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Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste
Local Plan: |
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4. PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT
4.1 Minerals and waste development almost invariably gives rise to some adverse environmental impact or other detrimental effect. Therefore, the Councils believes that planning permission should only be granted for such development where there is a need to ensure either an adequate supply of minerals or adequate provision of facilities for dealing with waste which is sufficient to outweigh the adverse effects of the development.
4.2 This belief is expressed in County Structure Plan Policy MW2 which states that permission will normally be granted for minerals and waste development provided: the need for the development outweighs any adverse impact it would have; the proposals include measures to ensure that any impact of the development would not be unacceptable; and the proposals include satisfactory provisions for landscaping and restoration.
General Considerations
Policy 6: Permission will be granted for minerals and waste development provided the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority is satisfied that:
(i) there is a clearly established need for the development (as assessed in relation to the other relevant policies of the Plan) which outweighs any adverse environmental or other impact that the development would be likely to cause; and
(ii) the development would not be likely to give rise to an unacceptable level of adverse environmental, traffic or other impact, pollution risk or danger to public health, particularly in respect of any of the factors specified in Policy 7 and measures would be taken to ensure that any such impacts would, as far as is practicable, be minimised; and
(iii) the proposals provide for the satisfactory working or operation and landscaping of the site and for its satisfactory restoration and landscaping at the cessation of the operations or use or at the end of the life of the facility to a condition suitable for an agreed beneficial after-use which is compatible with adjoining land uses and the planning policies for the area.
Notwithstanding any need there may be for waste disposal, permission will not normally be granted for mineral extraction with restoration by infilling with waste materials unless there is a need for the mineral to be extracted.
4.3 The need for any particular minerals or waste development proposal will be assessed in relation to the relevant current Government policy guidance and the relevant policies of this Plan. Policies for mineral extraction and other minerals-related development are set out in Chapter 5. Policies for waste disposal and other waste management development are included in Chapter 6. In particular, the need for sand and gravel extraction will be assessed against Policies 16 and 17.
4.4 Notwithstanding the need that there may be for the development, permission will not be granted for any minerals and waste development where, in the view of the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority, it would be likely to give rise to an unacceptable level of adverse environmental, traffic or other impact, pollution risk or danger to public health. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities recognise that some sites and areas, because they support habitats or other features of particular importance such that they are effectively irreplaceable, should be protected from minerals and waste development. In other areas the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek to ensure that, where minerals and waste development does take place, the net environmental asset level of the County is at least maintained and that any suitable opportunities to increase it are taken. Where an overriding need for minerals or waste development has been established and it has been demonstrated that the development would not be likely to give rise to unacceptable impact, development will be permitted to take place but measures should be taken to minimise its impact on the environment, including local residents, and on any other relevant interests.
4.5 Matters of pollution risk and danger to public health are mainly addressed through the waste management licensing system, by the Environment Agency. In considering these issues in the determination of planning applications, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will not seek to duplicate the responsibilities of the Environment Agency for pollution control. Where policies in this Plan refer to pollution they are concerned with possible implications for land use and development rather than control of potentially polluting processes or substances.
4.6 Where proposals include both the extraction of minerals and the disposal of waste by subsequent infilling of the void, the need for the development will be assessed on the basis of the need for the extraction of the mineral alone. Where a proposal is for mineral extraction in the first instance, the need for disposal of waste will not be a material factor in the determination of the application unless a need for the mineral has first been established. Where there is not a demonstrable need for the mineral which outweighs the adverse impact that the whole of the proposed development would be likely to give rise to, permission will not normally be granted, notwithstanding any need there may be for the proposed waste disposal operation.
