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| Part 2 9 - MINERAL WORKING, WASTE MANAGEMENT AND POLLUTION CONTROL |
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| MW1 | Protection of Mineral Resources | ||
| Known mineral resources will be protected from sterilisation by other development. | |||
| Where another form of development is otherwise acceptable, consideration will be given to the economic viability and environmental consequences of the prior extraction of minerals before this proceeds, or to alternative locations for the proposal. | |||
| In MPG1 the Government emphasises that minerals are important national resources which make an essential contribution to the nation's prosperity and way of life. Minerals can only be worked where they occur and although working often takes place over a long period of time, it should not be regarded as a permanent land use. MPG1 says that the planning system has an important role to play in safeguarding deposits which are, or may become, of economic importance from unnecessary sterilisation by surface development. Policies which encourage the extraction of minerals before other more permanent forms of development takes place, should be incorporated in plans. Resources of stone, sand, clay and coal are found in Tameside and have been exploited in the past, but only gritstone is economic to work at present. In recent years this has been extracted from Buckton Vale Quarry in Carrbrook and Harrop Edge Quarry in Mottram. | |||
| MW2 | Supply of Aggregate Minerals | ||
| The Council will only permit proposals for new workings for aggregate minerals where the following criteria are met, and subject to compliance with policy MW9: | |||
| (a) | the proposal makes a necessary contribution towards maintaining the Greater Manchester share of the regional production of aggregates, as expressed in the most recent report of the North West Regional Aggregates Working Party, and | ||
| (b) | the proposal is necessary to maintain a landbank of reserves with planning permissions within the Greater Manchester county area, in accordance with national guidance contained in MPG6 "Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in England" as interpreted by the North West Regional Aggregates Working Party, unless exceptional circumstances prevail. | ||
| The demand for aggregate minerals is linked to levels of economic activity but extraction, especially in hard rock, requires high capital investment and fairly long lead times. To ensure that production can continue smoothly from year to year and respond to fluctuations in demand, Government policy is for adequate reserves with planning permission (a landbank) to be maintained. As with the previously adopted UDP, this plan takes a wholly criteria based approach to the determination of future planning applications for mineral extraction and this policy is an important, although not the sole, consideration in this approach. | |||
| MPG6, which was published in 1994, provides a forecast of the national requirements for aggregates provision, and breaks this down into regional guidelines. In June 2003 the Government published revised national and regional guidelines for aggregates provision for the period 2001 to 2016, which replace the original figures in PPG6. The new guidelines are, at national level, 19% below the previous ones, and are based on the assumption that recycled and other alternative materials will meet 23% of total demand nationally. MPG6 states that minerals planning authorities should aim to maintain a landbank sufficient for at least 7 years extraction of sand and gravel, and that for crushed rock a longer period may be appropriate. Regional Aggregates Working Parties monitor supply and demand and analyse the implications of Government forecasts for constituent county areas. The NWAWP is expected to apportion the new regional guidelines to Greater Manchester and the other mineral planning authority areas in the North West by the end of 2003. Their figures must then be taken into account in future reviews of RPG and relevant development plans. | |||
| MW3 | Reclamation of Derelict Land | ||
| The Council will permit proposals for mineral working or surface disposal of mineral waste which would assist in reclaiming derelict and degraded land, subject to consideration of the landscape and ecological value of derelict sites which are regenerating naturally and to compliance with policy MW9. | |||
| Development which may have an adverse impact on the ecological value of a naturally regenerating site should incorporate mitigation or compensation measures. | |||
| Mineral working may provide a means of remediating derelict land, especially where the presence of a mineral or former extractive operations are the source of dereliction. The desirability of achieving these benefits will however need to be weighed against the temporary loss of amenity caused by mineral working, and in some instances where natural regeneration is taking place, against the loss of valuable vegetation and wildlife. The Council expects that proposals should take full account of the ecological value of derelict sites by incorporating measures to mitigate against any harm caused to valuable vegetation and wildlife or, if this does not prove possible, making suitable compensatory habitat provision in another appropriate location. | |||
| Please note: Policy MW4 (Review of old minerals permissions) has been removed from the plan. | |||
| MW5 | Movement of Minerals and Waste | ||
| The Council will permit the development of rail or water linked minerals or waste management facilities where these have good access to the network of major roads, subject to compliance with policy MW9. | |||
| Where appropriate, planning agreements will be sought to control the routing of vehicles to and from mineral workings, aggregates depots and waste management sites, and to secure highway improvements required as a result of such developments. | |||
