Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Pope and County Councillor Serridge.

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

County Councillor Pattison declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 7 as she was a Lancaster City Councillor.

The committee are asked to agree that the Minutes of the last meeting held on 17 July 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

In relation to the Round O Quarry resolution on page 10, a discussion took place around the meaning of an independent drainage report. It was clarified that an independent report would be produced by a consultant commissioned by the applicant.

The amended Resolution was therefore:

'That the application be deferred, and that the applicant be requested to submit an independent drainage report.'

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2024 be confirmed and signed by the Chair, subject to the amendment to the Round O Quarry Resolution as detailed above.

The Update Sheet will be considered as part of each related agenda report.

The Update Sheet was circulated prior to the meeting (copy attached).

A report was presented on an application for the construction of a 3m high wooden acoustic fence along the eastern side of the access road at Hapton Valley Transfer Station, Hapton Valley Estate, Accrington Road, Burnley.

The report included the views of LCC Development Control Highways and 2 representations objecting to the application, the details of which were provided in the Committee report. No comments were received from Burnley Council or Hapton Parish Council.

The Head of Development Control presented a revised Powerpoint presentation (copy attached) showing a site location plan and aerial view of the site and photographs of the access road and existing fence line.

Committee had undertaken a site visit to the Hapton Valley Estate in November 2023.

An extra condition to be attached to the planning permission was suggested by the officer that required the fencing to be retained and maintained during the period of the waste management operations on the site, to ensure there was no deterioration of the fence, over the period of the lifetime of the site.

The officer answered questions from Committee.

It was Proposed and Seconded that the wooden acoustic fence be up to 3 metres high, rather than stipulating it should be 3 metres high. After a discussion, the Amendment was Withdrawn.

It was therefore:

Resolved: That planning permission be granted subject to:

(i)  conditions controlling commencement, working programme, and construction working hours, as set out in the Committee report.

(ii)  The following additional condition:

4. The fencing shall be retained and maintained throughout the duration of waste management operations on the Hapton Valley site.

Reason : In the interests of local amenity and to conform with Policy NE5 of the Burnley Local Plan.

A report was presented on an application for the continuation of mineral extraction and restoration of Ravenhead Quarry, Chequer Lane, Up Holland, through infilling with imported non-hazardous material.

The proposed development was subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment and the application was accompanied by an Environmental Statement and Non-Technical Summary.

The report included the views of West Lancashire Council, Wigan Council, the Environment Agency, Natural England, LCC Ecology, LCC Landscape Advisor, LCC Highways, LCC Lead Local Flood Authority, LCC Public Rights of Way, the Health and Safety Executive, United Utilities, the Coal Authority, Up Holland Parish Council, and Merseyside and West Lancashire Bat Group. No comments had been received from the Ramblers Association. 12 representations objecting to the application had been received and a further 4 letters asking a number of queries, the details of which were provided in the Committee report.

Committee's attention was drawn to the Update Sheet which included an amendment to the final bullet point on page 24 of the report which should have read 'western' instead of 'eastern' and amendments to conditions 2 and 6.

In addition, further amendments to the Update Sheet were reported as follows:

(i)  'Policy LF2' to be added under the heading 'Joint Lancashire Minerals and Waste Local Plan' on page 27 of the Committee report.

(ii)  Condition 32 (f) to be added:

'Provision for management of the SSSI in accordance with the submitted and approved Geological SSSI Management Scheme dated September 2022.'

The Senior Planner presented a Powerpoint presentation showing site location plans and an aerial view of the site, existing approved restoration scheme, proposed restoration, proposed cross sections, and photographs of the access off Chequer Lane, properties at the junction of Chequer Lane and Ravenhead Way, views across the quarry looking south and south east, view across the brickworks stockpiling area and view across the quarry towards the housing estate to the north east (photograph from 2009).

Committee had undertaken a site visit to Ravenhead Quarry in July 2024.

Richard Lord, applicant, addressed the Committee and said the following:

'We at Booth Ventures have operated Ravenhead Quarry on behalf of Ibstock Brick since 2018. During our tenure, we've managed the operation to extract both shales and the fire clay at the bottom of the geological sequence for brickmaking at the factory. This involves removing the quantity of material surrounding these layers, which are unsuitable for brick making, and these have been recovered for use in local construction projects. Over time, this work has created a quarry void which can fill with water if unmanaged, presenting a safety risk from stability and to future site users. In previous summers with hot weather the water has attracted antisocial behaviour and as a result we're now proposing to commence the final restoration of the site back to the original ground levels which involve filling the void with imported materials. We're mindful that part of the site is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and we've worked really hard with Natural England  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

A report was presented on applications for:

The amendment to conditions 1, 2, 4, 6, 41 and 43 of permission ref 1/09/360, to permit the deepening of Back Lane Quarry, Carnforth to -37m Above Ordnance Datum, continued working of the quarry until 31/12/2077 with restoration by 31/12/2078, and amendments to the working scheme and restoration.

The amendment to conditions 1, 2, 4, 6, 40 and 41 of planning permission 1/03/1185, to permit the deepening of Leapers Wood quarry to -37m Above Ordnance Datum, continued working of the quarry until 31/12/2064 with interim restoration by 31/12/2065 and final restoration by 31/12/2078, and consequent amendments to the working scheme and restoration.

The planning applications were accompanied by Environmental Statements and a full description of the proposed developments would be provided when the applications were reported for determination.

The Head of Development Control presented a Powerpoint presentation showing a site location plan and aerial view of the sites.

It was reported that there two errors on the 2^nd paragraph of page 76 of the report which should have read 'At Leapers Wood Quarry, the deepening would release an additional 26 million metric tonne of limestone aggregate reserves. At Back Lane Quarry, the additional reserve would total approximately 40 million metric tonne.'

Resolved: That the Committee visits the sites before determining the applications.

It was reported that, since the last meeting of the Development Control Committee on 17 July 2024, four decisions had been taken on development control matters by the Director of Environment and Planning, in accordance with the county council's Scheme of Delegation.

Resolved: That the report be noted. 

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member’s intention to raise a matter under this heading.

There were no items of Urgent Business.

The next meeting of the Development Control Committee will be held on Wednesday, 16 October 2024 at 10.30am in Committee Room B - the Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston.

Resolved: That the next meeting of the Committee be held on Wednesday 16 October 2024 at 10.30am in Committee Room B – The Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston