Sandwell Local Plan - Reg 19 Publication

13. Waste and Minerals

Waste - Introduction

13.1 Sandwell Council is the waste collection, disposal and planning authority for Sandwell.

13.2 The key objective for the management of waste across the borough is to minimise its generation across all sectors and increase the re-use, recycling and recovery rates of waste material.

13.3 The following policy aims are likely to be important for Sandwell going forward:

1. the proposed introduction of a requirement to segregate certain municipal wastes for collection, which implies a need for a review and the revision of collection regimes for the Local Authority and businesses producing commercial waste;
2. continued focus on measures to encourage waste prevention including, in line with national policy, the introduction of produce responsibility obligations for packaging wastes and reduction of single use plastics; and
3. continued focus on the protection of the environment and human health and tackling waste disposal crime.

Waste Infrastructure – Future Requirements

13.4 This policy sets out the overall strategy and principles for waste management in Sandwell and the types of waste development that will support this. It also identifies how much new waste management capacity Sandwell is likely to need to support planned levels of housing and growth over the plan period, and to help deliver the strategic priority of meeting Sandwell's resource and infrastructure needs.

Justification

13.5 There have been significant policy changes in the management of waste over the last 20 years, primarily due to the implementation of the waste hierarchy and the need to reuse and recycle waste before disposing of it. In addition, the management of waste should be considered alongside other spatial planning matters, including economic development, regeneration and the national obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The National Planning Policy for Waste requires that areas and / or sites for the location of waste management facilities are identified in local plans. The SLP identifies several preferred areas for the location of new waste facilities.

13.6 In line with national waste planning guidance, the Plan will, where necessary, make provision for the suitable management of non-hazardous waste; Local Authority Collected Waste (LACW) and Commercial and Industrial Waste (C&I); construction, demolition and excavation waste (CD&E); hazardous waste such as asbestos or batteries, low-level radioactive waste, agricultural waste and wastewater produced from water treatment.

13.7 Findings from the Black Country Waste Study (BCWS) (2020) show that the waste industry has grown quickly over the past twenty years and makes a significant contribution to the national economy. The past two decades have seen a growth of around 55% in employment and incomes in the sector.

13.8 The waste sector is of importance to Sandwell, where it makes a far more significant contribution to the economy (0.88% of total local jobs) when compared with national figures (0.55% of jobs nationally). It is expected that this sector's contribution to GVA will grow by nearly 250% by 2030. To deliver these environmental and economic benefits, the Plan will have an important role in providing supportive land use policies.

13.9 Housing and employment land are projected to increase in Sandwell as the regeneration of the urban area progresses, to help meet strategic housing and employment targets. The needs of new waste infrastructure will need to be balanced with those of housing and employment on suitable sites. In seeking to identify development sites for waste infrastructure, priority shall be given to the safeguarding of existing and allocated sites for their continued use and the retention of the local employment areas in which they occur.

13.10 Waste reduction and resource efficiency improvements will have a significant influence on future waste growth. Waste per household decreased from a peak of 1,056 kilograms per household per year (kg/ hh/ yr) in 2002 - 03 to 983 kg/ hh/ yr in 2017 - 18 (a reduction of over 7.5%). This has been driven by a range of factors, including household income, increased resource efficiency (such as lightweighting^[227]) and changes in consumer behaviours. Similar factors are also thought to be driving reductions in C&I waste.

13.11 In addition, the transition towards a circular economy, the approach to economic development designed to benefit businesses, society and the environment, is expected to significantly change the way waste will be managed in future. In particular, the quantities of waste reused, recycled, and composted are expected to increase substantially.

13.12 Transitioning towards the circular economy will involve a significant reduction in the amount of waste produced by households and businesses, because avoidable waste will be 'designed out' of products at the manufacturing stage. It will also mean a significant shift away from methods of managing unavoidable waste at the bottom of the 'waste hierarchy' (waste disposal and energy recovery) and towards those at the top of the hierarchy, which can 'close the loop' (re-use and recycling).

13.13 As waste facilities are an essential part of the infrastructure of an area, it is not only important that they are appropriately located, but also that policy protection is applied to areas suitable for waste uses, to help achieve the objectives of moving waste up the hierarchy.