| The siting of rail and water linked depots, in appropriate locations, would reduce the need to move aggregates or wastes by road, resulting in reduced flows of road freight traffic and hence less congestion and environmental pollution. However, care would have to be taken that the road traffic serving these depots does not cause levels of local problems which outweigh the benefits achieved elsewhere, and the depots themselves could also be intrusive in certain situations. The routes used by lorries carrying minerals and wastes from workings and depots may be unsuitable on highway or environmental grounds or both. This could particularly arise with extraction sites because minerals obviously have to be worked where they occur. If suitable alternative routes are available or can be provided it may be possible to reach an Agreement under S106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that these routes will be used, or that necessary improvements are made to existing roads. | |||
| MW6 | Waste Management Facilities | ||
| The Council will only permit proposals for new, modified or extended waste management facilities which are consistent with the following criteria, and subject to compliance with policy MW9: | |||
| (a) | the best practicable environmental option for the waste materials involved, and | ||
| (b) | the objective of moving up the waste hierarchy, and | ||
| (c) | the proximity principle, and | ||
| (d) | the desirability of regional self sufficiency, and | ||
| (e) | the sustainable integrated waste management strategy for Greater Manchester, so far as this has been agreed at the time. | ||
| The management of household refuse and also commercial, industrial, construction and special wastes, is a necessary but often contentious operation. Greater emphasis on recycling and composting is a generally more sustainable approach than current operations and offers significant potential for reducing the bulk of certain waste, although it is likely that some material will still need to be disposed of by landfill during the plan period. | |||
| After local collection, household waste produced in Tameside is currently taken to plants in other parts of Greater Manchester for pulverisation or compaction prior to ultimate disposal by landfill outside the conurbation. However, the way waste is managed is changing, not least due to European Directives, and in particular the Landfill Directive which requires the quantities of organic material which are landfilled to be reduced over the next 20 years. The Council is working with other GM authorities on developing an integrated waste management strategy, whilst the GM Waste Disposal Authority is evaluating the most appropriate waste management arrangements for when their existing disposal contracts expire in 2005. Transport to distant landfill sites is unlikely to be a sustainable and economic operation in the future for the majority of the waste produced in Tameside | |||
| It is probable therefore that some new waste management facilities will need to be developed in Greater Manchester during the plan period, possibly including locations within the Borough. It is not yet clear what form these may take, and it would be premature to try to allocate any specific sites at this point. This policy sets out considerations that should be taken into account in assessing the need for any facility that may be proposed in due course. Moving up the waste hierarchy means that ideally waste production should be reduced, but where waste is generated its reuse would have priority over recovery through recycling or composting, which would be preferred to disposal with energy recovery, which would be preferred to landfill. The proximity principle is that ideally waste should be managed as close to its source of production as possible, thus saving resources used for transport. | |||
| MW7 | Recycling, Collection and Ancillary Waste Management | ||
| The Council will permit the development of new or extended waste management facilities which result in sustainable recycling of waste materials, including suitably designed and managed local facilities for the bringing of waste materials which are not handled or separated by the refuse collection service, subject to compliance with policy MW9. | |||
| The Council will permit the incorporation of ancillary waste management facilities within new developments, subject to compliance with policy MW9. | |||
| Recycling offers potential to reduce the scale of waste disposal requirements and conserve disposal capacity, as well as to improve the efficiency with which finite resources of energy and raw materials are used. The Council is already introducing new measures in the light of Government targets for recycling household waste and the private sector is also closely involved in numerous schemes, such as supermarkets which provide collection points for a variety of items. There is likely to be a need for additional facilities of various types to support such initiatives. Civic amenity waste collection sites in particular perform a very valuable role in enabling people to responsibly dispose of bulky items and reducing illegal fly tipping, and they also offer further potential to encourage separation for recycling. Well designed ancillary facilities within new developments could support sustainable waste management practices, enabling maximum accessibility to recycling and other facilities with less need for private transport. | |||
| MW8 | Energy from Waste | ||
| The Council will permit proposals to collect and utilise methane from either existing landfill sites, or new composting plants, within the context of policy MW6 and subject to compliance with policy MW9. | |||
| Proposals for energy recovery through the burning of waste will be considered in the context of policy MW6, and will be subject to policy MW9 and the particular need to demonstrate protection of the local environment from possible hazards associated with these processes. | |||
