Dudley Council

Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies (Regulation 19)

Ends on 29 November 2024 (8 days remaining)

Waste Sites

17.18. This policy seeks to safeguard and retain the capacity of existing lawful waste facilities to maintain the existing waste management capacity.

Policy DLP76 Waste Sites Comment

Protecting Waste Sites

  1. The Council will safeguard all existing strategic (as listed in the 'Justification' below) and other lawful waste management facilities from inappropriate development to maintain existing levels of waste management capacity, unless it can be demonstrated that:
    1. there is no longer a need for the facility; or
    2. capacity can be met elsewhere; or
    3. appropriate compensatory provision is made in appropriate locations elsewhere in the borough;
    4. and the site is required to facilitate the strategic objectives of the Plan.
  2. This policy will also apply to all new waste management sites that are implemented within the lifetime of the plan.

New development near existing waste facilities

  1. Proposals for housing and other potentially sensitive uses will not be permitted near to[70] or adjacent to an existing waste management site where there is potential for conflict between the uses that cannot be fully mitigated (applying the 'agent of change' principle) unless:
    1. a temporary permission for a waste use has expired, or the waste management use has otherwise ceased, and the site or infrastructure is considered unsuitable for a subsequent waste use; or
    2. the loss of waste site or infrastructure would form part of a scheme that has wider environmental, social and /or economic benefits that outweigh the retention of the site or infrastructure for the waste use and suitable alternative provision is made for the displaced waste use; or
    3. a suitable replacement waste site or infrastructure has otherwise been identified and permitted.
    4. Waste Site Impact Assessments will be expected to demonstrate that at least one of the above criteria applies. Applications should also identify any 'legacy' issues arising from existing or former waste uses, and how these will be addressed through the design of the development and the construction process.
Justification

17.19. The focus of the Plan is on safeguarding strategic waste sites, while also giving appropriate protection to other waste sites[71]. Given their importance to the borough's waste management capacity, there will be a stronger presumption against the loss of strategic waste sites.

17.20. The existing strategic sites are identified on the Waste Diagram and listed in Table 17.2 below are the significant waste management facilities operating in the borough. They have been identified through a detailed analysis of all known licenced and exempt facilities and include waste treatment, waste transfer, waste to energy and landfill facilities.

17.21. The definition of a strategic waste management site is;

  1. all facilities that form a vital part of the borough'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 borough 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 the borough.
  4. a site with sufficient capacity to recover, treat or dispose of at least 20,000 tonnes of waste per annum.
  5. all facilities likely to make a significant contribution towards existing waste management capacity (see points c and d).
  6. a facility 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).

Table 17.2 Strategic Waste Sites in Dudley Borough (currently permitted-permanent permission)

Local Plan Ref.

Previous Local Plan Ref (2011 Black Country Core Strategy)

Site Name and Address

Estimated Operational capacity (tonnes per annum, tpa)

Municipal Waste Recovery Installations

WS1

WSD6

Dudley Energy from Waste facility, Lister Road Depot, Lister Road, Dudley

95,000

Municipal Waste Recovery- supporting Infrastructure

WS2

WSD11

Blowers Green Recycling Depot, Blowers Green Road, Dudley

40,000

WS3

n/a

Lister Road Transfer Station, Lister Road Depot, Lister Road, Dudley

23,500

WS4

WSD10

Stourbridge Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) off Birmingham Street (A458), Stourbridge

20,000

Waste Disposal Installations

WS5

WSD5

Himley Quarry Landfill, Oak Lane, Kingswinford

220,000*

Significant Metal Recycling Sites (MRS)

WS6

WSD9

Shakespeare's MRS, Oak Lane, Kingswinford

40,000

WS7

WSD1

Sims MRS Halesowen, James Scott Road, Cradley, Halesowen (formerly E Coley Street)

35,000

WS8

n/a

Wades of Wednesbury, Webb Street, Coseley

20,000

WS9

n/a

Woodside Works, Blackbrook Road, Dudley (Dartmouth Global Trading)

35,000

Other Significant Waste Management Infrastructure

WS10

n/a

AB Waste Management and Skip Hire (formerly Bloomfield Recycling), Coseley

45,000

WS11

n/a

Budden Road Waste Transfer Station, Coseley

25,000

WS12

n/a

Environmental Contracts Ltd (ECL) Waste Transfer, Dudley

25,000

*Estimated capacity remaining at the end of 2021 (permitted end date of 31/12/2025)

Safeguarding Existing and Planned Waste Sites

17.22. The need for new housing and employment development must be balanced against the need to retain the infrastructure needed to support local households, businesses, and the construction industry. This includes the infrastructure that manages the waste they generate. 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).              

17.23. The Plan therefore recommends a safeguarding policy for existing strategic and other waste sites (Policy DLP76). However, the policy also recognises that the redevelopment of existing or former waste management sites with new housing, employment or other land uses is sometimes justified. 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.

17.24. Another important material consideration will be whether or not the waste operations are lawful, i.e., whether they have planning permission or a lawful development certificate.

17.25. Given their importance to the borough's waste management capacity, there will be a stronger presumption against the loss of strategic waste sites and against developments which would prejudice their continued operation.

17.26. The policy will also apply to all new waste management sites that are implemented. Representations have been received on behalf of Pegasus Grab Hire Ltd who have outlined an intention to secure a permanent planning permission for their existing operations at Bott Lane, Lye (currently the subject of a temporary planning permission). No detailed proposals have been provided to date. The site lies within an area of 'Other Employment Land' and the DLP policies provide a framework for the consideration of new/permanent waste facility proposals.

Potential Losses of Waste Management Capacity

17.27. When determining applications for non-waste development within a short distance or adjacent 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. The 'agent of change' principle set out in national planning policy will be applicable i.e., existing businesses and facilities should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on them as a result of development permitted after they were established; the 'agent of change' (the new development) should provide suitable mitigation before the development has been completed.

Waste Site Impact Assessments

17.28. Taking on board the Black Country Waste Study 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 types 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. assess how the occupiers of the new development could be affected;
  7. assess 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 coexist without compromising each other. This includes proposals for any mitigation measures required, including environmental controls such as screening which can provide a more permanent and effective solution.
Evidence
  • Black Country Waste Study (2020), Wood
  • Dudley Borough Waste Study (2023), WSP
  • Black Country Council's Water Cycle Study: Phase 1 (2020) and Dudley Stage 2 Water Cycle Study (2024), JBA Associates
Delivery
  • Planning applications and permissions
  • Waste Industry- engage positively with developers and the local planning authority on proposals to change the use of existing or planned waste sites and proposals for non-waste development near to existing or planned waste sites
  • Developers- ensure that new development near to existing or planned waste sites have regard to the potential effects on both developments, ensure that proposals for non-waste development make efficient use of resources and are designed to include sufficient space for secure waste storage, management and collection.

[70] The definition of 'near' in terms of specific distances is likely to vary according to the nature of the individual waste site. The Black Country Waste Study (2020) suggests 100-150metres should be applied for more significant uses with tighter boundaries around smaller facilities.

[71] This takes forward the approach under the former Black Country Local Plan Review whereby strategic waste sites accounted for nearly 75% of the Black Country's estimated operational waste management capacity by tonnage.

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