Viridor Waste Management Proposed Development of an In-Vessel Composting Facility Land at Exide Batteries, Salford Road, Bolton Non-Technical Summary January 2009
Introduction Viridor Waste Management (Viridor) are submitting a planning application for the development of an In-Vessel Composting Facility at land (referred to as Exide Batteries) adjacent to CMP Batteries Ltd, Salford Road, Bolton. Background Viridor Waste Management (Viridor) and John Laing Infrastructure Ltd (JLI) joined together as the Viridor Laing (VL) consortium to bid for the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) waste management PFI Contract. VL was announced as Preferred Bidder on 26 January 2007. The facility is one of a number of key waste management facilities to be constructed by VL around Greater Manchester as part of a strategic initiative to increase recycling and composting, divert waste from landfill, minimise waste transport and allow the recovery of energy. What are the Proposals? Viridor propose to construct an In-Vessel Composting (IVC) Facility at Exide Batteries to treat kerbside collected garden and kitchen waste to produce agricultural and horticultural compost. This development is designed to hold a 50,000 tonnes per annum capacity to process composting waste from Bury, Bolton and Salford Waste Collection Authorities. The site is located approximately 4.8km south west of Bolton town centre. It is located within a mixed rural and industrial setting close to Junction 4 of the M61 motorway and the A6 (Salford Road). The site lies wholly within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, and is located as shown on Drawing LE10126/EIA 3.1. The site occupies an area of approximately 3.8ha. The waste will be delivered to an enclosed building where it will be unloaded and placed into silo cages. Within these silo cages, the material will go through a natural composting process, with natural aeration, for a minimum of 2 weeks before being transferred to the maturation hall. Within the maturation hall, the material will be left to mature naturally before being transferred to end markets for agricultural and horticultural products. Odours will be extracted via a forced air ventilation system and treated within an odour treatment system, comprising an acid scrubber and three carbon filters.
Proposed Site Opening Hours Waste Reception Composting Within IVC Building Monday - Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Sunday 07:00-18:00 07:00-1300 - 24 hours a day Environmental Statement An Environmental Statement (of which this is a summary) has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England and Wales) Regulations 1999 (amended 2008). The Environmental Statement sets out the possible impacts of the proposals, considers their significance and identifies measures for reducing the effects. Principal Environmental Impacts The principal environmental impacts addressed in the Environmental Statement are summarised below. Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment The impacts to the landscape character have been assessed and will be moderate adverse due to the loss of open land. The removal of the invasive species Himalayan Balsam will have a beneficial impact on the character. The initial impacts will reduce to slight adverse as the proposed planting and habitats mature. The introduction of a management and maintenance programme will also benefit the wider area as the spread of Himalayan Balsam is reduced. The visual impact will be slight adverse during the construction phase, but these impacts will only be temporary. On completion, visual impacts for viewpoints with longer views of the site will be slight adverse to imperceptible due to the ventilation stack; however, the landscape character and visual will benefit from proposed planting and the improved management and maintenance of the site. All built developments generate landscape and visual effects, but these are addressed as part of the design process, to ensure that the resulting development will fit appropriately into the site and the surroundings. The site is currently open land, adjacent to an existing industrial complex with established and mature screening. The facility will be developed in a well screened position adjacent to a larger industrial development. The location and scale of the IVC Facility are therefore considered to be appropriate to the site and the surrounding land uses.
Ecology and Nature Conservation Surveys and consultation of ecology and nature conservation have been undertaken from the early stages of the proposed development. One impact on ecology would derive from the removal and clearance of vegetation (as part of development and restoration processes). If this was to occur within the bird breeding season, it could potentially cause harm to bird species. However, by undertaking clearance works outside of the breeding bird session and providing additional foraging and nesting habitat, it is anticipated that the impact will be not significant. Development of the site has the potential to have a significant adverse impact on great crested newts. A licence will be applied for and a mitigation strategy will be agreed with Natural England, prior to works commencing. This will result in an impact that is not significant. Lighting during vegetation clearance, development and restoration activities may constitute a significant adverse impact. Adoption of mitigation measures will reduce these impacts to the degree that they are considered to be not significant. The potential increase in vehicle movements and pollution during site clearance, construction, restoration and operational activities may constitute a significant adverse impact. Appropriate mitigation and best practice reduces this impact to not significant. Geology, Mining, Ground Conditions and Land Quality The geology, geotechnical, mining and contaminated land issues, associated with the proposed development, were assessed as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment. The property is within an area formerly used for mining. Made ground was identified within the site, thus ground improvement may be necessary. During the construction of infrastructure and drainage systems, consideration will be made to the potential unstable nature of the made ground. Although further investigation will be needed to finalise the design details for the proposals, there are no identified risks or constraints which will prevent construction. Hydrology and Hydrogeology The site is not considered to be especially sensitive in terms of hydrology and hydrogeology; however potential impacts have still been assessed.