| The breakdown of organic matter in oxygen deficient environments releases potentially harmful gases and in particular methane. At the same time however, it provides an opportunity to harness a valuable energy source to either generate heat or electricity. Methane produced in landfill sites normally has to be managed in order to avoid hazards, so there should be advantages in using this for energy purposes where practical. Digesting waste in controlled conditions prior to landfill (composting) not only enables energy to be recovered but also significantly reduces the quantity of organic matter requiring disposal. Whilst an integrated waste management strategy for Greater Manchester is not yet agreed, there is an expectation that the constraints involved will lead to some element of incineration being required. This provides a further opportunity for energy recovery but close scrutiny will be needed of any schemes which are proposed, to ensure that the surrounding environment is not affected by other materials released by the incineration process. | |||
| MW9 | Control of Minerals and Waste Developments | ||
| Proposals for new or extended mineral workings, aggregate depots,, minerals waste disposal points, mineral exploration, waste management sites and facilities, and transfer loading stations, will only be granted planning permission where each of the following criteria which are relevant to the type of development proposed can be satisfied, taking into account any mitigation or compensation measures that may be included: | |||
| (a) | no unacceptable impact on dwellings or other environmentally sensitive properties, in terms of visual amenity, noise, smell, dust, vermin, vibration, blasting, air quality, ground contamination, hours of operation or other nuisance (including that which may be caused by traffic generation), | ||
| (b) | no unacceptable harm to the water environment, water resources, groundwater levels or groundwater flows, | ||
| (c) | stability of surrounding land not affected, | ||
| (d) | satisfactory access arrangements and no unacceptable impact on surrounding highways or the safety or free flow of traffic, | ||
| (e) | where development of agricultural land is unavoidable, poorer quality land should be used in preference to higher quality land, except where other sustainability considerations suggest otherwise, and taking account of the quality of restoration likely to be achieved following completion of the operations. | ||
| (f) | no unacceptable impact on any Listed Building or its setting, Ancient Monuments or Conservation Areas, | ||
| (g) | no unacceptable impact on any site or area designated internationally, nationally or locally for protection of nature conservation interests, and no adverse impact on protected species, | ||
| (h) | local features of landscape, archaeological, woodland or geological interest, and areas with recreational use or potential, protected from unacceptable harm or replaced or relocated to a suitable quality where feasible, | ||
| (i) | other mineral deposits of significant value not sterilised, | ||
| (j) | a satisfactory scheme of working, incorporating provision for site security and containment and management within the site boundaries of materials which are deposited or generated from the site, and providing where appropriate for progressive working to minimise the area of working at any particular time, | ||
| (k) | satisfactory provision for screening and landscaping whilst working is in progress, | ||
| (l) | a suitably high quality scheme of restoration and aftercare for agriculture, woodland, nature conservation, recreation, amenity or other uses, including in appropriate cases progressive restoration undertaken whilst the site is being used. | ||
| The following criteria apply to mineral workings only | |||
| (n) | the presence of adequate reserves of the mineral in terms of both quality and quantity, | ||
| (o) | satisfactory provision for the processing and disposal of the mineral and mineral waste, | ||
| (p) | in the case of proposals for the working of opencast coal, sandstone and gritstone, the extraction and storage of mineral or overburden not taking place within 200 metres of a significant number of dwellings or other environmentally sensitive properties, taking into account local circumstances, | ||
| (q) | in the case of coal mining, opencasting or colliery spoil disposal, meeting the sequential tests outlined in MPG3 (1999) or any subsequent revision. | ||
| This plan takes an entirely criteria based approach to assessment of all types of mineral and waste schemes which may be proposed. The various criteria which must be satisfied cover a wide range of environmental and amenity concerns within the site, in the surrounding area and on the approach roads. Sufficient information must be submitted to enable a comprehensive assessment to be made of the impact of the proposed development. The need for the proposal will be considered in the light of other policies in the plan, notably MW2 for aggregate minerals and MW6 for waste management. The very similar criteria for minerals and waste developments are now combined into a single policy, thus avoiding duplication. Where it appears that the criteria can be met, there will almost always be a need to impose conditions, and possibly to seek planning agreements, to ensure that any environmental impact is kept to an acceptable level and that high standards of restoration are achieved. The Environment Agency also plays an important role in controlling waste management. They issue waste management licences for individual sites with the objective of preventing pollution to the environment and harm to human health. These have a complementary function to a planning permission and generally deal with best operational practice. | |||
