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Non-Hazardous Landfill Briefing Paper No2 – Review of Mineral Plans

Final Report December 2008 www.erm.com

West of England Partnership

Non-Hazardous Landfill Briefing Paper No2 – Review of Mineral Works

Final Report

December 2008 Prepared by: Shaun Walden

This report has been prepared by Environmental Resources Management the trading name of Environmental Resources Management Limited, with all reasonable skill, care and diligence within the terms of the Contract with the client, incorporating our General Terms and Conditions of Business and taking account of the resources devoted to it by agreement with the client. We disclaim any responsibility to the client and others in respect of any matters outside the scope of the above. This report is confidential to the client and we accept no responsibility of whatsoever nature to third parties to whom this report, or any part thereof, is made known. Any such party relies on the report at their own risk.

For and on behalf of Environmental Resources Management Approved by: Paul Fletcher__________________

Signed: ____ Position: Partner __________________________ Date: 1st December 2008 ____________________

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1 NON-HAZARDOUS LANDFILL BRIEFING REPORT

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The four unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (the West of England Partnership) are working together to produce a Joint Waste Core Strategy. The West of England Partnership (WoE Partnership) exports a large proportion of non-hazardous waste to landfill facilities located outside the West of England sub region. Despite the continued promotion of the waste hierarchy, the WoE Partnership is expecting to require new, additional capacity for non-hazardous landfill, to enable the safe disposal of residual wastes. To deliver the objective of self sufficiency, the WoE Partnership is investigating possible areas for new non-hazardous landfill facilities, within the West of England sub region. In light of this, Environmental Resources Management Ltd (ERM) was commissioned to review possible areas for new non-hazardous landfill in the West of England sub region. This briefing note summarises the study carried out by ERM to identify the potential areas of search for a site suitable for non-hazardous landfill before undertaking a desk based site review.

1.2 INITIAL ASSESSMENT

The initial assessment is reported in full in the Non-Hazardous Landfill Briefing Paper produced by ERM in 2008 (Briefing Paper 2008). The purpose of this assessment was to identify potential areas of search within the West of England sub-region that may be suitable for the disposal of non-hazardous waste. The Briefing Paper 2008 presented a two tier sieve approach in line with relevant guidance. In summary, the two tier approach involved GIS mapping of primary and secondary constraints over the West of England sub region. The criteria used for the primary and secondary constraints are presented in Table 1.1. The primary constraints are considered to be exclusionary constraints whereas the secondary constraints would require any suitable land to undergo a risk assessment. Applying both these constraints resulted in limited areas of land remaining as potential areas of search for a landfill facility. These areas are highlighted in yellow in Figure 1.1.

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Table 1.1 Primary and Secondary Constraints used in the Briefing Paper 2008

Primary Constraints Secondary Constraints • On a Major Aquifer. • On a Minor Aquifer. • In SPZ I, II or III. • Within 2 km distance of a SSSI.

• Within 5 km distance of a SAC, SPA and/or Ramsar Site.

• Below the water table in any strata where the groundwater provides an important contribution to river flow or other sensitive surface waters.

• Air Quality Management Areas.

SPZ = Source Protection Zone, SSSI = Site of Specific Scientific Interest, SAC = Special Area of Conservation, SPA = Special Protection Area.

1.3 DESK BASED SITE ASSESSMENT

ERM and the WoE Partnership have assumed that development of a site solely for the purpose of landfilling would not occur, ie that the void necessary for a landfill facility would occur only as a consequence of mineral extraction or similar works. Using this assumption, a review was undertaken of the mineral related development plans as prepared by each authority. This research indicated where the existing and likely future mineral extraction sites are/will be located. The results of this review illustrated that there were no suitable workable minerals in the potential areas of search for a landfill facility as determined by the Briefing Paper 2008. The research primarily identified locations for the extraction of limestone. Limestone does not provide a suitable underlying geology for development of non-inert, non hazardous landfill facilities, and therefore these locations were deemed unsuitable for consideration. Four potential areas for clay extraction (which would provide suitable underlying geology) were identified in the sub region. However, all of these sites are located within areas that require a detailed risk assessment ie they are located within an area covered by a secondary constraint. Because there are no suitable sites outside the primary and secondary criteria constraints, ERM considered that these four sites should be reviewed to assess their appropriateness for a non-hazardous landfill facility. Further desk based research was undertaken on the four potential areas to ascertain their suitability for a detailed risk assessment. The site research consisted of: • a review of the relevant minerals development plan; • a review of the site’s planning history; and • discussions with the relevant planning officers. In the case of Cattybrook clay pit a further review of the current planning permission (PT02/1958/F) was also undertaken. The results of this research are presented in Table 1.2.

