Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan

Locational Considerations for New Waste Facilities

13.54 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.

13.55 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

13.56 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.

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

13.58 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 a 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.

13.59 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.

13.60 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 be focusing 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.

13.61 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.

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

Waste Applications – Supporting Information

13.63 All waste applications should be accompanied by a supporting statement which provides a general description of the development. There are a number of other issues common to all waste developments that should also 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.

13.64 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.

13.65 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.

13.66 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.