Contact Officer: Mary Thompson (mary.thompson@oxfordshire.gov.uk ) Tel: 01865 815901
ITEM PN6
PLANNING & REGULATION COMMITTEE – 21 JULY 2008
CONTINUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAND FOR EXTRACTION OF SAND AND GRAVEL, ERECTION OF PLANT WITHOUT COMPLYING WITH CONDITION 25 (OF PLANNING PERMISSION RAD/3963) (THE VARIATION OF THAT CONDITION TO EXTEND THE DEVELOPMENT FOR FIVE YEARS)
Report by the Head of Sustainable Development
Location Thrupp Lane, Radley, Abingdon
Applicant H Tuckwell and Sons Ltd
Application No RAD.3963/4-CM
District Council Area Vale of White Horse
Introduction
1. A report to Planning & Regulation Committee in May regarding Thrupp Lane Quarry, Radley was withdrawn from the agenda at the request of the applicant to allow time for a meeting to discuss the conditions and legal agreement which were to be attached to any permission which might be granted.
2. That meeting has now
taken place and so the application can now be considered. The report itself is
unchanged from May and is attached at Appendix 1 (download as .doc file) to this report. The
conditions attached to the original report have been slightly modified and are therefore
set out at Appendix 2 (download as .doc file) to this report. I have set out the reasons for the
changes in this report and suggest members read the report at Appendix 1 before
reading the discussion of conditions below.
Changes to Conditions
3. The report states that permission is only recommended to be granted for a period of one year. An original condition in that report provided for only one year’s working from the date of the expiry of the last permission in December 2007. However, it is reasonable to provide a further year from the date of the committee resolution because the presence of sand martin nests in the quarry faces means that it may not be possible to begin extraction until September. Therefore, a further twelve months is needed to extract the remaining sand and gravel. Condition 2 has been changed accordingly.
4. There has been a minor change to the wording of condition 4, which requires that no new fixed plant or machinery should be erected on the land. This has been changed to reflect the fact that the application does not specify any plant and a requirement for the submission of a plan showing the existing plant has been added. Condition 16 has also been changed to provide a precise date for the removal of buildings, plant and materials. A requirement for the submission of a silting plan has been added.
Importation of Unwashed Sand and Gravel
5. The applicant does not wish condition 20 to be imposed which states that no unwashed sand and gravel should be imported to the site. He states that he has been importing unwashed sand and gravel for many years to process at the site and wishes to continue to do so. However, it is recommended that the condition be kept as the planning application was made for the extraction of sand and gravel and erection of plant and was not made for the import of unwashed sand and gravel for processing. Therefore, it cannot be permitted by granting a permission for extraction.
6. I am sympathetic to the possible retention of the plant to process material dug from the land subject to a Review of Old Planning Permission (ROMP) application land (see Plan 1) because this land has planning permission to be worked and the processing of sand and gravel at this site would avoid the need to construct a new plant site at the extraction area, which would have to be closer to residential properties than this site. The ROMP site and the processing plant could be linked by conveyor. However the ROMP land is owned by another operator and the applicant needs to conclude negotiations with the other operator before it is decided whether the existing plant can still be used.
7. Therefore, officers have recommended to the applicant that he should make a separate planning application for the short term retention of the plant beyond the year that would be permitted by a grant of this application, in the hope that negotiations are successfully concluded with the other operator. The retention would be simply for the possible future processing of sand and gravel from the ROMP site and not for any processing of road imported sand and gravel. A longer term application for the retention of the plant could be made if negotiations are successful.
Lorry Movements on Thrupp Lane
8. Transport Development Control have requested highways contributions for this development as the lorry movements are having an unacceptable impact on the condition of Thrupp Lane. However, the applicant has not yet agreed to enter into an agreement to provide this. This is to be discussed by them at a meeting on 15 July. Therefore, if the applicant agrees to enter this agreement to pay contributions then I would recommend approval. However, if he does not agree, I will report this in an addendum and change my recommendation to one of refusal on highways grounds. In the event that the applicant agrees to enter into an agreement, it is further recommended that if such a legal agreement is not signed within ten weeks, the Head of Sustainable Development is authorised to refuse the application also on highways grounds.
Conclusions
9. The conditions have been amended and can be found in Appendix 2. There is a change to the recommendation to reflect the need to ensure that the legal agreement for contributions to Thrupp Lane is completed quickly and to invite an application for the retention of the plant site. The recommendation is set out below.
RECOMMENDATION
10. It is RECOMMENDED that:
(a) subject to:
(i) an ecological survey being completed demonstrating that there is no significant harm to the biodiversity interest or that any significant adverse effects of the development can be adequately mitigated; (ii) protected species surveys being completed and showing either that no protected species are present on site or that any adverse effects of the development upon them can be adequately mitigated; (iii) the incorporation into the application of such mitigating measures identified under (i) and/or (ii) above as may be approved by the HSD; (iv) the incorporation into the application of a restoration scheme that takes into account any mitigating measures identified under (i) and/or (ii) above; (v) provision of a Planning Obligation to secure a contribution of £10 200 towards the maintenance of Thrupp Lane;
that the Head of Sustainable Development (HSD) be authorised to grant planning permission for application RAD/3963/4-CM subject to conditions to be determined by HSD dealing with matters to include those set out in Appendix 2 to this report
(b) that the Head of Sustainable Development be authorised to refuse the application if:
(i) the ecological survey referred to in (a)(i) above is not completed within 10 weeks of the date of this meeting, on the grounds that the application would not comply with OMWLP policy PE18 (in that appropriate ecological surveys would not have been submitted in line with the Code of Practice ); or (ii) the restoration plan referred to in (a)(iv) above is not submitted within 14 weeks of the date of this meeting, on the grounds that the application would not comply with OSP policy M1 (in that there would not be adequate restoration proposals for the site); or (iii) the surveys referred to in (a)(i) or (a)(ii) above show that there would be significant harm to the biodiversity interest or to protected species or that the effects of the development cannot be adequately mitigated, on the grounds that the application would not comply with PPS9 (in that there would be harm to the biodiversity interest.); or (iv) the Planning Obligation referred to in (a)(v) above is not signed within ten weeks of the date of this meeting on the grounds that the application would not comply with OSP policy T8 (in that there would not be adequate mitigation of adverse transport impacts).
(c) that an application to retain the plant site for a period sufficient for negotiations to be concluded on its possible use to process sand and gravel from the Neot Field ROMP site (Neot Field) be invited but not to process road imported sand and gravel.
CHRIS COUSINS Head of Sustainable Development Environment & Economy
Background Papers: The development of land without complying with condition 25 (of planning permission RAD 3963 for the extraction of sand and gravel and variation of that condition to extend development for 5 years at Thrupp Lane, Radley. File 8.4/5297/5 located in Minerals and Waste Development Control Team area at Speedwell House, Speedwell Street, Oxford
July 2008
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