Archived decisions

Contact: Neil Chester, ext 6496

1. Summary

1.1 Planning permission is sought for the storage of construction and demolition waste in a container at Barton Farm, Andover Road, Winchester. The waste will be generated by a local building company and brought directly to the proposed site to avoid siting skips on narrow roads within Winchester. The site is well screened from the road by existing farm buildings and, although located on the fringe of the countryside, due to the scale of the development adverse impacts are likely to be minimal.

1.2 Notwithstanding any potential impact on the countryside, it is recommended that the application be approved because there is an established need for the development and, due to its scale, there are unlikely to be any significant impacts.

2. Site and Proposal

2.1 The application site, illustrated on the attached plan, is located between farm buildings and agricultural land at Barton Farm, Andover Road, Winchester. The site is currently used for general storage and miscellaneous activities associated with the farm. The land is not in agricultural production. Access to the application site is from Andover Road.

2.2 The applicant operates a well-established building company in the Winchester area which serves domestic premises only and consequently, space within the building site is usually limited. It is company policy to avoid siting skips on narrow roads or restricted driveways because of the dangers to traffic and the inconvenience to neighbours. The waste is removed from site by a transit size tipper truck. To remain efficient, the company requires a local, temporary storage site to accumulate waste before it is removed to an appropriate, commercially operated site. The proposal is to store construction and demolition waste within a container until a sufficient quantity has been accumulated to enable its economic disposal.

2.3 The proposed container can be easily transported by lorry and will hold approximately 15 cubic metres of material. It will be located above ground and emptied no more than once per week. Vehicle movements to and from the site will be intermittent, depending on the type of work undertaken by the company, although a maximum of four loads per day (eight movements) is anticipated.

2.4 The applicant was unaware that planning permission for this activity was required and, therefore, waste material has been deposited on open ground at this site. In consultation with the Environment Agency, the applicant has revised this practice and now seeks to regularise the storage of waste within a container. The original proposal was to sink the container into the ground to facilitate ease of use. However, this activity would require a waste management licence and due to the cost implications, the applicant wishes to avoid this process. Therefore, the proposal is to site the container above ground.

3. Development Plan

3.1 Winchester District Local Plan (adopted 1998) Policy C1 (development in the countryside) and Policy C13 (proposals for the use of non-residential rural buildings) are relevant.

3.2 Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review) (adopted March 2000) Policy C1 and C2 refer to development in the countryside; Policy MW2 refers to the impacts of waste development (see attached appendix).

3.3 Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan (adopted December 1998) Policy 46 refers to storage of waste (see attached appendix).

4. Consultations

4.1 Headbourne Worthy Parish Council raises objections to the proposal on the grounds that it will contribute to the declining rural nature of Barton Farm; it will generate additional traffic movements and noise, and have a detrimental visual impact for residents of Andover Road.

4.2 The Environment Agency raises no objections to this proposal.

4.3 Winchester City Council's Environmental Health Officer raises no objections to the proposal, subject to a condition restricting hours of operation.

4.4 Winchester City Council objects to the proposal on the grounds that the provision of waste material storage in the countryside and the use of a greenfield site are undesirable and the proposal is contrary to Policies C1 and C2 of the Hampshire County Structure Plan (Review) and Policy C1 of the Winchester District Local Plan. In addition, Winchester City Council is concerned that such a proposal will create an undesirable precedent in the countryside.

4.5 The County Council (Highways) raises no objection.

5. Representations

5.1 The local Member, Councillor Mrs Glasspool, has been informed of the proposal.

5.2 The adjacent local Member, Councillor Mrs Dickens, has been informed of the proposal.

6. Officer's Comments

6.1 The proposal is for the storage of construction and demolition waste in an above-ground container at Barton Farm, Andover Road, Winchester. The proposal is required to reduce the number of skips sited on narrow roads within Winchester. The source of the waste is local and the proposal is justified in terms of need. There is unlikely to be an unacceptable traffic impact on the highway due to the relative infrequency of lorry movements and the County Council (Highways) raises no objections to this proposal.

6.2 Winchester City Council states that the proposal would not reuse a brownfield site and therefore would be contrary to policy (Policy C13 Winchester District Local Plan; and Policy 46(iii)(b) Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan). The application site currently comprises stony scrubland and has been used for a variety of purposes by the owner, including storage of farm equipment. These uses are ancillary to the existing development at Barton Farm, which is permanent and, therefore, the site can be considered brownfield.

6.3 Winchester City Council objects to the proposal on the grounds that the storage of waste material in an area of open countryside would be contrary to policy (C1, C2 of the Hampshire County Structure Plan and C1 of the Winchester District Local Plan) in that it represents the undesirable establishment of a use which would be out of character with its rural surroundings and unrelated to the needs of the rural community. However, the proposal is adjacent to a mixed-use development, including residential, agricultural and office space. The proposal is also of a small scale, comprising one container (length 6.0 metres, width 2.4 metres and height 1.2 metres) and would therefore have a very limited impact on the adjacent countryside. The access road is already used by the surrounding development. Any impact on the countryside would be very limited.

6.4 In light of the decision by the applicant to place the container above ground, Winchester City Council considers the proposal unacceptable in terms of visual impact. Due to its location adjacent to large agricultural barns, the container would not be visible from the residential dwellings along the access road. No objections have been received from local residents on this issue, although the Parish Council has raised concerns that the proposed site will be visible from properties on Andover Road. Although the container will be visible from Andover Road, it is considered that the visual impact on these properties will not be significant due to their distance from the site and the screening provided by existing buildings. The container will also be viewed in the context of the farm equipment.