13.14 A different set of assumptions have been applied to the CD&E stream, based on the construction waste targets set under the Waste Framework Directive (2009/98/EC), the management of current CD&E arisings and the likely targets to be set in the future.

13.15 Total waste management capacity in Sandwell is driven by decreasing disposal capacity as existing landfill and other disposal sites run out of void space. The capacities include both internal and external capacity for recycling and transfer, based on exports of waste from the Black Country; the capacities of these site categories are not anticipated to increase or decrease significantly over the plan period.

13.16 To account for likely changes in operational capacity at the waste management sites, internal capacity is based on five-year average (mean) tonnages of 'waste received' at permitted sites and operational incinerators by site category, 2013-2017. Material legislative and collection approach changes have been minimal over this period, so a five-year average is a more reliable figure than using the longer ten-year average. It should be noted that external capacity is based on 2017 input tonnages of 'waste received' at permitted sites and operational incinerators, by site category.

13.17 There is currently one operational non-hazardous landfill site in Sandwell; the former Edwin Richards Quarry, which at the end of 2021 had remaining void space of 4.8 mt. Depending on the annual inputs, the site may still have some operational void space at the end of the plan period, with the permitted end date being 2042.

Expected Changes – Waste Management

13.18 Under current projections, the quantity of waste Sandwell is projected to manage increases from 1.75 million tonnes (mt) in 2021 to 2.1 mt in 2040 – 41, equating to an increase of 23% or 1.1% per annum. An ongoing emphasis on waste reduction has seen a 7.5% reduction in waste per household since 2006 - 07 and this trend could have a significant influence on future waste growth. However, there are emerging changes in the need for different types of waste management capacity.

13.19 The waste projections have also considered a range of waste management scenarios based on the recycling rates that may be achieved, and these are summarised in Table 12 below. The BCWS considers that Waste Management Scenario 2 (WMS2) is the most likely scenario for Sandwell.

13.20 WMS2 (Circular Economy) assumes that the targets for reuse and recycling of municipal waste will be achieved for household and C&I waste over the plan period (i.e., 65% of waste from these streams will be recycled by 2035). A different set of assumptions has been applied to the CD&E waste stream, based on existing CD&E waste management rates in the Black Country and potential future recycling targets suggested in the 'Circular Economy Package' proposals.

13.21 Taking into account known future developments or closures, total waste management capacity projections are projected to decrease from 6.1mt in 2021 to 1.7mt in 2041, which is driven by decreasing landfill space with recycling, recovery and transfer capacity not anticipated to change significantly.

13.22 Sandwell has sufficient disposal capacity for most of the plan period, but by the end of it, and dependent upon the extent to which diversion from landfill can be achieved, there will be a need for additional disposal capacity and the contractual arrangements for these exports will be an important focus going forward.

13.23 To achieve 'net self-sufficiency' Sandwell would be expected to provide for extra waste capacity. If self-sufficiency is to be maintained then an additional 159,000 to 472,000 tonnes of recycling capacity will be required by the end of the plan period to support planned housing and employment growth and compensate for the types of waste capacity it cannot accommodate because of being a built-up area (e.g., composting, anaerobic digestion, hazardous landfill).

13.24 There is a surplus of recovery capacity in Sandwell from 2025 onwards under all waste management scenarios, due to planned infrastructure bringing extra capacity online.

Table 14 - Black Country Waste Study – Waste Management Scenarios

Source: BCWS, Table 4.7

Waste Imports and Exports

13.25 The BCWS waste projections also considered net waste imports. Around 1.35 million tonnes of waste were received at permitted waste sites (including landfill sites) and operational incinerators in Sandwell in 2021 (BCWS Table 2.10). The total imports into Sandwell originating from the West Midlands region was 746,000 tonnes, representing 68% of the total waste received.

13.26 More than 80% of the waste received at permitted waste facilities in Sandwell (excluding incinerators) in 2021 by tonnage originated within the former West Midlands Metropolitan area (BCWS Appendix J, Table J4). However, the originating authority of 29.5% of this waste is not known. 15% of the waste is recorded as originating from within the Black Country, and 15% from Birmingham.

13.27 Similarly, more than 80% of the waste received at permitted sites in England that was recorded as having originated in Sandwell in 2021 (by tonnage) did not travel beyond the former West Midlands Metropolitan area.

