Contact: Neil Chester, ext 6496 e-mail: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 Planning permission is sought for a change of use from vehicle storage to vehicle recycling at land at Broxhead Trading Estate, Lindford, Bordon. The need for the proposal is not questioned and the proposal is suitably located in an existing industrial estate. Concern that the proposal will result in an unacceptable environmental impact can be satisfactorily mitigated. Therefore the recommendation is that permission be granted, subject to conditions.

2. Site

2.1 The application site is 0.17 hectares and is located within the existing Broxhead Trading Estate, Lindford, near Bordon (see attached location plan). The trading estate is situated immediately north of Lindford and is bordered by agricultural land. The application site is in a compound within a larger parcel of land from which a 24-hour vehicle recovery business is operated. Access to the site is from the A325 via Lindford Road and Broxhead Farm Road.

2.2 The site is adjacent to the Broxhead and Kingsley Common Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Wealden Heaths Phase 2 Special Protection Area is located to the north and west. The River Wey, designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), runs to the south east of the site.

3. Proposal

3.1 Between 1992 and 2002, the number of cars stored on the application site and adjoining land increased. These were either damaged vehicles, MOT failures or abandoned cars. In 2002, the applicant began to break and crush these stored vehicles. The proposal is to continue to import, and crush or `break' end of life vehicles.

3.2 In order to comply with the European Union's End of Life Vehicles Directive, it is proposed to create an impervious concrete area measuring approximately 18 metres by 6 metres. This will be divided into three bays, each laid to falls and kerbed to drain into a sump and collecting tank in each bay. The first bay provides a reception and oil draining area, the second will be used for draining aqueous fluid, and the third bay is the car breaking area. Beyond the concrete, an area of hoggin will be used to store vehicles from which the oils and fluids have been removed and await breaking and crushing. Vehicles awaiting crushing will be stored at single height only.

3.3 Where it is economically viable to dismantle vehicles this will take place on the breaking area. Reclaimed components will be stored in an existing shelter and store within the application site.

3.4 Currently, approximately 16 processed vehicles are removed per week using a transporter vehicle and it is proposed that this continues. The backlog of approximately 100 vehicles will be cleared before the site accepts new end of life vehicles.

4. Development Plan

4.1 Hampshire County Structure Plan Review 1996 - 2011 (adopted March 2000) Policy MW1 refers to the need to safeguard the environment and seek to manage waste in accordance with the waste hierarchy; Policy MW3 refers to environmentally designated sites.

4.2 Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan (adopted 1998) Policy 6 concerns the need for the development; Policy 8 concerns environmental designations; Policy 46 concerns the erection of plant and buildings for recycling, storage, treatment and handling of waste.

5. Consultations

5.1 Headley Parish Council raises no objections to the proposal. However, the Parish Council raises concerns regarding contamination of the River Wey and requests that the Environment Agency approve the drainage scheme. In addition, the Parish requests that a condition be attached to any permission to ensure the site be restored to its former condition.

5.2 Lindford Parish Council raises no objections to the proposal however, concerns are raised regarding monitoring of the site and potential health and safety risks.

5.3 Whitehill Parish Council objects to the proposal as it is considered that the proposed use is unacceptable in an environmentally sensitive location.

5.4 The Environmental Health Officer (East Hampshire District Council) raises no objections to the proposal subject to a condition to restrict the hours of operation.

5.5 East Hampshire District Council objects to the proposal for the following reason:

(i) it has not been demonstrated that the development can be accommodated in a manner that would not cause increased danger and inconvenience to highways users.

5.6 The Environment Agency has not yet commented on the application.

5.7 English Nature raises no objections to the proposal.

5.8 The Health and Safety Executive has no comment to make on the application.

6. Representations

6.1 The local Member, Councillor Filer, has been informed of the proposal.

6.2 There has been 1 letter of objection from a local resident and a letter of objection from the River Wey Trust. The objections are for the following reasons:

(i) poor use of agricultural land;

(ii) potential pollution of the River Wey; and

(iii) unacceptable landscape impact.

7. Chief Planning Adviser's Comments

7.1 There is clear need for the development. The End of Life Vehicles Directive introduces a vehicle reuse, recovery and recycling target of 85% (by average vehicle weight) from January 2006. Notwithstanding that this site is relatively small, it is important to create an infrastructure to facilitate meeting this target. The proposal is located within an existing industrial estate and is therefore, unlikely to give rise to additional adverse impacts on local residents. The proposal therefore accords with Policy 46 of the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Minerals and Waste Local Plan (adopted 1998).