6.5 The Parish Council comments on the noise that will be generated by the proposal. This will mainly occur when waste material is dumped into the container. The Environmental Health Officer has suggested a condition to limit the hours of working at the site. In addition, the applicant states that a maximum of four loads of waste material per day will be deposited at the site. This can be secured by a condition.

6.6 On balance, it is considered that the impact on local residents will be minimal due to the small scale of the development. Additionally, the need for the development is considered more important than any marginal impact on the countryside. Accordingly, it is recommended that the application be granted, subject to conditions.

Recommendation

That planning permission for storage of waste material at Barton Farm, Andover Road, Winchester (Application No. 0202450HCM W00942/10) be granted, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The development hereby permitted shall commence within five years from the date of this permission.

Reason: To comply with Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

(2) No development shall take place until the application area has been restored to its condition prior to the unauthorised tipping.

Reason: To protect the amenities of local residents.

(3) No vehicle shall enter or leave the site and no working shall take place except between the hours of 0800 and 1800 Monday to Friday, and 0800 to 1300 Saturday. No operations shall take place on Sunday, Bank holidays and public holidays.

Reason: To limit the volumes of traffic in the interests of the amenity of residents on and near the approaches to the site.

(4) No material other than clean dry, non-putrescible waste material (comprising topsoil, subsoil, brickwork, concrete, stone, clay, plaster, sand, and silica or mixtures of the above materials) shall be deposited at the site.

Reason: To prevent pollution.

(5) No vehicle shall enter the public highway unless its wheels and chassis are clean.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety and to prevent mud and dust getting onto the highway.

(6) No more than four vehicles carrying waste shall enter the site on any day, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Waste Planning Authority.

Reason: To limit the volumes of traffic in the interests of the amenity of residents on and near the approaches to the site.

(7) No later than one month from the cessation of the storage of waste or within such further period as the Waste Planning Authority may agree in writing, all equipment required in connection with the storage operations shall be removed from the site.

Reason: In the interests of the amenities of the area and to ensure the proper restoration of the site.

7646/NC

APPENDIX

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY STRUCTURE PLAN 1996-2001 (REVIEW) (ADOPTED MARCH 2000)

Policy C1

For the purposes of this Plan the countryside is defined as the area outside existing and proposed built-up areas delineated in local plans. These countryside and built-up areas will include any coast, including the tidal parts of rivers, within them.

In delineating these areas in local plans and through day-to-day development control, local planning authorities will:

(i) promote the conservation and enhancement of the countryside; and

(ii) pay particular regard to avoiding or minimising any adverse effect which development would have for those interests of importance acknowledged in the other policies and proposals in this Plan.

Policy C2

Within the delineated countryside permission will normally only be granted for:

(i) development which is essential for agriculture, horticulture or forestry or other development for which a rural location is essential;

(ii) the re-use or adaptation of existing buildings, particularly to assist the diversification of the rural economy;

(iii) development which is approved under the other policies of the Plan.

Policy MW2

Permission will be granted for minerals and waste development provided the mineral/waste planning authority is satisfied that:

(i) any adverse environmental or other impacts that the development would be likely to cause are outweighed by a clearly established need for the development; and

(ii) the proposals, where applicable, include a satisfactory scheme of working and landscaping including details of lorry routeing and, in all cases, include satisfactory measures to ensure that the development would not have any unacceptable environmental, traffic or other impact; and

(iii) the proposals, where applicable, provide for the satisfactory and prompt restoration and after-care of the site to a high standard and to a landform compatible with the local landscape and suitable for an agreed beneficial after-use.

HAMPSHIRE, PORTSMOUTH AND SOUTHAMPTON MINERALS AND WASTE LOCAL PLAN (ADOPTED 17 DECEMBER 1998)

Policy 46

The Waste Planning Authorities will normally permit the use of land and the erection of plant and buildings for the recycling, transfer, storage and other treatment or handling of waste (excluding waste processing facilities covered by Policy 45) provided that:

(i) the proposed site is located near to the likely source(s) of waste and/or the market(s) for the recycled or recovered materials; and

(ii) the proposed site is located close to and has adequate access to the Hampshire Lorry Route Network (as shown on the proposals map), so that the development would not be likely to cause unacceptable traffic impact (including the environmental impact of traffic) on the local highway network; and

(iii) the proposed site is located:

(a) within an existing industrial site or on land which is permitted or allocated for industrial development; or

(b) within an area of land in the countryside that has already been disturbed by permanent development (a brownfield site); or

(c) at a waste disposal landfill or landraising site provided that the proposed development is connected with the waste disposal operation and is for a temporary period commensurate with the operational life of the waste disposal facility; and

(iv) the proposed site is located and the proposal includes adequate measures to ensure that no unacceptable impact would be likely to be caused to the occupants or users of houses, other residential buildings, schools, hospitals and other environmentally sensitive buildings and land uses by reason of noise, dust, fumes, smell or other cause; and

(v) the proposed site is located so as to avoid unacceptable impact on landscape, nature conservation and archaeological interests; and

(vi) the proposed site is located and the proposal includes adequate measures to ensure that there would be no significant risk of pollution or danger to public health or safety; and

(vii) the proposed site is located and, if necessary, the proposal includes landscaping measures to ensure that the development would not cause unacceptable visual intrusion.