13.28 In 2021 nearly 608kt of waste originating in Sandwell were exported to permitted sites in England and Wales.

Waste Growth Projections

13.29 The waste projections for Sandwell are a function of waste growth projections and waste management scenarios. These have been informed by the Resources and Waste Strategy and incorporate differences in waste growth and recycling and recovery performance which may vary over the plan period.

'Capacity Gaps' and Need for New Waste Infrastructure 2018 – 2041

13.30 Housing and employment land demand are projected to increase as Sandwell's regeneration of the urban area progresses. The needs of new waste infrastructure need to be balanced with those of housing and employment for suitable development sites. The Council will look to identify development sites for waste infrastructure, with priority placed upon the safeguarding of existing and allocated sites for continued use.

13.31 In addition, the way waste will be managed in future is expected to change significantly as the UK transitions towards a circular economy. The quantities of waste reused, recycled and composted are expected to increase significantly.

13.32 Based on the assumption that the circular economy recycling targets identified in Table 12 above will either be met (WMS2) or partially met (WMS3), the BCWS (Table 3.9) predicts that the following additional waste management capacity will need to be delivered in the Black Country between 2021 and 2041 to maintain net self-sufficiency:

1. re-use / recycling (non-hazardous municipal waste) – 813 kt to 1.4mt
2. energy recovery (residual municipal waste) – 335 to 663 kt
   (Source - BCWS, paragraphs 3.5.1 – 3.5.29, Table 3.9)

13.33 Most of the new capacity requirements identified in the policy are expected to be delivered by the waste industry rather than by the local authority. Delivery will therefore depend on whether new projects are financially viable and attractive to investors. This will in turn depend on demand from waste producers, the effectiveness of government initiatives to incentivise re-use and recycling of waste in preference to energy recovery and disposal to landfill, and the availability of suitable sites where the new facilities can be built (Policy W3).

Waste Sites

13.34 Policy SWA2 relates to the protection of sites identified for or currently in use as waste treatment facilities and seeks to manage the interactions between such sites and surrounding uses.

Justification

Waste Sites

13.35 The existing pattern of waste management infrastructure is illustrated in the Black Country Waste Study, which shows the location of all known waste management facilities in Sandwell.

13.36 They have been identified through a detailed analysis of all known licenced and exempt facilities in each authority area and include waste treatment, waste transfer, waste to energy and landfill facilities.

13.37 The definition of a strategic waste management site includes:

1. all facilities that form a vital part of Sandwell's municipal waste management infrastructure, e.g., energy from waste plants, waste transfer facilities and HWRCs, depots;
2. all commercial waste management facilities that fulfil more than one local role, e.g., they are part of a nationwide or regional operation linked to other facilities elsewhere and take in waste from all over the Black Country and / or beyond;
3. all commercial facilities specialising in a particular waste stream or waste management technology, of which there are no others, or very few other of the same type operating elsewhere in Sandwell;
4. all facilities likely to make a significant contribution towards existing waste management capacity;
5. a site with sufficient capacity to recover, treat or dispose of at least 20,000 tonnes of waste per annum;
6. a facility forming part of the UK's network of installations for waste disposal, such as landfill sites;
7. a hazardous waste recovery facility of sufficient size to qualify as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP).

Safeguarding Existing and Planned Waste Sites

13.38 Sandwell is planning for significant housing and employment land growth between now and 2041. However, the need for new housing and employment development has to be balanced against the need to retain the infrastructure needed to support local households, businesses, and the construction industry. This includes the infrastructure required to manage the waste new development generates. Waste Planning authorities must therefore ensure that the impact of non-waste development on existing and planned waste facilities is acceptable, and "does not prejudice the implementation of the waste hierarchy and/ or the efficient operation of such facilities" (NPPW, para. 8).

13.39 The BCWS therefore recommends a safeguarding policy for existing strategic and other waste sites and preferred industrial areas, identified for the development of new waste infrastructure (BCWS, 5.6.1 – 5.6.5 and 6.2.1). However, it also recognises that the redevelopment of existing or former waste management sites with new housing, employment or other land uses is sometimes justified and the policy reflects this. For example, redevelopment is likely to be acceptable where the waste facility has already closed, or the operator is proposing to close it or relocate the operations to another site.