| As with the previously adopted UDP, this plan does not identify particular sites for minerals or waste operations or indicate areas where these would be more or less acceptable. To attempt to identify sites at this time would be difficult to justify both technically and locally, whilst of limited benefit for industries needing to operate over a wider area than a single Borough. In the case of mineral working the Borough has an active, hard rock quarry at Buckton Vale where an application to extend working beyond the 2005 expiry date might be expected, and a smaller, hard rock quarry at Harrop Edge which has been worked intermittently, but future proposals for completely new extraction sites are considered unlikely. Future waste management arrangements in Greater Manchester are under deliberation and so the nature of any new sites which may be required in the Borough cannot yet be reliably anticipated. | |||
| MW10 | Development on or near Landfill Sites | ||
| When development is proposed on or within 250 metres of a known former or existing landfill waste disposal site, the Council will require to be satisfied that: | |||
| (a) | the effects of decomposition have finished, or | ||
| (b) | landfill gas will be safely dispersed or removed before development takes place, or | ||
| (c) | appropriate measures will be incorporated during construction work and within the development itself to avoid any potential hazard. | ||
| In the past, the nine towns which make up Tameside disposed of their household waste at a number of separate sites. Private and industrial tips have also been in operation in the Borough at various times. Although no household waste has been tipped in the Borough for some years, former and mostly reclaimed tips are therefore present where waste was disposed of before the problems associated with gassing were fully realised. Deposit of decomposable material inevitably causes the generation of landfill gas which can pose hazards and may continue for many years after the tip has closed. The gas can also migrate into adjacent land and property. It is vital to be certain that a developer can deal with these problems where they arise, before planning permission is granted. | |||
| MW11 | Contaminated Land | ||
| Where development is proposed on a site that, based on historical knowledge, may have a contamination problem, conditions will be attached to any planning permission that is granted. | |||
| These conditions will require the applicant or developer to submit to the Council a desk based study, to provide sufficient information to identify any risks that may exist from the site or adjacent sites in relation to the intended use and in relation to harm which may be caused to other receptors either on or adjacent to the site. | |||
| Subject to the findings of the desk study, development may be allowed to proceed, further information may be requested, or a physical site investigation may be required to identify the presence, severity and extent of potential contaminants, so enabling the fitness of the land in its current state for the proposed development to be assessed. | |||
| Where contamination poses a threat to the proposed development, adjacent land or the environment, remedial measures will be necessary to remove, stabilise, contain or treat the affected land before the development can proceed. | |||
| Where necessary, the Council will reclaim contaminated land in its ownership for beneficial use. Further information on the contaminated land regime will be provided in supplementary planning guidance. | |||
| The nature of some of the previous industries in Tameside has often left their sites contaminated, and this can continue for many years after the operations have ceased. The safeguards in this policy are necessary to ensure that any previous contamination of land has been fully ascertained before it is developed, and that where necessary such contamination will be treated so as not to affect the development itself or other receptors. Particular attention needs to be paid to the protection of groundwater from discharge, seepage or drainage resulting from the redevelopment of a contaminated site. This policy is consistent with the contaminated land provisions of the 1995 Environment Act which came into force in April 2000. All land in the Borough which may have been put to a potentially contaminating use is currently being identified and any necessary remediation measures determined. The responsibility for complying with these safeguards rests with the landowner or developer. | |||
| Contaminated land is not only a possible hazard but may also waste land which could otherwise be brought back into productive or beneficial use. Grants can be sought by the Council to reclaim derelict land, which can be used to provide for development or for amenity purposes. It will normally be necessary for the Council to acquire the site, although it can be sold on for development once treatment has been completed. There may also be instances where schemes initiated by the private sector could lead to the removal or suitable treatment of contamination, making the land available for beneficial use at no cost to the public purse. | |||
| MW12 | Control of Pollution | ||
| Planning permission will not be granted for a development if its operation is likely to be a source of pollution (including noise pollution) or a generator of waste which would pose a threat to the amenity of the surrounding area, lead to contamination of land, or adversely affect the quality of rivers, other watercourses, lakes, ponds or groundwater and their role for fishing, nature conservation and informal recreation. | |||
| Where appropriate, conditions will be attached to planning permissions to safeguard against the loss of amenity which may be caused by pollution or waste resulting from the operation of a development, or to establish acceptable levels which should not be breached. Where developments are permitted, any emissions may be monitored to ensure compliance with conditions which are imposed. | |||
| Responsibility for assessment and monitoring pollution does not rest with the Council alone but may involve other governmental agencies. It is not the intention to duplicate the functions of these agencies. However, with the Council required to determine whether new developments with possible pollution implications should be given planning permission, technical advice may need to be sought from the relevant control or regulatory body. It would clearly not be sensible to grant planning permission for a development if a necessary pollution control authorisation is unlikely to be given. Where a development is acceptable in principle, it is reasonable to attach conditions to any planning permission to safeguard against loss of amenity which may be caused by pollution or waste. | |||