Policy 7: The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will grant planning permission for minerals and waste development provided they are satisfied that, where appropriate, the proposed development pays due regard to:
(i) the relationship of the proposal site to other properties and land uses (particularly residential and other environmentally sensitive properties) and the likely effects of the proposed development on the locality by reason of noise, dust, smoke, fumes, illumination or any other factor and the need for buffer zones between the development and residential and other properties;
(ii) the likely volume and nature of traffic that would be generated by the proposed development and the suitability of the proposed access to the site and of the road network that would be affected, in terms of highway capacity and safety and environmental impact, and whether any highway improvements required could be carried out satisfactorily without causing unacceptable environmental impact;
(iii) the likely visual impact of the proposed development and the need for additional planting and screening, including planting in advance of the commencement of the development;
(iv) the need to safeguard the character and amenities of individual settlements and to safeguard open gaps between settlements from permanent development which would cause long-term harm to the function of the land;
(v) the likely effects of the proposed development on and the need to protect and safeguard sites of nature conservation, geological, archaeological, historic, architectural and landscape importance and their settings;
(vi) the extent and quality of agricultural land to be taken by the proposed development and the proposals for its subsequent restoration and the likely effects of the proposals on farm structure and management;
(vii) the likely effects of the proposed development on and the need to maintain the distinctive character of the landscape; the likely effects of the proposed development on and the need to safeguard and protect individual species, habitats and landscape features, including woodland, trees and hedgerows; and the likely effects of the proposed development on forestry and woodland management;
(viii) the likely effects of the proposed development on sites used for recreation and public rights of way and the need to protect or secure the satisfactory diversion of public rights of way;
(ix) the likely effects of the proposed development on and the need to safeguard the flow and quality of watercourses, water supplies, floodplains, groundwater, the drainage of the site and adjoining land and the level of the watertable in the locality and the likely effects of the proposed development on the immediate setting of any river;
(x) any potential danger to aircraft from birds being attracted to the site;
(xi) the possible amenity implications of any landfill gas that might be generated at the site and of any provisions that might need to be made to deal with it; and
(xii) the likely cumulative impact of the proposed development in combination with any other significant development taking place or permitted to take place in the locality and the need to minimise the impact of mineral extraction and waste disposal operations by securing, where appropriate, the phased release of sites and progression of working and restoration.
Policy 8: Applications for planning permission for minerals or waste development in the following areas will not be granted save when the development would not prejudice the purpose of the designation and where there is an overriding need for the development to take place in the public interest:
(i) the New Forest Heritage Area;
(ii) Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty;
(iii) National Nature Reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation and Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites);
(iv) Scheduled Ancient Monuments and their settings;
(v) Conservation Areas, Listed Buildings, and sites on the National Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest.
Policy 9: Applications for planning permission for minerals or waste development in the following areas will not be granted save where there is an overriding need for the development to take place and any adverse effects can be satisfactorily ameliorated:
(i) Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation and Local Nature Reserves;
(ii) Ground Water Source Protection Zone 1 (Inner Source Protection) areas;
(iii) sites on the County Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
4.7 Areas and features with special status or of particular environmental significance will be protected from damage by minerals and waste development. County Structure Plan Policy MW3 states that minerals and waste development, except mineral exploration, will not normally be permitted within: Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty; Sites of Special Scientific Interest; National Nature Reserves; Special Protection Areas; Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites); Scheduled Ancient Monuments; and the New Forest Heritage Area, except where the development would not prejudice the purpose of the designation or where there is an overriding need for the development. The Government has said that the New Forest Heritage Area is to be given status equivalent to a National Park. MPG 6 says the Government considers that major developments should not take place in the New Forest save in exceptional circumstances. Because of the serious impact that minerals development may have on the natural beauty of the New Forest, the Government considers that all minerals applications must be subject to the most rigorous examination and that all minerals development should be demonstrated to be in the public interest before being allowed to proceed. Assessment criteria for applications in National Parks set out in MPG 6 cover the need for development, consideration of alternative sources of supply and environmental effects. In view of this, the Councils believe there should be a strong presumption against minerals and waste development within this area.
4.8 The Councils believe that all particularly environmentally important areas, whether statutorily designated or not, should generally be protected from minerals and waste development. Policies 8 and 9 therefore extend the County Structure Plan policy presumption against minerals and waste development within statutorily designated protected areas to all particularly environmentally important areas, including those that are locally designated. Permission will exceptionally be granted for minerals and waste development which would have an adverse effect on the character, interest or quality of an area included in Policies 8 and 9 where there is a proven need for the development which overrides that adverse impact, although, in any event, permission will not be granted for development which would cause an unacceptable level of damage to such an area. In assessing whether need outweighs adverse impact, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will take into account the nature of the impact and the level of protection accorded to the designated or identified features concerned in any relevant Government policy guidance. In assessing whether any adverse effects that proposed minerals and waste development would have could be satisfactorily ameliorated, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will have regard both to the impacts of the development whilst in operation, such as noise, dust, visual, ecological, hydrological and traffic impacts; and, where relevant, to the appropriateness of the proposals for restoration to the area concerned.
4.9 Where habitats, species or other features of particular importance occur outside the areas listed in Policies 8 and 9, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek to protect them from any adverse impact that might be caused by minerals and waste development through Policies 6 and 7. In particular, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will seek to protect sites which support: nationally or internationally important populations of species listed under Annex I of the EC Directive for the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC); or priority species or habitats listed in Annex I, II and IV of the EC Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/EEC).
4.10 Under its Countryside Heritage Policy adopted in 1984, the County Council has been recording sites which are of particular importance for nature conservation, archaeology and historic landscape as Countryside Heritage Sites. In January 1995, the County Council reviewed that policy and decided to replace the recording of Countryside Heritage Sites with: for nature conservation, the designation of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) using refined criteria; for archaeology, reliance on the Schedule of Ancient Monuments; and for historic landscape, reliance on both the National Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest and the County Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
4.11 The criteria for defining Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation are set out in Appendix 8 to the Plan. These have been adopted by the County Council, English Nature and the Hampshire Wildlife Trust. The criteria for recording SINCs define those areas that are considered to be of critical importance for nature conservation in Hampshire. Sites selected against the criteria are effectively irreplaceable and therefore deserve particular protection. The recognition of important sites which are irreplaceable is in line with government guidance on sustainable development. Identification of SINCs is ongoing and they are being identified in district and city local plans. Policy 9(i) applies to all sites qualifying for SINC designation whether currently identified or not. All Countryside Heritage Sites recorded for their nature conservation interest will eventually be designated as SINCs.
4.12 In 1992 the former National Rivers Authority (NRA), which is now part of the Environment Agency, published 'Policy and Practice for the Protection of Groundwater'. It sets out the policy objectives of the Environment Agency for the protection of groundwater resources from different types of threat. The policy relates to all groundwater resources but focuses specifically on the need to safeguard groundwater abstraction sources. Aquifers are divided into three Source Protection Zones surrounding groundwater abstraction points: Zone 1- Inner Source Protection; Zone 2 - Outer Source Protection; and Zone 3 - Source Catchment. With regard to minerals and waste development, the Environment Agency is particularly concerned to prevent the physical disturbance of aquifers, the pollution of groundwater, and adverse effects on groundwater flow or the quantity or quality of water resources. Policy 9(ii) is included in the light of the Environment Agency's groundwater protection policies, which the Councils support and which include:
'B.2 - The NRA (Environment Agency) will object to a new proposal for mineral extraction where there will be demonstrable harm to water resources and the water environment, unless measures to mitigate any effects can be agreed within planning controls;'
'C.2 - The NRA (Environment Agency) will normally object to all activities requiring a waste management licence within Zone 1.'
4.13 The Environment Agency's groundwater protection policy document contains further policies, particularly relating to waste disposal. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will have regard to the Environment Agency's groundwater protection policies when considering minerals and waste development proposals and will consult the Environment Agency on planning applications. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will not permit waste development where it would be likely to have an adverse effect on groundwater quality. In particular: waste development will not normally be permitted within Groundwater Source Protection Zone 1 areas; and, within Zone 2 areas, waste disposal by landfilling or land raising will not normally be permitted unless the material to be deposited is inert and suitable operational safeguards against groundwater pollution are to be provided. Any new landfill or landraising sites that are needed should, as far as possible, be located in areas where groundwater is least vulnerable. The Mineral Planning Authorities will not normally permit mineral extraction unless the application is accompanied by a hydrological study to show either that there will be no demonstrable harm to the water environment, including groundwater and surface water resources, or that any such harm to those resources can be mitigated and the proposed development includes the provision and maintenance of any necessary mitigation measures.
4.14 The Councils believe that the river valleys of Hampshire should be protected from further damage by mineral working. Sand and gravel extraction within the Avon, Blackwater and Test Valleys in particular has left a series of lakes which have significantly altered the landscape and character of large stretches of them. Further creation of large water areas by mineral extraction in river valleys is likely to be unacceptable. Whilst sand and gravel workings in these areas could be infilled with waste materials, their river valley locations normally require that only totally inert material is used as backfill, to ensure no pollution of groundwater and rivers is caused. Such material is often not readily available in the quantities required to ensure progressive restoration, especially in the Avon Valley which is remote from the main areas of development, and it can be difficult to guarantee that the material is totally inert.
4.15 Likewise, past and current mineral workings and waste disposal operations by landfilling and landraising have had an adverse impact on the coast of Hampshire. For example, gravel extraction at Lower Pennington has introduced intrusive activities damaging to the landscape and amenity value of the coast. The Councils believe that those parts of the coastal plain that are visually and immediately associated with the coastline should be protected from further damage by mineral working, landfilling or land raising.