13.40 Another important material consideration will be whether the waste operations are lawful, i.e., whether they have planning permission or a lawful development certificate. For example, if the waste operations are unauthorised and unsuitable for the location, the Council will normally consider taking enforcement action to stop them.

Potential Losses of Waste Management Capacity

13.41 When determining applications for non-waste development within a short distance of or adjacent to an existing waste management facility, regard will be had to any potential adverse impacts the proposed development might have on the future of the site as a location for the continuation of waste management activities. If a development is likely to have an unacceptable impact on the future of the site as a location for waste management, it will be refused.

Waste Site Impact Assessments

13.42 Taking on board the BCWS recommendations, the policy requires applications for non-waste development, which could be sensitive to the operation of a waste management site, on or near to an existing or planned waste site to include a Waste Site Impact Assessment. This should:

1. identify the waste site potentially affected;
2. explain the spatial relationship between the application site and the waste site;
3. provide a brief description of the waste site, which should include:
   1. its operational status and any proposed changes;
   2. the facility type;
   3. whether the site is a strategic waste site;
   4. the type(s) of waste managed;
   5. the waste operations permitted on the site.
4. summarise the main effects of the waste operations;
5. identify any effects that could be harmful to the health, wellbeing, and amenity of the occupiers of the new development;
6. consider how the occupiers of the new development could be affected;
7. consider how the waste site could be affected by the development;
8. demonstrate how the development complies with the policy and the measures proposed to ensure that the waste site and the proposed development can co-exist without compromising each other.

Preferred Areas for New Waste Facilities

13.43 The identification and delivery of new waste management facilities will make a significant contribution towards meeting new capacity requirements set out above and will meet the aims and objectives of the Plan.

Justification

13.44 The Sandwell Local Plan is a strategic plan and therefore it focuses on safeguarding strategic waste sites. The quantity of waste Sandwell is projected to manage (included imported waste) is predicted to increase from 1.75 million tonnes (mt) in 2021 to 2.1mt in 2040-41, equating to an increase of 23% or 1.1% per annum. The SLP will also need to give appropriate protection to other waste sites.

13.45 Waste facilities are an essential part of the infrastructure of an area; hence provision must be made in the Local Plan to deliver facilities and enable the objectives of moving waste up the hierarchy.

13.46 Certain forms of waste infrastructure are relatively specialised or of strategic scale or are in other ways particularly important in terms of the contribution they make to the overall network. However, and in combination, all facilities can contribute to delivering these objectives.

13.47 National Planning Policy for Waste (NPPW) requires the Waste Management Authorities to identify suitable sites and areas for waste management in Local Plan documents. Several specific locations were identified in the Black Country Waste Study 2020, where new waste management facilities could be located.

13.48 When deciding which areas should be allocated, waste planning authorities should assess their suitability against a range of criteria:

1. the extent to which the site or area will support the other policies set out in the NPPW;
2. physical and environmental constraints on development, including existing and proposed neighbouring land uses;
3. the capacity of the existing and potential transport infrastructure to support the sustainable movement of waste and products arising from resource recovery, seeking when practicable and beneficial to use modes other than road transport, and;
4. the cumulative impact of existing and proposed waste disposal facilities on the well-being of local community, including any significant adverse impacts on environmental quality, social cohesion and inclusion or economic potential.

13.49 The NPPW advises that when identifying suitable sites and areas for waste, waste planning authorities should consider opportunities for on-site management of waste where it arises. This is addressed in Policy SWA1.

13.50 The NPPW also recommends looking at a broad range of locations for the development of new waste infrastructure, including industrial sites (particularly where there are opportunities to co-locate waste management facilities together). Priority should be given to the re-use of previously developed land, sites allocated for employment use and redundant agricultural buildings (NPPW, paragraph 4).

13.51 As the strategy for sustainable waste management involves broadening the range of waste management facilities available in the Black Country, it is necessary to identify a range of opportunities that can accommodate different types of operation and technology. Many waste operations are similar to industrial processes and can be accommodated in Local Employment Areas.

Identification of Preferred Sites

13.52 It is not proposed to allocate specific sites for waste in the Local Plan because no new sites likely to be deliverable within the plan period have been identified, apart from sites that already have planning permission (NPPF, 16, 35, Annex 2). To have sufficient confidence to allocate a site, it would need to be actively promoted for a waste management use by the Council, a landowner and / or a commercial waste operator.

Identification of Preferred Areas

13.53 Several employment areas have been identified in the BCWS as being most suited to the development of new waste recovery, treatment, and transfer infrastructure. These sites were identified through a three-stage screening process followed by an assessment of employment locations and selected sites promoted through the 'call for sites' that fell outside of the excluded areas^[230].

13.54 Waste site options within the resulting 'refined study area' were then identified in consultation with the Council. These were then subjected to two further rounds of assessment:

1. Stage 4: Positive Local Factors - using criteria similar to Stage 1 to identify characteristics likely to be attractive to waste operators and to encourage delivery of new waste infrastructure; and
2. Stage 5: Detailed Non-Spatial Assessment – focusing on site constraints, potential land use conflicts and transport / access constraints likely to be a potential barrier to delivery of new waste infrastructure.

13.55 The results of the assessments are presented in Appendix M of the BCWS and are summarised in Table 5.10 of the main report. These areas are considered least likely to give rise to land use conflicts, and in several cases, there is already co-location of existing waste facilities to which new sites would contribute.

Table 15 - Preferred Areas for new waste facilities in Sandwell

13.56 While most types of waste facilities are likely to be acceptable in all Local Employment Areas, the list of facilities acceptable on Strategic Employment Areas is much shorter. They will normally be restricted to fully enclosed operations that fall within Use Classes B1 (c) or B2 and are already classified as employment uses, or sui generis operations that would be compatible with a Strategic Employment Area location and would not compromise existing or potential future employment uses falling within Use Classes E(g)(ii), E(g)(iii), B2 or B8.

13.57 Certain waste operations may be acceptable on employment land not identified as strategic or local employment areas for long-term retention in employment land use. However, given the status of these sites and the potential that they will be developed for a non-employment use, the Council is only likely to grant a temporary permission for waste development in these types of location.

13.58 The policy recognises that some types of waste operation involve the processing of waste in the open air and are therefore unlikely to be suitable on employment sites; for example, the disposal of inert waste onto or into land.

Locational Considerations for New Waste Facilities

13.59 The Black Country Waste Study has been undertaken to review the existing operating capacity of waste infrastructure across the Black Country and to assess future requirements over the Plan period.

13.60 Steering waste management facilities towards the most suitable locations where they are likely to generate maximum benefits in terms of co-location, provide supporting infrastructure for other uses and minimise potential harmful effects on the environment and local communities, will support the strategic priorities of the Plan.

Justification

13.61 National policy guidance requires authorities to identify suitable areas for waste management in development plan documents. When deciding which ones should be chosen, their suitability should be assessed against a range of criteria, including physical and environmental constraints, cumulative impacts, and transport effects.

13.62 Several broad locations suitable for the development of new waste management facilities in Sandwell have been identified in Table 13 of Policy SWA3.

13.63 There are a number of spatial issues common to all waste management proposals that should be addressed in all cases. The relationship of a proposal to the strategy for waste, as set out in Strategic Objective 17 and Policy SWA1, is of paramount importance and all proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute towards this. They should also address other locational issues such as proximity to the source of waste, relationships to adjoining / neighbouring uses, visual impacts and other potential effects on the surrounding area. Potentially harmful environmental / amenity impacts will be minimised where operations are contained within a building or enclosure, so facilities should always be enclosed where feasible.

13.64 As the strategy for sustainable waste management involves broadening the range of waste management facilities available in the area, it is necessary to identify a range of opportunities that can accommodate different types of operation and technology.

13.65 Many of the waste management facilities have operations that are similar to industrial processes and therefore may be located in retained employment areas. Operators seeking a location for new waste management facilities should focus their search on areas to be retained as employment land and should avoid those areas proposed to change to housing. The Waste Study identifies several areas across the Black Country that are considered suitable for locating new waste management facilities.

13.66 There are certain types of waste management facilities that require an open site (e.g., open window composting facilities) and will therefore be difficult to accommodate within the urban areas of Sandwell due to the lack of suitable sites. These types of facility are subject to strict regulation by the Environment Agency and must be located at least 250m away from sensitive receptors.

13.67 The last part of the policy sets out the criteria against which new waste management proposals will be assessed.

Waste Applications – Supporting Information

13.68 All waste applications should be accompanied by a supporting statement that provides a general description of the development. There are a number of other issues common to all waste developments that should be addressed in all cases. For example, the relationship of the proposal to the strategy for waste and resources as set out in Strategic Objective 17 and in the general principles and preferred methods of managing waste in Policy SWA1 is of paramount importance, and all applications should explain how the proposed development is aligned with these principles.

13.69 Applicants will be required to provide a certain amount of information about their proposed development on the planning application form, including information about the waste streams to be managed and the maximum annual throughput in tonnes and / or void space in cubic metres. However, as the space available on the form is limited, a more comprehensive description of the proposed waste operations should be provided in the main supporting statement.

13.70 To assist applicants, the policy sets out the key pieces of information they should provide to enable the Council to understand the types of operation proposed and the potential effects of the development on the environment and on the health, wellbeing and amenity of people living or working near the site. This information should be collated together into the summary included in the supporting statement.

13.71 The most appropriate place to set out, describe in detail and assess such a proposal against relevant planning policies is within a Planning Statement. In addition, if the development requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (as it represents Schedule 1 or 2 development), details should be included in an Environmental Statement.

Resource Management and New Development

13.72 Managing material resources – including waste - in a responsible way is an important element of sustainable development and will support Strategic Objective 17 of the Plan.

Justification

13.73 The management of material resources including waste in a responsible way is an important element of sustainable development. This policy sets out general principles on waste management and resource efficiency to be addressed by new developments, including requirements to manage large amounts of waste on site or nearby, recycle and re-use products as far as possible.

13.74 The waste hierarchy ranks waste management options according to what is best for the environment.It gives top priority to preventing waste arising in the first place. When waste is created, it gives priority to preparing it for re-use, then recycling, then recovery, and finally disposal (e.g., landfill).

13.75 Achieving zero waste growth and driving waste up the waste hierarchy are important objectives of national policy guidance and the strategy for waste management in Sandwell. Managing waste on-site and making better use of waste generated through development are critical to the delivery of these objectives.

13.76 The scale of development across Sandwell presents a major opportunity to influence decisions over how resources are managed and to develop a more integrated and holistic approach towards this at a local level. This policy sets out the minimum requirements for planning applications for all developments to demonstrate how they have addressed waste and resource issues.

13.77 Residential developments should include adequate storage for recyclable and non-recyclable waste pending collection, including storage for recyclable wastes and access for waste collection vehicles.

13.78 The resources and waste management requirements of businesses will be an important consideration in development projects to improve employment areas, town, and district centres. Where feasible, regeneration schemes should include provision for on-site waste management.

13.79 Where organisations are generating significant amounts of a particular type of waste, which is not currently managed in Sandwell, consideration should be given towards waste being disposed of or being recovered at the nearest appropriate facility(s).

13.80 Opportunities for symbiosis – matching waste producers with organisations who might have a use for the waste produced - should be explored.

MINERALS

13.81 Local plans are expected to make sufficient provision for all forms of development, including for minerals. The policies for minerals in this section also support the overall Vision, Objectives and Priorities by ensuring that in 2041, Sandwell will:

1. Use mineral resources responsibly, including maximising the use of alternatives to maintain a supply of minerals and mineral products to support the local economy and growth;
2. Ensure that other development does not needlessly prevent mineral resources from being worked in the future if it is feasible and economically viable to do so; and
3. Manage and use mineral products in ways that avoids significantly harming the environment and the health and wellbeing of local communities.

13.82 Planning policies for minerals should provide for the extraction of minerals of "local and national importance" (NPPF paragraph 210). While sand and gravel, brick clay and fireclay occur naturally in Sandwell, it does not produce any primary minerals. For minerals planning purposes, past trends and future provision is planned at the West Midlands Metropolitan Area (WMMA)^[233] level.

13.83 Despite not producing any minerals itself, it is possible that in some parts of Sandwell there remain mineral resources that are effectively sterilised by their location in an urban area, hence the need for minerals policies in the SLP. As with all unitary authorities, Sandwell is also the minerals planning authority for the borough.

13.84 Mineral Planning Authorities are expected to maintain a landbank of at least seven years of permitted reserves of sand and gravel (NPPF paragraph 213) to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregates for the construction industry. This means that sites with planning permission for sand and gravel extraction need to have enough minerals left in them to sustain the expected demand over the whole of the plan period plus seven years beyond that.

Construction Aggregates - Expected Demand over the Plan Period

13.85 Current national policy guidance on minerals identifies past sales as an indicator of current demand for aggregate minerals (NPPF paragraph 207), but as it is not necessarily a reliable indicator of future demand, "other relevant local information" should also be considered when planning for future supplies.

13.86 Data on historic sales of aggregates within the WMMA is contained in the West Midlands Aggregates Working Party (AWP) annual monitoring reports, as informed by the annual aggregates monitoring survey. The latest information available relates to the 2021 calendar year. Sales data for the ten years from 2011 - 2021 and average (mean) sales over the ten-year period are shown in Table 14, compared to the indicative 'apportionment' for the WMMA and the annual requirement from the WMMA LAA 2015. Production of data for specific sites is regarded as commercially confidential, so in line with what has been agreed by the AWP, figures are provided only for total annual production in the WMMA rather than for individual Mineral Planning Authorities.

13.87 The economic recession has clearly had a significant effect on sales of sand and gravel in the WMMA and wider West Midlands region over the ten years up to 2017, which was the latest information available at the time the 2020 Black Country Minerals Study was prepared.

Table 16 - Ten-year rolling average annual sand and gravel sales in the WMMA 2011 - 2021 (million tonnes)

Source: WMMA LAA 2023

13.88 Based on the last ten-year average sales figure, the WMMA would need to identify nearly 13 million tonnes of permitted sand and gravel reserves and other potential sand and gravel resources to provide a 'rolling' landbank over the Black Country Plan period. Table 16 below shows how this has been calculated.

13.89 Another indicator of current demand for construction aggregates in the WMMA is provided by the national aggregate minerals surveys, which record consumption of construction aggregates by region and sub-region. The last survey to have been carried out in 2014 found that the WMMA consumed around 1.9 million tonnes of sand and gravel and around one million tonnes of crushed rock in that year.

Table 17 - Sand and Gravel – WMMA Landbank Requirement December 2017

Source: WMMA LAA 2023

13.90 Reliable consumption figures for the pre-recession period are not available for the WMMA. However, data from the 2005 national survey indicates that Birmingham and the Black Country alone consumed at least one million tonnes of sand and gravel and at least 1.7 million tonnes of crushed rock^[235].

13.91 The planned housing and employment growth in Sandwell over the plan period will increase the demand for minerals and will impact on mineral consumption. However, as established in the 2020 Black Country Minerals Study, it is difficult to quantify what the projected housing and employment growth mean in terms of the amount of minerals that needs to be planned for, specifically construction aggregates. The minerals provision in this plan will therefore be continually monitored in conjunction with continued liaison with those Minerals Planning Authorities who form the wider West Midlands region.

13.92 Notwithstanding the above, the requirement to maintain a 'rolling' landbank over Sandwell's Local Plan period of nearly 13 million tonnes for sand and gravel (as set out in Table 15) remains unaffected.

Sand and Gravel Supply

13.93 Solihull is the only authority in the sub-region with workable sand and gravel resources.

13.94 At the end of 2017, Solihull had nearly four million tonnes of permitted sand and gravel reserves. However, a high proportion of these reserves are expected to be sterilised by HS2, and this has already led to the closure of one site (Stonebrook Quarry). It is therefore unlikely that Solihull will be able to sustain the same rates of sand and gravel sales seen over the last ten years, at least in the short-term until new sites come forward.

Crushed Rock Supply

13.95 The last quarry in the Black Country to produce crushed rock (dolerite), Edwin Richards in Sandwell, closed in 2008. As detailed in the 2020 Black Country Minerals Study, there are no winnable crushed rock resources remaining anywhere in the Black Country, therefore no provision is identified for this mineral.

13.96 Coating plants and construction projects in Sandwell are expected to continue to rely on imports of crushed rock from outside the area. The latest information available suggests that most of the crushed rock imported into the West Midlands Metropolitan Area is imported from Leicestershire, Shropshire, and Derbyshire.

Supply of Secondary and Recycled Aggregates

13.97 Secondary and recycled aggregate sites expected to continue in production up to the end of the plan period will be safeguarded (Policy SMI1). Due regard should also be had to the relevant Sandwell Local Plan waste policies (Policy SWA5).

Mineral Safeguarding

13.98 This policy sets out how mineral resources in Sandwell, and sites that are expected to be producing, processing or transporting minerals and mineral products, will be protected from other types of development that could compromise their continued operation over the plan period.

Justification

13.99 To prevent the unnecessary sterilisation of minerals resources the prior extraction of these resources is encouraged where non-mineral development is proposed (except for conversions / changes of use that do not involve any new building or excavation works).

13.100 Mineral sterilisation issues will only generally come into play when larger development sites are concerned, i.e., those generally above five hectares, and such developments should be accompanied by supporting information demonstrating that mineral resources will not be needlessly sterilised. The supporting information should include details of a prior extraction scheme or, where this is not considered feasible, evidence that:

1. mineral resources are either not present, are of no economic value or have already been extracted as a result of a previous site reclamation scheme or other development; or
2. extraction of minerals is not feasible, for example due to significant overburden or because mineral extraction would lead to or exacerbate ground instability; or
3. prior extraction of minerals would result in abnormal costs and / or delays which would jeopardise the viability of the development; or
4. there is an overriding need for the development which outweighs the need to safeguard the mineral resources present; or
5. extraction of minerals would have unacceptable impacts on neighbouring uses, the amenity of local communities or other important environmental assets.

13.101 Where prior extraction is proposed, conditions will be imposed on any grant of permission requiring applicants to provide details of the types and tonnages of minerals extracted once the scheme has been completed.

Mineral Processing Infrastructure in Sandwell

13.102 As mineral infrastructure facilities are an essential part of the total infrastructure of the area, it is not only important that they are appropriately located but also there is policy protection applied to these sites to help maintain an adequate and steady supply of minerals.

Table 18 - Key Mineral Infrastructure

Managing the Effects of Mineral Development

13.103 This policy sets out the requirements that planning applications for potential mineral working and minerals infrastructure will be expected to address. The policy identifies some general requirements that any potential mineral development proposals will need to satisfy, and then lists several additional criteria against which such proposals will be further assessed. The policy applies to both proposals at existing sites and those at new ones.

Justification

General Requirements for Mineral Developments

13.104 This policy sets out the general requirements that will apply to all proposals involving the development of mineral infrastructure and mineral working.

13.105 Mineral infrastructure proposals are defined as storage, handling, and processing facilities (such as depots and recycling facilities) and transportation facilities (such as rail sidings, rail heads and canal wharves). Mineral working proposals (of which there are currently none in Sandwell) include activities such as prior extraction in advance of a redevelopment scheme, extensions to existing quarries, new quarries, borrow pits, stockpiles, and exploitation of coal bed methane.

13.106 Mineral developments differ and early discussion with the Council is recommended to clarify the scope and detail of information that will be required. It will be important that the applicant demonstrates the proposal to be consistent with national policy guidance and the overall Spatial Strategy.

Environment and Amenity

13.107 Impacts need to be carefully managed, to maintain the environmental quality and amenity of neighbouring uses. For example, proposals should consider the potential for:

1. impacts on air quality arising from the transportation of material or dust and particles from excavation and processing;
2. impacts on important environmental assets such as sites designated for their importance for biodiversity / geodiversity, historic buildings, conservation areas, and important archaeological remains;
3. visual impacts on the local landscape, particularly on prominent and highly visible sites;
4. impacts on local communities (including their health) near to mineral handling or production sites.

Cumulative Impacts

13.108 The cumulative impact on the amenity of local communities already affected by quarrying is also an important issue. One of the main sources of complaint is noise and dust from heavy goods vehicles, so haulage routes should minimise these impacts where possible. Without proper management and mitigation, a concentration of quarries and related activities may make particular areas less attractive to live in.

Transportation

13.109 There is little scope for the transportation of minerals by modes other than road in the Black Country, as the rail network does not reach the main mineral resource areas, and the canal network is generally not considered suitable for transporting minerals other than on a short-term temporary basis. Nevertheless, and in the interests of moving towards more sustainable transport, proposals should consider the potential for moving mineral products by rail or inland waterways where feasible.