Dudley Council

Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies

Ended on the 22 December 2023

Locational Considerations for New Waste Facilities

17.35 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 objectives of the Plan.

Policy DLP78 Locational Considerations for New Waste Facilities

Key Locational Considerations for All Waste Management Proposals

  1. Proposals should demonstrate how they will contribute to the strategic objectives of Policy DLP75, such as the contribution they will make towards landfill diversion, delivery of new waste management capacity and diversification of the range of facilities currently available.
     
  2. Development for new build waste management facilities should be focused in local employment areas (primarily Local Employment Areas- Policy DLP20) and will be required to meet the following criteria:
    1. evidence the need for the facility.
    2. all waste processes and operations must be contained, processed and managed within buildings unless there are acceptable operational reasons why these processes cannot be contained in buildings.
    3. proposals must accord with all other policies in relation to the protection of the natural and historic environment and public amenity or demonstrate that other material considerations outweigh any policy conflicts.
    4. consideration will be given to the potential impacts of waste management proposals on
      1. minimising adverse visual impacts.
      2. potential detrimental effects on the environment and public health.
      3. generation of odours, litter, light, dust, and other infestation.
      4. noise, excessive traffic and vibration.
      5. risk of serious fires through combustion of accumulated wastes.
      6. harm to water quality and resources and flood risk management.
      7. land instability.
      8. land use conflict- proposals should demonstrate compatibility with the uses already present within / adjacent to the area.
      9. where necessary mitigation measures should be identified to reduce any adverse effects to an acceptable level.
      10. whether the proposal would provide opportunities for co-location of related uses and / or generate other benefits (for example; produce a range of waste types or streams, produce high quality aggregates or other useful raw materials, or supply heat and power or other forms of energy to adjacent uses).

Waste Applications – Supporting Information

  1. Planning applications for waste development (Note 1 below) should include a supporting statement that clearly describes the key characteristics of the development. It should also explain how the development aligns with the principles and preferred methods of managing waste in Policy DLP75. In particular, the application should explain the contribution the development would make towards driving waste up the waste hierarchy, supporting the development of a more circular economy, meeting the boroughs' additional waste capacity requirements, and broadening the range of waste facilities currently available in the plan area.
     
  2. The following information should also be included in the supporting statement and/or on the planning application form:
    1. the type of waste facility or facilities proposed.
    2. the waste streams and types of waste to be managed.
    3. the types of operation to be carried out on the site.
    4. whether waste would be sourced locally, regionally or nationally.
    5. the maximum operational throughput in tonnes per annum.
    6. for waste disposal, the total void space to be infilled in cubic metres.
    7. the outputs from the operations, including waste residues.
    8. the expected fate and destination of the outputs.
    9. the number of associated vehicular movements.
    10. the number of jobs created.

Notes: (1) This includes applications for new build waste developments, changes of use to waste developments, applications for new operational development and other material changes to existing waste sites, and 's73' applications to vary a condition attached to an existing waste permission.

Justification

17.36 National policy requires the Council to identify suitable sites and areas for waste management in the Plan. A 'Preferred Area' for new waste facilities is set out in Policy DLP77. This Policy DLP78 identifies that in principle other employment areas may be appropriate locations for new waste facilities (should opportunities at the 'Preferred Area' not be available or suitable for individual proposals).

17.37 Many of the waste management facilities have operations that are similar to industrial processes and therefore may also be located in other 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.              

17.38 While most types of waste facilities are likely to be acceptable in all Local Employment Areas (Policy DLP20), the list of facilities acceptable on Strategic Employment Areas (Policy DLP19) is much shorter. They will normally be restricted to fully enclosed operations that fall within Use Classes E(g)(iii) 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 (Policies DLP19 and DLP20). Policy DLP78 reflects this approach.

17.39 Certain waste operations may be acceptable on 'Other Employment' land (Policy DLP21) 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.              

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

17.41 The last part of the policy sets out the criteria against which new waste management proposals will be assessed. 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 Policy DLP75 is of paramount importance, and all applications should explain how the proposed development is aligned with these principles. 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.             

Waste Applications – Supporting Information

17.42 All waste applications should be accompanied by a supporting statement which provides a general description of the development.

17.43 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 supporting statement.

17.44 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. 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 is 'EIA development' (meaning it requires an Environmental Impact Assessment), as Schedule 1 or 2 development, details should be included in an Environmental Statement (ES)[49].

Evidence

  • Black Country Waste Study (2020 and 2022), Wood
  • Dudley Borough Waste Study (2023), WSP
  • Black Country Employment Area Review (BEAR) (2020), Black Country Local Authorities
  • Authority Monitoring Report

Delivery

  • Planning applications and permissions
  • Engagement with relevant stakeholders as part of pre-application and planning application process, including waste operators, Environment Agency, Environmental Health.

[49] Or any equivalent following the Government's review of the Environmental Impact Assessment regulations.

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