We are pleased to announce that Suffolk County Council have granted planning permission to Steve Lumley Planing Ltd for the rationalisation of land through the demolition and reorganisation of buildings, the extension to a workshop and change of use of land to allow the relocation of a recycling facility and the distribution of aggregates at Hollow Road Farm, Suffolk.

The planning permission allows Steve Lumley Planing Ltd to improve the operational efficiency of the site, and also improve the overall appearance to create a safe and tidy working environment for its employees and visitors.

Central Bedfordshire Council have recently granted planning permission to Hope Construction Materials Ltd, to allow for the continued excavation of sand and associated activities at Potton Quarry until 25 September 2025.

The planning permission also allowed for an alternative restoration scheme that will consist of restoring the land with a focus on nature conservation rather than for agricultural purposes.

PDE looks forward to continuing to work with Hope Construction Materials Limited in the future.

PDE are looking forward to the RICS conference on Thursday 8 October 2015 in Bristol, Where Suzanne will be giving a talk with Rebecca Carriage from Howes Percival LLP with legal and practical hints and tips when in a tight spot with the environmental regulator.

In January 2014 the Environment Agency produced a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) to say that in certain circumstances, the treatment of asphalt wastes containing coal tar will no longer require a waste operation permit, where the wastes are subsequently subject to a coating process on the same site under a Part B permit. The RPS applies to treatment by cold mix processes only.

In August 2015 the RPS was revised so that is applied to mobile plant only, storage and treatment cannot be undertaken for longer than 12 months, limits have been introduced for the volume of hazardous and non-hazardous planings that can be stored and specific surfacing requirements have been introduced for hazardous wastes.

The EA have not yet published the RPS and it is not available on their website. The RPS is due to be reviewed again in August 2016.

Please contact PDE for further advice if this may affect your operations.

PDE is pleased to announce on behalf of Hope Construction Materials Limited, that Aylesbury Vale District Council have granted planning permission to allow for an alternative concrete batching plant to be installed at Woodham Industrial Estate.

Essex County Council have granted planning permission to Edviron Limited, to allow the continuation of temporary windrow composting of green waste and waste wood at Crumps Farm.

The Non Material Amendment application that we also submitted has been approved by Essex County Council which sought to vary the time limit attached to a number of conditions that require information to be submitted for approval.

PDE looks forward to continuing to work with Edviron Limited with respect to their operations at Crumps Farm.

Land Logical Ltd has been granted an environmental permit for a waste recovery operation at Stone Pit 1 in Dartford, Kent.  The waste activity comprises the importation of approximately 490,000m³ of inert wastes to correct problems associated with differential settlement at this historic landfill site.

Prior to submission of the environmental permit application, a pre-application meeting was held with the local EA officers and PDE submitted a Waste Recovery Plan to the EA in accordance with RGN13.  After considerable deliberation and internal consultation,  the EA responded to say that they agreed with our assessment that the proposed activity is a waste recovery operation. 

Landfill gas is extracted from the historic wastes and used to generate electricity or flared.  The landfill gas extraction system had never been subject to an authorisation by the EA.  However, following submission of the permit application for waste recovery, the EA required that the gas infrastructure be regulated under the new waste recovery permit and added to the application.  

Whilst the gas infrastructure had been operating for over 20 years without incident the requirements for the application were as onerous as for a new operation and an H1 screen was produced for emissions to air followed by a quantitative assessment using the AERMOD dispersion model.  A comprehensive Landfill Gas Management Plan was also developed for the site.   The landfill gas infrastructure will require upgrading in accordance with current standards.

The planning application included noise conditions, with numerical limits and agreed mitigation measures.  However, the determination period for the permit was protracted with the EA reassessing noise and the decisions made by the planning authority, effectively, they wished to re-consider the principal of the development.  Whilst the noise assessment produced to support the planning application concluded that the risks from the proposed operation were acceptable, the EA requested that the baseline data be re-assessed based on BS4142.  The data was reassessed and a new report produced which also concluded that the risks were acceptable. Ultimately the permit was issued with no bespoke noise conditions but with delays and additional costs to the Operator for re-assessing the previously submitted noise data. 

PDE looks forward to continuing to work with Land Logical Limited with respect to their operations at Stone Pit 1.

PDE is please to announce, that Essex County Council have recently validated two planning applications at Crumps Farm, Little Canfield, Essex. The two applications have been submitted on behalf of Edviron limited, who are waste management specialists currently operating at Crumps Farm.

We have submitted two applications to Essex County Council for determination. The first seeks to allow the continuation of temporary windrow composting of green waste and waste wood. The second, a Non Material Amendment application has been submitted to vary the time limit attached to a number of conditions that require information to be submitted for approval.

PDE is pleased to announce on behalf of SRC Aggregates, that we have secured planning permission for the installation and use of a soils washing plant at Highwoods Quarry, Essex. The proposed soils washing plant will enable SRC Aggregates to significantly increase their recycling capability, whilst supporting the ongoing mineral extraction and restoration activities at Highwoods Quarry.

PDE is pleased to announce on behalf of Hope Construction Materials Limited, that Aylesbury Vale District Council has recently granted planning permission for a new concrete batching plant and premises located at Woodham Industrial Estate.

PDE looks forward to continuing to work with Hope Construction Materials Limited in the future.