During construction, potential impacts could include an increase in surface water runoff as a result of soil compaction by construction vehicles, increased erosion and increased sedimentation of water courses. Best working practices will be implemented to ensure that impacts are minimal. During the operation, potential impacts could include an increase in surface water runoff from soil compaction, rapid transfer of rainwater to watercourses via drains and a decrease in water quality from releases or gradual seepage of leachate (includes pollutants) into the nearby watercourse. These impacts can be mitigated through good site management measures based on best practice guidance, such as impervious bunding of oil and fuel storage tanks, to control potential impacts on the water environment. Flood Risk and Drainage A Flood Risk Assessment has been carried out in relation to the proposed development at Exide Batteries. The development lies within an area classified as less vulnerable by the relevant planning legislation. The assessment found that there are no local site specific risks that would adversely affect this categorisation. There are considered to be no significant increased offsite flooding risks as a result of the development. The site is therefore considered suitable for the type of development proposed. Archaeology and Cultural Heritage It has been established that there are no Scheduled Ancient Monuments or Listed Buildings within the boundary of the site or within 500m of the site boundary. The site is not within a Conservation Area, a Historic Park or Garden or a Historic Battlefield. As part of a map regression exercise, a farmhouse has been identified within the south western corner of the site (dating from at least 1722). It has therefore been established with the County Archaeologist that trial trenching should take place within the southern part of the site. This will assess the potential for remains in the southern part of the site. Noise The construction phase will cause an increase in noise levels but these will only be temporary. To minimise the noise impact, mitigation measures will be put in place including the implementation of best working practice and restriction of working hours.
The potential noise impacts of the operation of the proposed IVC facility and on-site vehicle movements have been assessed. The noise survey indicates that the current ambient noise levels at the receptors in the vicinity of the site are predominantly influenced by the road traffic on the local road network. The noise assessment concludes that with appropriate mitigation, the noise levels generated by the operation of the proposed development will be below background noise levels at sensitive receptors. Air Quality and Public Health This assessment considers the impact of the emissions from the construction and operational phases of the development. Construction Phase The appropriate implementation of mitigation measures, such as the regular damping down on public roads/footpaths and the use of a wheel wash to control dust generated from general traffic at the site during earthworks and construction works, will be incorporated as part of a best working practice scheme and construction Environmental Management Plan; this should ensure that the residual dust impacts are negligible. The overall impact during the construction phase would in turn be negligible at sensitive locations near to the site. Operational Phase The development has the potential to generate dust, odour and bioaerosols. However, mitigation measures have been incorporated into the design of the IVC Facility, which includes air collection and treatment systems, to ensure impacts on air quality and public health, are insignificant. The impacts from potential changes in road traffic emissions, as a result of traffic generation associated with the proposed IVC Facility have been assessed as being non-significant. Traffic Traffic generation associated with the development is minimal and unlikely to have an effect on the highway network, especially as the vast majority of vehicles will access the site during offpeak periods. The site is conveniently located for access to the regional and national highway network; this ensures that vehicle movements are restricted to principal routes, away from residential areas. A traffic impact analysis was carried out using a worst case scenario. This showed that the future impact of the development is negligible on the local highway network.
Amenity Site construction works and the operation of the proposed facilities have the potential to generate amenity impacts associated with odour, dust, pests, litter, mud and lighting. A detailed and comprehensive set of design, management and mitigation procedures will be implemented to limit and negate the potential adverse effects. Efficient site management will minimise possible litter generation. Materials transported to the site will be securely contained or fully covered. Unloading of waste products will take place within the enclosed building. The risk of nuisance caused by pests is considered to be negligible. The site will be inspected regularly for signs of pest infestation. Lighting will be downward and into the site, and limited to the operational period. Low level security lighting and CCTV systems will be used outside the main operating period. Conclusion Viridor is submitting a planning application for the development of an In-Vessel Composting Facility at Exide Batteries, Bolton. The facility is one of a number of key waste management facilities to be constructed around Greater Manchester as part of a strategic initiative to increase recycling and composting, divert waste from landfill, minimise waste transport and allow the recovery of energy. The proposals comply with relevant national, regional and local planning policy. A full Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out, and the findings summarised above are detailed in the Environmental Statement submitted as part of this application. The Environmental Impact Assessment has driven the site design proposed in the planning application to ensure the potential for impact is minimised or removed completely. A number of benefits will result from the proposals including the increase in recycling and composting, diversion of waste from landfill and the minimisation of waste transport.