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Table 1.2 Review of Site Suitability for Non-hazardous Landfill

Site information Site Appropriate for additional non-hazardous landfill? If no – why not?

Cattybrook Claypit, South Gloucestershire

Cattybrook Clay pit is allocated in the Minerals and Waste Local Plan for the winning and working of clay. Permission was granted in March 2004 for an extension to the quarry and to consolidate the mineral activities on the whole site. The permission has an end date of 2042.

Site is currently an active quarry and is anticipated to be so until 2042. There is a final restoration plan for the site to: ‘part water body, part local amenity’.

The site is being worked in piecemeal fashion rather than phased extraction. This suggests there is no void available or likely to be available during the plan period. There are limits on the amount of traffic (25 HGV loads per day) for the exporting of stockpiled or dug material not required for brick manufacture. There is also an extraction limit of 125,000 tonnes per annum. Both of these restrictions are to minimise traffic generation due to the poor access route of the site. The site is in close proximity of residential areas.

Shortwood Claypit, South Gloucestershire

Shortwood Claypit was allocated in the Minerals and Waste Local Plan for the winning and working of clay. Permission was granted in March 2006 for the extraction of clay from the existing void to the north of the Preferred Area and for the restoration of this void with residual non-hazardous waste. The proposal involves the extraction of 450,000 m3 of brickmaking clay from the quarry over a period of about 2 years, followed by the landfilling of the quarry void with 2.0 million m3 of non-hazardous waste over a period of 10 years. Part of the clay which is excavated is currently being deposited as a long-term stockpile on the Preferred Area allocated in the Minerals and Waste Local Plan. It is estimated that the stockpile will be present on the allocated land for the duration of the Core Strategy.

Site already designated to accept landfill and has been considered in the need argument in the Briefing Paper 2008. The Preferred Area allocated in the Minerals and Waste Local Plan is not available because the clay extracted from the existing void is being stored on it. It is not expected that the Preferred Area will be available for development during the life time of the Core Strategy.

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Site information Site Appropriate for additional non-hazardous landfill? If no – why not?

Royal Potteries, North Somerset

Royal Potteries was allocated in the Minerals Local Plan (Mineral Working in Avon Local Plan 1993) as a site that should be restored for employment use. Subsequent planning applications and permissions have seen the erection of a multitude of commercial buildings on the site.

Site reclaimed for employment generating use.

Clevedon Brickworks, North Somerset

Clevedon Brickworks was allocated in the Minerals Local Plan (Mineral Working in Avon Local Plan 1993) as a site that should be restored for residential and/or public open space. Subsequent planning applications and permissions have seen the erection of a light industrial units and public open space. The site appears to be fully restored.

Site restored for residential use and/or public open space.

1.4 CONCLUSION

This desk based study indicates that there are no suitable sites in the West of England sub region for a non-hazardous landfill facility. On the assumption that the development of a landfill facility solely for that purpose would not occur; a review of possible mineral extraction areas indicated that there were no suitable workable deposits outside the primary and secondary constraints areas. However, four potential sites where identified inside the secondary constraint areas, these sites would be subject to a detailed risk assessment to determine if they are suitable for a non-hazardous waste facility. To determine if a detailed risk assessment is necessary, a desk based site review was undertaken. This initial desk based review of the four identified sites indicated that none appeared suitable for a non-hazardous landfill facility.

SIZE:

TITLE:

DATE: 02/04/2008

DRAWN: CO

CHECKED:

APPROVED:

PROJECT: Unknown

SCALE: As Scale Bar

DRAWING: REV:

KEY:

A3

Areas that require risk assessments

Figure 1.1 0 0

County Outlines

Minor Aquifer

Areas not covered bySSSIs, European environmentaldesignations or minor aquifers

SSSI Buffer 2 km

Ramsar Buffer 5 km

SAC Buffer 5 km

SPA Buffer 5 km

SSSI

Ramsar

SPA

SAC

Air QualityManagement Area

CLIENT:

West of England Partnership

SOURCE: Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data. © Crown copyright, All rightsreserved. 2008 License number 0100031673.

PROJECTION: British National Grid

File:C:\WofE\MAPS\ScopingMAPS\AreasAvail_EnvDesigs_withBuffersnoSPZsA3.mxd

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