7.2 However, there is concern that the proposal will result in an adverse impact on the SSSI and SPA. There is also a concern that the River Wey will become contaminated with oil and other liquids leaking from the site. The Environment Agency has not yet commented on the application. On the other hand, English Nature advises that the continued use of this site for vehicle storage and recycling is unlikely to have a significant effect on the environmental quality of the area.

7.3 Lindford Parish Council raises concerns that the site is located under power cables and therefore could present a health and safety hazard. East Hampshire District Council supports the Parish Council's concerns and recommends that vehicles are not stacked more than two cars high. The Health and Safety Executive do not consider there to be an issue at the site and therefore has not commented.

7.4 The District Council is also concerned that the industrial estate is already congested and the proposal could exacerbate problems of access to existing units. It is noted that the approach road to the application site is within the control of the applicant and therefore, adequate access can be maintained. It is further noted that the impression of congestion on the industrial estate is partly as a result of stockpiled vehicles on the application site. To this extent the proposal will improve the existing situation.

7.5 The need for the proposal is not questioned. The proposal is suitably located on an existing industrial estate and any potential environmental impact can be satisfactorily mitigated and any pollution potential properly managed. Therefore the recommendation is that permission be granted subject to conditions.

Recommendations

That planning permission in respect of use of land for vehicle recycling at Land at Broxhead Trading Estate, Lindford, Bordon (F20662/038/CMA) be granted permission subject to the following conditions:

Hours of Working

1. No vehicle shall enter or leave the site and no working shall take place except between the hours of 0730 and 1800 Mondays to Fridays, and 0800 to 1300 on Saturdays. There shall be operations or vehicle movements on Sundays, bank holidays and public holidays.

Reason: To protect the local amenity.

Storage of vehicles

2. Vehicles shall not be stacked more than two cars high.

Reason: In the interests of health and safety and to protect the visual amenity of the area.

Highways

3. The development shall not recommence until on-site parking provision has been made for all staff associated with the development. The areas of land so provided shall not be used for any purpose other than parking.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety.

Pollution prevention

4. All oil and/or fuel tanks shall be surrounded by bund walls of sufficient height and construction as to contain 110% of the total contents of the largest tank and associated pipework in the event of spillage. The floor and walls of the bunded area shall be impervious to both water and oil. All filling points, draw pipes, vents and sight gauges shall be located within the bunded area. The pipes shall vent downwards into the bund. All plant and machinery not in current use shall be stored in a tidy manner and all redundant plant, machinery, vehicles, or scrap shall be removed from the site.

Reason: To minimise the risk of pollution of watercourses and aquifers.

5. No further dismantling of cars shall take place until the impervious surfacing, and the car breaking and drainage bays, shown on plan HPL/1/1 have been created.

Reason: To minimise the risk of pollution.

6. Any further conditions that the Environment Agency advise.

8409/NC

Policy MW1

Planning authorities will, through policies and proposals in local plans and day-to day development control:

(i) seek to ensure an adequate supply of minerals and provision of waste management facilities to meet needs having regard to the need to: maintain the environmental quality and diversity of Hampshire, including the protection of living conditions; safeguard important socio-economic interests; prevent pollution; and protect features of particular environmental or historical importance including those listed in Policy MW3, Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation and historic parks and gardens;

(ii) seek environmental enhancement and public benefits through minerals and waste development;

(iii) conserve and prevent unnecessary sterilisation of mineral resources and encourage efficient use of materials;

(iv) encourage the use of secondary and recycled aggregate materials; and

(v) seek the management of waste in accordance with the following hierarchy;

1. reduction of waste;

2. re-use of waste;

3. recovery of waste (recycling, composting, energy from waste); and

4. waste disposal;

having regard to the proximity principle and the principle of best practical environmental option.

Policy MW3

Permission will not be granted for minerals and waste development which is likely to cause material harm to any of the following designated areas and sites:

The New Forest;

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty;

Special Areas of Conservation;

Special Protection Areas;

Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites);

Sites of Special Scientific Interest;

National Nature Reserves;

Nationally important archaeological sites and monuments, whether scheduled or not, and their settings;

Conservation Areas;

Listed Buildings; and

Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest on English Heritage's National Register;

except where the Mineral/Waste Planning Authority considers that there is an overriding need for the development to take place in the public interest which outweighs the harm that would be caused, having regard to the level of protection given to the designation concerned in legislation or government guidance.

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.

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 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.