Application under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act to
vary condition 2 on planning permission C15/0299/34/MW (construction of 3
ancillary silting lagoons and sociated works to provide the necessary capacity
to enable the ongoing working of mineral and the provision of a closed
system for the control of quarry water on site) to allow a four-year extension
for the use of the lagoons in connection with the minerals operations and a
further year for the completion of restoration.
LOCAL MEMBERS: Councillor Owain Williams and Councillor Craig ab Iago
Decision:
To delegate powers to
the Assistant Head of Department to approve the application, subject to the
following amendment to Condition 1 of planning permission C16/0816/34/MW to
extend the lifespan of minerals operations involving the operation of three
ancillary silting lagoons and associated works for an additional four-year
period:
Extraction of
minerals shall cease by 31 December 2024 by which time all plant and machinery
shall have been removed from the site; restoration shall be completed by 31
December 2025.
Consultation response
from Natural Resources Wales attached to the decision notice, advising that
they should be contacted direct in respect of the specific environmental and
operational controls and the provision of utility within their remit.
Planning conditions
as existing in relation to the following regulatory controls;
• Duration of work,
• Restriction
on permitted development rights, buildings, structures, erections, private,
floodlighting and fences,
• Mitigation
for the potential impacts on springs to the north of the extraction area,
• Mitigation for local biodiversity,
Badgers, breeding birds and reptiles,
• Permitted operations and Compliance
with the submitted Details/Plans,
• Hours of Working,
• Safeguarding Public Rights of Way,
• Soil handling and husbandry,
• Drainage, measures to prevent the
pollution of local water courses,
• Restore to mixed agricultural use and
nature conservation,
• Reinstatement of field boundaries,
• Micro-adjustment
of restoration levels to ensure a flow of water into the wetland north of the
application area,
• Archaeological mitigation and
recording,
• After-care measures for agricultural
use and biodiversity management,
• Dust
controls and noise limitations the same as existing but also, plant machinery
at the working face to be fitted with white noise alarms.
Minutes:
Attention was drawn to the
late observations form.
a) The
Senior Minerals and Waste Planning Officer highlighted that the application
site was on the western flank of the existing extraction area, approximately
530m from the Llŷn AONB and to the west of
Snowdonia National Park. He elaborated by noting that it was proposed to
revisit these areas to re-work the mineral that had previously been considered
uneconomic, also enabling the extraction scheme to access further deposits
extending to the east. He reiterated that the proposed extension site included
improved grassland with irregular stone wall field
boundaries. The area was bordered by the existing working
area to the west, the Lôn Eifion cycleway to the east
and an area of rough, marshy grassland to the north.
It was explained that
Planning Policy Wales (Edition 11 - February 2021) outlined the Welsh
Government's planning policy in relation to mineral extraction. Every Mineral
Planning Authority should ensure that its development plans made allowances to
contribute to the supply of minerals that met local, regional and national
needs. Gwynedd Council, jointly with all Welsh Authorities had endorsed the
Regional Technical Statement formed by the North Wales Regional Aggregates
Working Party which was currently subject to a second
review. The statement had been prepared in accordance with the provisions of
Minerals Planning Policy (Wales) and Technical Advice Note (Wales) 1:
Aggregates (MTAN1), to set one common objective, namely to attempt to ensure
that the supply of aggregates was managed in a sustainable way.
It was a requirement that the Council, as Mineral
Planning Authority, maintained a landbank of reserve
aggregate minerals in accordance with current guidelines that noted a minimum
of seven years for sand and gravel. Since the publication of the first RTS
Review, the overall level of permitted aggregates reserves in North Wales had
diminished.
Subject to all other material planning considerations,
it was considered that the development complied with
the requirements of Strategic Minerals Policy PS22 and Policy MWYN 3 of the
Gwynedd and Anglesey Joint Local Development Plan 2011-2026.
b) Taking
advantage of the right to speak, the Local Member made the following points:
·
The site was
well-established
·
No objection
to extending the term
·
Restoration
work was crucial
·
Request to hold discussions on including
tree planting in the restoration plans
·
The need to safeguard Lôn
Eifion
c) It was proposed
and seconded to approve the application
ch) During the ensuing discussion, the following observations
were made by Members:
·
That this avoided transporting minerals from one
location to another
·
The site was well managed - no complaints had been
received
·
The resource was needed in Gwynedd
·
The site offered local employment opportunities
a)
In response to the Local Member's observations
regarding tree planting, it was noted that the
following application (C20/1064/22/AC) would offer better opportunities for
tree planting and creating roosting features. It was noted
that the intention for this part of the site was to restore the land for
pasture.
RESOLVED: To delegate powers to the
Assistant Head of Department to approve the application, subject to the
following amendment to Condition 1 of planning permission C16/0816/34/MW to
extend the lifespan of minerals operations involving the operation of three
ancillary silting lagoons and associated works for an additional four year
period:
Extraction of
minerals shall cease by 31 December 2024 by which time all plant and machinery shall have been removed from the site; restoration shall be
completed by 31 December 2025.
Consultation
response from Natural Resources Wales attached to the decision notice, advising
that they should be contacted directly in respect of
the specific environmental and operational controls and the provision of
utility within their remit.
Planning conditions as existing in relation
to the following regulatory controls;
·
Length of the working period
·
Restriction on permitted
development rights, buildings, structures, erections, private roads,
floodlighting and fences
·
Mitigation for the potential
impacts on springs to the north of the extraction area
·
Mitigation for local biodiversity,
badgers, breeding birds and reptiles
·
Permitted operations and Compliance
with the submitted Details/Plans
·
Hours of Working
·
Safeguarding Public Rights of Way
·
Soil handling and husbandry
·
Drainage, measures to prevent the
pollution of local water courses
·
Reinstatement of field boundaries
·
Micro-adjustment of restoration
levels to ensure a flow of water into the wetland north of the application area
·
Archaeological mitigation and
recording
·
After-care measures for
agricultural use and biodiversity management,
·
Dust controls and noise limitations
the same as existing but also, plant machinery at the working face to be fitted
with white noise alarms.
Supporting documents: