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Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste
Local Plan: |
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Restoration and Aftercare
Policy 14: The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will grant planning permission for minerals or waste development provided they are satisfied that:
(i) adequate provision has been made for the satisfactory restoration and aftercare of the site to the highest practicable standard so as to be suitable for the agreed beneficial after-use when the operation or use of the site has ceased or the facility has reached the end of its life, which after-use should normally be agriculture, woodland, heathland or other nature conservation or amenity use; and
(ii) in the case of mineral working and waste disposal by landfilling or landraising, the land will be progressively restored within the shortest practicable timescale such that the rate of restoration is as far as practicable commensurate with the rate of extraction and/or disposal and the land will be subject to appropriate aftercare to ensure that it is restored to a condition satisfactory for the agreed after-use of the site; and
(iii) the restoration and aftercare provisions can be ensured by means of conditions attached to the planning permission or through a planning obligation or other appropriate legal agreement.
Examples of subjects of planning obligations and agreements are cited in Appendix 5.
Policy 15: The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will grant planning permission for mineral working or waste disposal by landfill or landraising provided they are satisfied that, in the case of sites which are to be restored to agricultural land, woodland, heathland or other nature conservation or amenity use, the site will be subject to a satisfactory programme of aftercare for a period of five years following completion of the restoration of the site. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek to ensure such aftercare by means of conditions attached to the planning permission or, where appropriate, through a planning obligation or other appropriate legal agreement. Exceptionally, in the event that the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority considers that a period of aftercare in excess of five years or a long-term management plan is necessary in the case of schemes of restoration for nature conservation, it will seek a planning obligation or other appropriate legal agreement to ensure this. The Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will normally require a scheme of aftercare to be submitted for approval prior to the completion of restoration.
4.43 The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek to ensure that all minerals and waste development sites are restored to an appropriate beneficial condition, either following the completion of mineral extraction or waste deposition operations, or at the end of the life of the facility or cessation of the use. Where a local plan includes land use proposals for the site, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will expect the restoration provisions to be in accordance with those proposals. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will expect schemes of working and restoration to be phased and to provide for the minimum practicable area of land to be disturbed and unrestored at any time. Schemes of working and restoration should be designed to minimise the impact of the development on nearby properties and land uses.
4.44 The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will normally expect restoration proposals to include provision for: the stripping and storage of soils; reinstatement of soils, ditching and drainage; and the planting, landscaping, aftercare and maintenance of the site. Particularly important matters will be the avoidance of compaction of soils and the provision of adequate drainage. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will require that sites are restored to levels which allow for an acceptable after-use and give a smooth gradual transition between the excavated, landfilled or landraised area and the adjoining land. Mineral workings may be restored at low level, without backfilling (or with a small amount of filling), or may be infilled with waste materials back to original levels. The latter is usually preferable in terms of the long-term effect on the landscape. However, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will need to be satisfied that an adequate supply of suitable waste material will be available to enable restoration to proceed at a similar rate to extraction and also that the additional impact of infilling operations would not be unacceptable.
4.45 The Councils recognise that both minerals and waste developments can provide positive benefits. For instance, mineral workings can be used to provide water storage areas. Waste disposal can enable the reclamation of despoiled land and allow opportunities for recreational development and public access which otherwise would not have occurred. In many circumstances minerals and waste development can provide opportunities for increasing and diversifying the nature conversation interest of an area by introducing new habitats or strengthening those already existing. For example, within the former heathland areas of the County, the restoration of minerals and waste sites can enable the re-establishment or extension of heathland habitats. Where the principle after-use is to be nature conservation, the aim should be to restore the land to the appropriate semi-natural habitat. Within coniferous woodland areas, restoration should be to a balance of forestry and heathland appropriate to the site and its context. In some cases it may be possible for minerals and waste development to be successfully carried out in ecologically sensitive areas by careful design and programming of operations. Such development may offer the chance to maintain threatened species by tailoring restoration, aftercare and subsequent management of the site to that end.
4.46 Accordingly, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will, in all cases, seek additional benefits to the local environment through the restoration of minerals and waste development sites, to partly compensate for the disturbance that may be caused by the development. In considering proposals for the restoration of mineral workings, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will, where appropriate, wish to take advantage of opportunities to conserve features of geological interest. However, this will need to be done in such a way that any working face left exposed blends into the surrounding landscape. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will, in all appropriate cases, encourage restoration proposals which will enhance the wildlife or other natural interest of the area. In particular, the planting of native species and broadleaf woodland areas, establishment of ponds and restoration to appropriate natural habitats such as heathland will be encouraged. Exposed faces in sand quarries are sometimes colonised by sand martins. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek the retention of such faces in appropriate cases. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek improvement in public access for informal recreation and in the public rights of way network through minerals and waste development. In considering proposals for the restoration of minerals and waste development sites, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will endeavour to ensure that best use is made of any opportunities that may arise at appropriate locations for recreational and public access, including provision to be made for noisy sports. This is in accordance with Recommendation 24 of the Hampshire Rural Development Strategy, 1991. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will take into account the views of the local community, including where relevant the parish council, in considering proposals for the restoration of minerals and waste development sites.
4.47 It is important that, where necessary, provision is made for the management of restored land so as to ensure the long term success of the restoration. Mineral working, landfill and landraising sites will normally be required to be subject to aftercare for a period of five years. However, in some cases a longer period of aftercare or long-term management of the site may be sought by the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority through a planning obligation or other appropriate legal agreement. In the case of landfill and landraising sites, longer periods of 'aftercare' and monitoring may be required for pollution control purposes by the waste regulation site licence under the Environmental Protection Act. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will not seek to duplicate such requirements through planning control. The need for long-term management of restored sites, i.e. beyond the five year aftercare period, is mainly expected to arise in the case of restoration to nature conservation. In considering such need, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will have regard to the advice in MPG7 'The Reclamation of Mineral Workings' (1996) and PPG9 'Nature Conservation' (1994). In some cases, provision may need to be made for the financing of long-term maintenance and management of restored sites. In seeking planning obligations and other legal agreements to cover such matters as the long-term maintenance and management of restored sites and securing environmental and public benefits through minerals and waste development, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will have regard to the advice contained in DoE Circular 1/97 'Planning Obligations'. Planning obligations and other legal agreements will only be sought by the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities where they consider them to be appropriate and necessary.