4.16 Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Countryside Heritage Areas are not viewed by the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities as being constraints on mineral working or the deposit of waste, since they are land management rather than land use designations. Environmentally Sensitive Areas are designated on a national basis by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Countryside Heritage Areas are areas recorded within Hampshire under the County Council's Countryside Heritage Policy. However, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will have regard to the character and interest of, and the environmental objectives for, such areas in considering planning applications. In determining planning applications for the extraction of minerals or the disposal of waste within such an area, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will seek to protect and enhance the character and interest of the area and promote the environmental objectives for it. In particular, the character of and features of interest within such areas, and the land management objectives of the County Council for them will be an important factor in the formulation and consideration of restoration schemes. In the case of the Forest of Eversley Countryside Heritage Area, these matters will be addressed in the development brief for the Bramshill Plateau preferred area (see paragraph 5.41).
4.17 The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will generally seek to protect the landscape of Hampshire from any adverse impact caused by minerals and waste development through Policies 6 and 7. Development that would have an unacceptable impact on the landscape will not be permitted. In the consideration of proposals for minerals and waste development, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will have regard to the landscape type and any landscape designation within which the site is located. In particular, these will be important factors in the formulation and consideration of restoration schemes, to ensure that sites are restored in a manner which accords with the local landscape and is in accordance with any relevant landscape objectives for the area.
4.18 The designation of land as Green Belt, or as a Strategic or Local Gap, is not a constraint on mineral working or the deposit of waste. Government policy guidance contained in MPG6 says that the extraction of minerals need not be incompatible with Green Belt objectives provided that high environmental standards are maintained and that the site is well restored. The purpose of Green Belts and Strategic and Local Gaps is to check the growth of built-up areas, safeguard the surrounding countryside from further urban and suburban encroachment, prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another and preserve the setting and character of towns. Both the extraction of minerals and the disposal of waste by landfilling or landraising are temporary activities which do not in themselves necessarily change the rural character of countryside areas in the long term. They are therefore not considered to be incompatible with the Green Belt or with Strategic and Local Gaps. However, any relevant land-use or land-management objectives for the Green Belt and Strategic and Local Gaps will be an important factor in the consideration of planning applications and proposals for the restoration of sites within such areas. Strategic and Local Gaps are identified in the County Structure Plan and city and district local plans.
4.19 In addition to the protection of the specific areas listed in Policies 8 and 9, the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will give local environmental constraints their due weight in the evaluation of the acceptability of individual minerals or waste development proposals. Minerals and waste development can have a considerable impact on the environment, even where it is temporary in nature. It is therefore essential that the likely impacts and effects of any proposed development are thoroughly examined before any decision is made as to whether or not planning permission should be granted and, if so, what conditions or legal agreements are necessary to make the development acceptable. Notwithstanding the absence of designated constraints affecting a proposal, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will not permit minerals and waste development which it considers would cause unacceptable local environmental impact.
4.20 The Councils believe that, wherever practicable, minerals and waste should be transported by rail or water rather than by road and that, where possible, minerals and waste facilities should be located to enable this. This general aim will be taken into account in the consideration of proposals for minerals and waste development. However, the Councils recognise that, in most instances, minerals and waste development in Hampshire involves relatively short distance movements of materials and that minerals are distributed to, and waste is collected from, a diversity of locations.
4.21 In May 1992 the County Council approved an Interim Lorry Policy Document. This sets out policies for lorries in Hampshire. It includes a two-tier Hampshire Lorry Route Network, consisting of strategic and local lorry routes, to be used as the basis for managing the major flows of lorries through and within the County. This network is based on the Strategic Road Network in the Hampshire County Structure Plan. It is shown on the Proposals Map of this Plan. In considering planning applications for minerals and waste development, the County Council will have regard to the lorry route network. Development which would generate significant lorry traffic should normally be located on or close to the network in order to minimise the impact of lorry traffic on other roads.
4.22 Sub-paragraph (iv) of Policy 7 essentially relates to permanent built development, such as waste processing plants and rail-head aggregates depots. As explained in paragraph 4.18, mineral extraction and landfilling do not usually prejudice the maintenance of open gaps between settlements.
