape Officer, it was considered that this application would not have an adverse or detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the local area, subject to the imposition of appropriate extant conditions, including an appropriate landscaping condition.

 

Based upon the advice of the County Public Health Practitioner, Malvern Hills District Council, Worcestershire Regulatory Services and the EA, it was considered that this application would have no adverse impacts on residential amenity or that of human health and wellbeing, subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions.

 

The Head of Planning and Transport Planning had considered the views of consultees, including those from Worcestershire Regulatory Services, County Highways and the EA and was satisfied that the proposal was in accordance with the development plan, subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions.

 

Taking into account the provisions of the Development Plan and in particular Policies WCS 1, WCS 2, WCS 3, WCS 6, WCS 8, WCS 9, WCS 10, WCS 11, WCS 12, WCS 14 and WCS 15 of the Adopted Worcestershire Waste Core Strategy and Policies SWDP 1, SWDP 2, SWDP 3, SWDP 4, SWDP 5, SWDP 6, SWDP 8SWDP 12, SWDP 21, SWDP 22, SWDP 24, SWDP 25, SWDP 28, SWDP 29, SWDP 30 and SWDP 31 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 Planning and Transport Planning introduced the report and proposed the addition of a condition that “There shall be no storage of any imported green waste or processed compost outside the area of the hardstanding”. This had been a condition on the original permission but had not been transferred across into this permission in error.

 

Phil Troughton and Andrew Troughton were present at the meeting on behalf of the applicant to answer any technical questions.

 

In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:

 

·         A local councillor commented that mixed views had been expressed locally about the proposed change of hours of operation at the site. He was concerned that the earlier weekday start time would bring additional traffic onto the narrow local roads and in particular clash with the vehicle movements of Aston Coaches as well as other companies who resided on the site. The exit and egress proposals from the southern exit and the requirement for Rebecca Road to only be used in times of emergency was welcomed. He requested that the applicant maintained a log of vehicle movements on site, available for inspection by the Council’s monitoring officer. Drivers travelling west on the A4104, should be reminded by the operator of the need to drive safely through the village of Baughton. As well as Severn Waste, other smaller operators used the site and they needed to reminded by the operator to use the correct entrance to the site 

·         A local councillor indicated he supported the application as it was a minimal change to existing hours of operation. 98% of the waste transported to the site originated from Hill and Moor Landfill site and the logical route for vehicles accessing this site was along local A roads through Defford. The only school vehicles travelling during the earlier weekday start time would be taking children from Strensham to Defford. The vehicles using the northern entrance to the site represented about 2% of overall traffic and tended to be local in nature. It was appropriate to insist upon access from the southern entrance

·         In response to a query, the representative of the Head of Planning and Transport Planning commented that local residents had expressed concern about the impact on residential amenity and the impact on the National Trust. These views did not represent the views of the Natural Trust

·         Notwithstanding the concerns of a local councillor, the proposed changes to existing arrangements were minimal and the application should be approved

·         How would the applicant ensure that vehicles used the correct site entrance? Andrew Troughton responded that there would be increased signage on site including at the entrance and exit points. Infringements in the past had tended to be as a result of human error therefore the key aspect to emphasise was the education of drivers. He was happy to keep a log of vehicle movements. Where breaches of these arrangements occurred, he would speak directly with the operators to address the issue. Phil Troughton added that there had not been a breach of these arrangements by Severn Waste vehicles. Breaches had been by third party companies where new drivers had relying on a SatNav for direction.

