Agenda item

A report was presented on a retrospective planning application for the variation of conditions 3 and 9 of planning permission 02/11/0876 to extend the hours of waste transfer and recycling operations and the delivery and removal of waste and processed materials, and to allow the doors of the waste transfer building to be open only while plant is operating but only for the ingress and egress of vehicles requiring access to the building at Lancashire Waste Recycling Limited, Unit 8, Burn Hall Industrial Estate, Venture Road, Thornton.

This application was presented to the meeting of the Development Control Committee on 8^th April 2015. However, at that meeting, applications LCC/2014/0144  LCC/2014/0145 were not determined as it was considered that both applications were invalid due to an error in the submitted ownership certificates. Consideration of both applications was therefore deferred.

The Committee was advised that amended certificates for applications LCC/2014/0144 and LCC/2014/0145 had since been submitted which addressed the validation issue and therefore allowed both applications to proceed to determination.

The report included the views of Wyre Borough Council, Fleetwood Town Council, the County Council's Developer Support (Highways), the Environment Agency, the County Council's Specialist Adviser (Ecology), and details of 97 letters of representation received.

The Committee visited the site on 18^th May 2015.

The Committee was reminded that prior to the last meeting it had received presentations from Bourne Leisure (operators of the Cala Gran Caravan Park) and the applicant,  Lancashire Waste Recycling (LWR),  the content of which was summarised in the report.

Jonathan Haine, Development Management Officer, presented a PowerPoint presentation showing an aerial view of the site and the nearest residential properties. The committee was also shown a site layout plan and photographs of the site.

The officer reported orally that local member County Councillor Andrea Kay had written expressing her support for the application and the related applications at items 6 and 7 of the agenda.

She has visited the site on numerous occasions and had attended several meetings with local residents, Friends of Pheasant Wood association, Thornton action group, councillors and the local MP. The fears of residents, in relation to the route of traffic, hours of business, odour management and the doors to the plant, had been discussed with the applicant. Subsequently, the site had an open day to enable residents to go and see the plant and ask questions. The applicant had since issued a statement to County Councillor Kay to undertake the following to address residents' fears:

·  Route of traffic – Lancashire Waste Recycling (LWR) have a policy of ensuring the designated route is used at all times by HGVs. All drivers had been issued with instructions including maps showing which routes to take to and from the site.

·  Sunday hours of working - The plant does not process waste on a Sunday and there would be no more than 3 vehicle movements into and out of the site between 10am – 3pm on Sundays, with no vehicle movements outside these hours.

·  Odour Management – LWR has met with the Lancashire County Council Scientific Service. It was agreed that the operations at LWR should be the subject of LCC's 'The nose' who monitors odour emissions from the adjacent Thornton Waste Technology Park on the east side of the LWR site.

·  Doors of waste transfer building - the doors will be fast action closing doors, which open and close within 30 seconds to enable wagons to enter and exit the main building.

·  LWR have promised that they would like to be a good neighbour and work with the residents. No further complaints have been received from residents or local groups/ associations.

The committee was advised that the issues relating to the route of traffic, hours of business, odour management and the doors to the waste transfer building were addressed in the Committee report, as follows:

•  Route of traffic – a Section 106 Agreement is already in place to control the routing of traffic. It is proposed that any new permission would be subject to similar controls

•  Sunday hours of business and associated traffic movements – the hours of operation on Sundays are proposed to be controlled through condition 2 to permission LCC/2014/0145

•  Odour management plan – this is an issue for the Environment Agency to consider under their own regulatory regime.

•  Doors to the waste transfer building – condition 10 in the report to application LCC/2014/1045 requires details of the motion sensors to be submitted and that such equipment be maintained and operated in accordance with the approved details at all times. This would ensure that the equipment necessary to operate the doors is always maintained in a way that minimises the period when the doors are open thereby minimising the potential for odour and noise to be released and maximising the benefits of the air extraction system.

Mr Huckerby addressed the committee and spoke in support of the application and the related applications at items 6, and 7 of the agenda. He informed the committee that:

·  There would be no increase in the volume of waste at the site.

·  The proposal to extend the working hours would enable traffic to be programmed to avoid the busiest parts of the day.

·  Following a further visit from their Environmental Health Officer, Fylde Borough Council had indicated that they were satisfied there were no sound pollution issues associated with the doors being opened for short periods of time.

·  Minute traces of waste stuck to packaging was unavoidable however, the company would continue to work to Environment Agency codes and guidelines.

·  The air filtration plant would be modified and noise levels reduced.

·  A sound proof fence had been erected around the site.

The officer responded to concerns raised by the committee with regard to the proposed extended opening hours and in particular, the effect this would have on the Cala Gran Holiday Park adjacent to the site.  Following which it was:

Resolved: That subject to the applicant first entering into a Section 106 Agreement to ensure all heavy goods vehicles other than those servicing the local area and those transporting waste materials from the site to Jameson Road landfill site access and egress the site via Fleetwood Road and Bourne Way, planning permission be granted for the variation of conditions 3 and 9 of planning permission 02/11/0876 subject to the conditions set out in the report to the committee.