4.23 The Councils recognise that forestry is an important land use in parts of Hampshire, affecting some of the County's major areas of sand and gravel deposits. The likely effects on forestry and woodland management will be taken into account by the Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities in their consideration of proposals for minerals and waste development including, in particular, proposals for restoration of mineral workings and landfill sites. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will have regard to the Government's forestry policy, as set out in the Forestry Commission document 'Forestry Policy for Great Britain' (September 1991). The two main aims of the policy are: the sustainable management of existing woods and forests; and a steady expansion of tree cover to increase the many diverse benefits that forests provide. In both of these aims the Forestry Commission recognises the advantages of basing policy on the realisation of multiple objectives, including: the positive management of existing woodlands and expansion of the forest area through grant schemes; giving priority to the use of woodlands for recreation and public access; prevention of woodland loss by felling controls; enhancement of amenity and wildlife value of agricultural land by tree planting; and taking proper account of environmental needs in forestry planting, including the need to increase the planting of broadleaf trees. The Government is placing increased emphasis on the social and environmental, as well as the economic benefits of forestry.
4.24 The best and most versatile agricultural land comprises Grades 1, 2 and 3A of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's agricultural land classification. The Government's policy is that this land is a national resource for the future and considerable weight should be attached to its protection against irreversible development. However this is not considered to be an overriding constraint on mineral working or waste disposal by landfilling or landraising. Methods and standards of restoration to agricultural land and subsequent aftercare have improved greatly in recent years, such that it is now possible to restore high quality agricultural land to an equivalent condition following mineral extraction or waste disposal. Where the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority is satisfied that this can and will be achieved, it will be prepared to allow mineral extraction and waste disposal to take place on high quality agricultural land. The use of high quality agricultural land for such development may also be allowed where there is no suitable land of lower agricultural quality available to meet the need for the development. The Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will consult the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on applications for development affecting agricultural land, in accordance with legislative requirements and Government advice, and will take its views into account in determining applications and the imposition of restoration and aftercare conditions.
4.25 The Councils consider the protection of water resources to be of considerable importance. This is a particularly significant consideration in the location of waste management facilities since the decomposition of non-inert, especially putrescible, wastes coupled with infiltration of water produces liquids (leachates) which can be noxious, poisonous and polluting if allowed in contact with surface or groundwater. As referred to in paragraph 4.12, the Councils support the policies of the Environment Agency for the protection of groundwater in seeking to exclude the landfilling of putrescible and other potentially polluting wastes from certain protection zones for individual groundwater sources and in seeking to ensure full engineering containment of such wastes in sensitive locations elsewhere. There may also be occasions when the engineering containment of inert waste material is required, for example to prevent silt migration in fissured chalk.
4.26 The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will consult the Environment Agency on proposals for minerals and waste development which may affect water resources, including all applications for waste disposal by landfilling. They will have particular regard to the policies and advice of the Environment Agency in considering such proposals and will not grant permission for development which they consider would have an adverse impact on water resources. Where proposals for landfilling are considered to be acceptable in principle, the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority will ensure that they include any necessary measures for engineering containment and provide any necessary measures for the management and treatment of leachate. The protection of groundwater flow in terms of quality will also be taken into consideration and in some cases it may be necessary for groundwater relief measures to be employed.
4.27 The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities also consider that protection against risk of flooding is an important consideration in the context of proposals for minerals and waste development, particularly with regard to landfilling proposals involving the raising of levels above existing ground levels. Raising of ground levels in floodplains results in a loss of flood storage capacity and/or impedance of flood flows. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will consult with and have particular regard to the views of the Environment Agency on proposals for minerals and waste development which may affect floodplains. They will not grant permission for development which they consider would be prejudicial to flood prevention interests unless, exceptionally, the applicant can demonstrate that satisfactory compensatory measures can be achieved and that these are included as an integral part of the proposal.
4.28 The Councils recognise that rivers and their associated river corridors are of great importance for water resources, nature conservation, fisheries, recreation and public access and for their contribution to the character of the landscape. They believe that these various aspects of the water environment should be generally conserved and, where appropriate, enhanced and are concerned to ensure that minerals and waste development does not put them at risk. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will consider the likely effects on the water related environment of any proposals for minerals and waste development within or adjacent to river corridors. Permission will not be granted for development which would be likely to have a material adverse impact on any river or its immediate setting.
4.29 The County and City Councils, as the mineral and waste planning authorities, will seek the views of other bodies on proposals, as required by legislation or where necessary in order to obtain expert technical advice, including as appropriate: the highway authority; English Nature; English Heritage; the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; the Forestry Authority; the Environment Agency; the Civil Aviation Authority; the Ministry of Defence; and the District Council Environmental Health Officer. The Mineral and Waste Planning Authorities will consult other, non-governmental, organisations on planning applications as considered appropriate, in order to obtain views and advice.
4.30 General policies 6 to 9 will be applied in the consideration of all planning applications for minerals and waste development.