 

RESOLVED thatplanning permission be granted for the carrying-out of development pursuant to planning permission reference number 18/000016/CM, without complying with condition 5 of that permission to amend the operating hours, at Croome Farm, Croome D'Abitot, Severn Stoke, Worcestershire, subject to the following conditions:

 

Approved Plan

1)    The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the approved drawing titled: "Croome Composting Proposed and Existing Access and Site Plan", which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 26 August 2020;

 

Throughput

2)    The annual throughput of material through the site shall be limited to a maximum of 17,000 tonnes per annum and records shall be kept and made available to the County Planning Authority on written request for the duration of the operations on the site;

 

Vehicle Access

3)    Vehicle access and egress to and from the site shall be from Church Lane (C2105), which is located to the south of the development hereby approved shown as “Route A” on drawing titled: "Croome Composting Emergency Routes Plan (PT 2.1)";

 

4)    Vehicle access to the site from Airfield Lane (C2056), which is located to the north of the permitted compositing area, as shown on drawing titled: "Croome Composting Emergency Routes Plan (PT 2.1)", shall only be used during emergencies, which includes extreme flooding where the permitted southern access route, shown as “Route A” is impassable;

 

5)    When commercial vehicles are exiting the site on to Church Lane (C2105) to access the Local Road Network, they shall turn left towards the A4104. A sign shall be erected at the site within 28 days of the date of this permission directing commercial vehicles exiting the site to turn left towards the A4104;

 

6)   Notwithstanding the submitted details, within 3 months of the date of this permission, an updated Traffic Management Plan shall be submitted to the County Planning Authority for approval in writing. Thereafter, the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details;

 

Operating Hours

7)    The development hereby approved shall only operate between the hours of 08.00 to 16.00 Mondays to Fridays with no operations including crushing, pulverising, shredding and chipping on Saturdays and Sundays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays with the exception of deliveries which can be made to and dispatched from the site between the hours of 08.00 to 16.00 on Mondays to Fridays and between the hours of 10.00 to 16.00 on Saturdays only, with no deliveries on Sundays, Bank Holidays or Public Holidays;

 

Compost Arrangements

8)    The compost shall only be applied to land in the applicant’s ownership as shown on the drawing titled: "Plan showing land in the applicants' ownership", which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 21 September 2012;

 

9)    There shall be no sale of compost from the site;

 

10)There shall be no fires lit and no wastes burnt on the site;

 

11)The maximum height of windrows and all stockpiles associated with the permitted operations shall not exceed 4 metres in height and a height bar(s) shall be erected and maintained on the site for the duration of the composting operations on the site;

 

12)No skips or containers shall be stored on the site;

 

13)If composting activity on the site ceases within three months of the site ceasing to operate, the weighbridge and office shall be removed and the site restored in accordance with a scheme to be submitted to and approved in writing by the County Planning Authority;

 

Landscape Plan

14)Within 6 months from the date of this planning permission, or the first planting season (whichever is sooner) landscaping shall be carried out at the site in accordance with the drawing titled "Croome Composting Landscape Plan", which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 9 July 2018, and 'Section 4 Proposed landscaping' of the document titled "Landscaping Plan For The Extension Of Windrow Composting Site Croome Farm, Severn Stoke, Worcestershire", dated June 2018, which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 7 June 2018. For the purposes of Section 4, references to the plan attached at Appendix 1 of the document shall be treated as referring to the drawing titled "Croome Composting Landscape Plan", which was submitted to the County Planning Authority on 9 July 2018;

 

Lighting

15)There shall be no external lighting associated with the proposal;

 

Pollution Control

16)The composted material shall be restricted to green waste materials as defined in the Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency;

 

17)The development hereby approved shall be carried out in accordance with the document titled: "Croome Composting Site - Odour Management Plan", dated September 2016. The Management Plan shall be maintained for the duration of operations on site and the associated written records shall be kept for the inspection by the County Planning Authority on request for the duration of operations on the site;

 

Noise

18)All vehicles, plant and machinery operated within the site shall be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications at all times, and shall be fitted with and use fully operational silencers;

 

Planning permission

19)A copy of this decision notice, together with all approved plans and documents required under the conditions of this permission shall be maintained at the site office at all times throughout the period of the development and shall be made known to any person(s) given responsibility for management or control of activities/operations on the site; and

 

20)There shall be no storage of any imported green waste or processed compost outside the area of the hardstanding.