| Polluted surface or waste water discharges can affect the quality of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses, general amenity, water based recreation, fisheries and nature conservation. Ground water resources can be polluted by activities such as effluent soakaways, unsealed landfilling, inappropriate storage of chemicals or disturbance of contaminated sites. Objectives on protection and improvement of a widely defined water catchment have been expressed through Local Environment Agency Plans prepared for particular river catchments, which are now incorporated into the Agency's "Making It Happen" process. The Agency has very little control over land use change however, and therefore wishes to work closely with local authorities in order to advise them on measures to minimise the impact of development on the aquatic environment. | |||
| MW13 | Hazardous Installations | ||
| The Council will not permit developments which would involve the storage or use of notifiable quantities of hazardous substances unless satisfied, following consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, that the risks to the health or safety of the surrounding population are acceptable. | |||
| The Council will not permit developments within the consultation distances of existing notifiable installations, unless satisfied, following consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, that the risks to the proposed development from those installations are acceptable. | |||
| The Health and Safety Executive is the government agency responsible, among other things, for monitoring conditions within industrial plants and similar installations. The presence on sites of minimum quantities of particular hazardous substances must be notified to the HSE. These sites (or pipelines) thus become notifiable installations and are subject to planning controls aimed at keeping them sufficiently separated from housing or other land uses which they may be incompatible with from the safety point of view. Where a new or extended notifiable installation is proposed, the Council's decision will take into account the risks it might pose to the surrounding population. Where notifiable installations already exist, the HSE has established consultation distances around them with the object of controlling the kinds of development permitted in their vicinity. Where new development is proposed in these areas, the decision will take into account the risk it faces from the existing installation. | |||
| MW14 | Air Quality | ||
| When developments are proposed which could have a significant impact on local air quality, the Council will consider the extent to which the development may affect the target levels in any Air Quality Management Areas which are declared or the requirements of related action plans, and weigh this against other material considerations before granting planning permission. | |||
| When developments are proposed within areas where air quality is likely to exceed the objectives set in the National Air Quality Strategy, the Council will consider the extent to which occupiers could be exposed to health risks from levels of air pollution in excess of national targets, taking into account the effect of action plans introduced to reduce such exceedences, and will weigh this against other material planning considerations before granting planning permission. | |||
| High levels of air pollution can harm human health and the environment, with certain groups of people at greater risk. Government guidance makes it clear that in determining a planning application, local authorities should consider the development's likely effect not only in terms of the air pollution it may cause directly but also what may be caused through traffic generation. The influence of air quality considerations on planning decisions will vary according to the circumstances and must be weighed against other material considerations. | |||
| Through the UK National Air Quality Strategy the Government has set health based standards for seven of the main air pollutants. The review and assessment of air quality is now a local authority duty under the Environment Act 1995 and if areas are identified where national targets are expected to be exceeded by 2005, authorities must declare Air Quality Management Areas and draw up action plans to deal with the exceedences. The Councils in Greater Manchester have carried out a detailed study of air quality in their areas using monitoring data and computer model predictions. The results show that only nitrogen dioxide and fine particles are likely to exceed the target in some areas. | |||
| Tameside in conjunction with the other GM districts carried out public consultation in January 2001 on the forecast areas of likely exceedence and declared Air Quality Management Areas in July 2001. The AQMAs cover built up parts of the Borough close to motorways and certain major roads. Since then the Council has been working with other GM authorities to prepare an Air Quality Action Plan to improve air quality across the region (see also policy T14). | |||
| MW15 | Protection of Water Resources | ||
| Development proposals which may have an adverse impact on water resources will only be permitted where they would not pose an unacceptable risk to the capacity or flow of groundwater or surface water systems. | |||
| There are a number of companies and private individuals who abstract water in the Borough and their interests must be protected, where development could adversely affect potential groundwater or surface water resources or supply. The Council will consult the Environment Agency for advice in any situations where this issue may arise. | |||
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