Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the REGULATORY COMMITTEE of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Wednesday 17 October 2001.
PRESENT:
Councillors: P.A. Heath (Chairman); R.J. Baulk; I.F.E. Beagley; Mrs. E.M. Byrom; C.R.H. Davidovitz; Mrs. P.M. Devereux; A.G. Dowden; E.F. Gale; M.S. Geddes; D. Gillett; Mrs. D.R. Harrison; K. House; A.R Ludlow; P.A. Pierce; R.H. Price; Mrs. E.M.F. Randall; M.J. Roberts; Sir James J. Scott; J.W. Stocks; Dr. J.G.L. Wall; Miss J.D. Wride.
Councillors Mrs E.S.M. Barron and M.J. Woodhall attended during consideration of Items
18 and 20 in these Minutes.
17. MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the main Committee held on 12 September 2001 and of the B Committee held on 1 October 2001 were confirmed by the Committee and signed by the Chairman.
18. DEPUTATIONS IN RESPECT OF A PROPOSED WASTE RECYCLING AND TRANSFER STATION AND ASSOCIATED SKIP AND PORTALOO HIRE AT UNIT 1, YOKESFORD HILL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, ROMSEY (TVS 01119/12)
Mrs Gower-Smith, Vice President of the Romsey and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Christine McNulty of Humberts on behalf of L.M. Frampton (Packaging) Limited, Mr Partridge of Southern Planning Practice Limited and Mr Liddell made deputations on the Yokesford Hill application. The Committee then considered the report (Item 2 in the Minute Book) on the matter.
The County Planning Officer advised that no objection had been raised by Test Valley Borough Council, the Borough Council Environmental Health Officer, the Environment Agency, two local parish councils and the Economic Development Officers of the Borough Council and the County Council; Mr Frampton of L.M. Frampton (Packaging) Limited was still raising objection. The County Planning Officer felt that on balance it would be a valuable facility and that sensitive management would be able to overcome any adverse impact upon Mr Frampton's operations. He drew attention to the working hours requested by the applicants which differed from those proposed in the report should permission be granted.
Councillors Mrs Barron and Woodhall commented favourably on the operations of the applicant currently carried out at Braishfield and Councillor Woodhall also suggested that a lorry routeing agreement should be entered into to cover vehicles visiting the site. In response to the latter point the County Planning Officer expressed concern about enforcing lorry routeing agreement and felt that it would be better if traffic from the site was dispersed in various directions. The Chairman suggested that the Executive Member for the Environment could be requested to discuss with the County Surveyor lorry traffic in the area.
RESOLVED:
(i) That planning permission be granted in respect of a waste recycling and transfer station and associated skip and portaloo hire at Unit 1, Yokesford Hill Industrial Estate, Romsey (TVS01119/12) subject to the conditions specified in the report subject to amendment of condition 2 to read, "unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Waste Planning Authority or required by the emergency services, no vehicle shall enter or leave the site and no working shall take place except between the hours of 0630 and 1900 Mondays to Fridays and 0700 and 1430 Saturdays. There shall be no working on Sundays, Bank Holidays and Public Holidays unless otherwise approved in writing by the Waste Planning Authority".
(ii) That the Executive Member for Environment be requested to discuss with the County Surveyor lorry traffic in the Yokesford Hill area.
19. ODOUR COMPLAINTS AT DOWN END GREEN WASTE COMPOSTING FACILITY, DOWN END ROAD, FAREHAM
The Committee considered the report of the County Planning Officer (Item 4 in the Minute Book) on measures implemented to address complaints about odour problems at the Down End green waste composting facility at Fareham.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted and a further report be presented to the Committee in the summer of 2002.
20. DEPUTATIONS IN RESPECT OF THE EXTRACTION OF SAND AND GRAVEL WITH RESTORATION BACK TO AGRICULTURAL LAND USING ON-SITE CLAYS AND CONTROLLED WASTES AT THE TRIANGLE, RIDGE, NEAR ROMSEY (TVS 08924)
Deputations were made in respect of the Ridge application by Mr Robertston, Mr Arkell, Mr Hargreaves, Mr Seymour, Mr Leeman, Mr McMurray, Mrs Sutton, Mr Allen, Mr Parker, Mr Steele-Perkins of Viridor Waste Management and Mr Biggs. The Committee then considered the report on the application (Item 3 in the Minute Book). The County Planning Officer advised that 148 letters of objection had now been received to the application and that he would reply individually to respondents if appropriate at the earliest possible opportunity. He felt that the report addressed all the various points raised by objectors.
The County Planning Officer gave an update in respect of consultations as follows:-
(i) English Nature had advised that they were prepared to withdraw their objection subject to certain conditions and they had also stated that condition 48 in respect of bats was not required.
(ii) Test Valley Borough Council had raised objection to the part of the application entailing on-site clays and had also stated that in determining the application account should be taken of the possible future designation of the New Forest as a National Park; the County Planning Officer did not feel that this latter point was significant.
(iii) The Environment Agency had stated that the proposals would not harm the environment.
The County Planning Officer advised that all County Councillors had been written to concerning a recent report on the health impact of landfill sites; no firm scientific evidence had been reached concerning the impact. Four hydrogeologists had reviewed the information concerning the hydrology of the site and the impact of the workings on the hydrology of surrounding areas and he stressed that there is always a degree of risk in approving such applications. The rights of the wider community as well as impact on local people had to be considered. He was proposing that, should approval be given to the application, condition 48 should be deleted and extra conditions imposed covering technical matters.
Local Members, Councillors Woodhall and Mrs Barron, expressed concerns about the implications of the application and Mrs Barron drew particular attention to the large number of conditions which would be imposed on any permission and the point that the mining of on-site clay had not been part of the preferred area status of the site in the Minerals and Waste Local Plan.
Several Members of the Committee voiced their concerns about the possible impact of the development and expressed support for an amended recommendation entailing refusal which had been tabled. The Chief Executive stressed that all the information circulated in respect of the application should be taken into account in reaching a decision and warned that strong supportable reasons would be needed for any refusal so that the County Council could adequately support such a decision at any appeal. The County Planning Officer confirmed that from a professional point of view he was still recommending approval.
RESOLVED:
That, having taken into account the environmental information required by the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 1999, planning permission in respect of the extraction of sand and gravel with restoration back to agricultural land using on-site clays and controlled waste at the Triangle, Ridge (TVS 08924) be refused on the grounds that:
(1) The application is contrary to Policy 7(v) and (ix) and Policy 42(i) of the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan in that the hydrological information fails to demonstrate that:
(a) the mineral operations and engineering works can take place without adversely affecting ground water conditions in, and hence damage the nature conservation value of, the adjacent Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation;
(b) the proposed monitoring and mitigation measures would be sufficiently effective to ensure the full and lasting protection of these ecologically important areas.
(2) The application is contrary to Policy 19 of the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan in that the hydrological evidence fails to address the criteria for working Preferred Area 4: Gardeners Lane (The Triangle) Ridge.
20. DEVELOPMENT CONTROL SCHEDULE
The Committee received the report of the County Planning Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on development control decisions taken by the County Planning Officer.
RESOLVED:
That the report be noted.
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