Meeting documents

Planning & Regulation Committee
Monday, 24 February 2003

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PN7 - ANNEX 1 (24 February 2003) - Annex 2
(ANNEX 2 to the July 2002 report)

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PLANNING & REGULATION COMMITTEE –
29 JULY 2002

APPLICATION FOR INTEGRATED WORKING AND RESTORATION SCHEME FOR LIMESTONE EXTRACTION FOR AGGREGATE PRODUCTION AND RECONSTITUTED STONE PRODUCTS BY ENNSTONE BREEDON LTD AT BURFORD QUARRY (FORMERLY BECKSTONES)
APPLICATION NO W2001/1592

RELEVANT DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES AND PROVISIONS

Oxfordshire Structure Plan 2011 – adopted August 1998:

EN4 The natural beauty of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be conserved to reflect their national importance. Proposed developments should not conflict with this aim.

Elsewhere local planning authority will take account of the impact of proposed developments on local landscape character. Development will be permitted only if it does not unacceptably damage the local landscape.

EN5 The following sites of at least national importance will be protected from damaging development:

    1. sites of European wildlife importance;

    2. National Nature Reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest; and

    3. sites which support specially protected species.

On other sites of acknowledged nature conservation importance development will be permitted only if there is an overriding need or if damage to the ecological interest can be prevented by the use of conditions or planning obligations.

EN6 The local planning authorities will promote:

    1. management agreements to help protect and enhance sites and features important for nature conservation;

    2. opportunities for creating new habitats.

EN8 The fabric and setting of listed buildings will be preserved, and the character or appearance of conservation areas will be preserved or enhanced. Other elements of the historic environment, including parks and gardens, battlefields and historic landscapes will also be protected from harmful development.

EN11 Development should not lead to unacceptable deterioration in water quality or the water environment.

T18 Proposals for development should be permitted only if they are acceptable in the light of the following criteria:

    1. the existing transport situation, the aims of the local transport strategy and existing local car parking and traffic management measures;

    2. access for pedestrians, cyclists and those whose mobility is impaired;

    3. the requirements of public transport;

    4. the impact of generated traffic including servicing traffic on existing settlements and roads;

    5. highway access and servicing arrangements;

    6. the safety of all highway users;

    7. the likely resource implications for the highway authority.

M1 The County Council will grant planning permission for mineral working in appropriate locations having regard to the need to:

    1. maintain a landbank of permitted reserves for aggregates throughout the Plan period in line with Government guidance;

    2. meet Oxfordshire’s agreed share of sand and gravel requirements;

    3. ensure a steady supply of materials for local markets.

M7 Before granting planning permission for the extraction of minerals, the County Council will need to be satisfied that the land will be progressively restored within a reasonable time scale to an acceptable use that is appropriate to its location and immediate area.

M8 The County Council will seek to secure the environmental improvement of mineral working sites which have not been or are not being restored to modern standards.

Oxfordshire Minerals & Waste Local Plan – adopted July 1996:

Paragraph 2.21 ‘….. planning permission is normally likely to be refused if existing permissions provide a 10 year landbank’.

SD3 Planning permission will not normally be granted for new limestone and chalk quarries. Extensions to existing limestone and chalk quarries will be considered against national policies and those in the Structure and Local Plan. Very small quarries to supply traditional local building stone to the immediate area may be permitted as an exception to this policy.

PE1 Proposals for mineral workings will be considered in the light of the criteria below:

    1. the protection of local residential, landscape and natural amenities;

    2. the provision of adequate buffer zones to protect residential and natural amenities;

    3. buildings of architectural and historical importance and their setting are not significantly damaged;

    4. that satisfactory access can be provided onto roads which can safely accommodate the proposed traffic without material harm to the environment;

    5. where archaeological sites do not need to be preserved, appropriate provision is made for the recovery and recording of remains before extraction takes place;

    6. sites important for nature conservation, other than covered by Structure Plan policy M9(d), are not seriously damaged;

    7. woods, copses and belts of trees which are important in the landscape are protected;

    8. a high standard of restoration and landscaping is provided;

    9. water supplies and resources are protected and pollution avoided, and hydrological studies are provided where necessary;

    10. the networks of public rights of way are protected;

    11. that every care is taken in the siting, design and landscaping of processing plant to minimise the effects on the local area;

    12. when considering applications for mineral development, the County Council will consider the feasibility of the restoration and aftercare proposals.

PE2 Planning permissions for mineral working will not be granted outside the areas identified in the Plan unless:

    1. the working would be acceptable under policy SD2, or

    2. (i) the proposal satisfies the policies of the Structure Plan and this Local Plan, and

      1. in the case of sand and gravel, the apportioned supply from the county cannot be met from within the areas identified, or

      2. in the case of other minerals, the demand cannot be met from within areas which are identified in the Plan.

PE4 Proposals for mineral extraction and restoration (including waste disposal) will not be permitted where they would have an impact on groundwater levels in the surrounding area which would harm existing water abstraction, river flow, canal, lake or pond levels or important natural habitats. Proposals must not put at risk the quality of groundwater.

PE13 Mineral workings and landfill sites should be restored within a reasonable timescale to an after-use appropriate to the location and surroundings. Proposals for restoration, aftercare and after-use should be submitted at the same time as any application for mineral working. Planning permission will not be granted for mineral working or landfill sites unless satisfactory proposals have been made for the restoration and after-use, and means of securing them in the long-term.

PE18 In determining applications covered by the Plan the County Council will:

    1. have regard to the appropriate provisions of the Code of Practice in Annex 1, which is part of this Plan, and

    2. regulate and control development by the imposition of conditions on the grant of permission. Where this cannot satisfactorily be done, appropriate planning obligations will be sought.

West Oxfordshire Local Plan – adopted November 1997:

CO7 In Areas of High Landscape Value shown on the proposals map the Council will seek to protect and enhance the beauty of the area. Development should not have an adverse impact on the landscape.

CO8 Within the Area of High Landscape Value near the River Thames and its tributaries new development should be sited, designed and landscaped so that it does not detract from the special character of these riverside areas. The after-use proposals for sand and gravel sites should incorporate high standards of landscape and tree planting.

CO18 The District Council will not permit new development or intensification of existing development within areas at risk from flooding which is likely to:

    1. impede the flow of water;

    2. restrict the capacity of the floodplain; or

    3. increase the risks of life or property arising from flooding.

BE10 The special architectural, historic and environmental character of the conservation areas will be preserved or enhanced, and every effort will be made to ensure that this character is not eroded by inappropriate demolition or the introduction of unsympathetic development proposals either within or adjoining the designated area. The existing buildings, major land uses, historic street pattern and open spaces should remain largely undisturbed.

plan - (download as .doc file)

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