Harewood Whin Waste Transfer Station Environmental Statement This document is the Environmental Statement for the proposed Waste Transfer Station at the site of the Harewood Whin Resource Recovery Facility, located approximately 2 km west of York and within the local authority area administered by the City of York Council. The Environmental Statement has been prepared by (UK) Ltd for Yorwaste Ltd to accompany an application for planning permission submitted to the City of York Council. Specialist technical input has been provided as follows: Flood Risk Odour and Dust Noise Ecology Ground Conditions Landscape and Visual Amenity DRaW (UK) Ltd The Environmental Statement is presented as a single volume and comprises: Non-technical Summary Chapters 1-11 Drawings Appendices The Non-technical Summary is available separately on request at no cost. CD copies of the Environmental Statement are available on request at no cost. Further hard copies of the Environmental Statement are available at a cost of 25.00. For further information or a copy of any documents, please contact: Golder House Tadcaster Enterprise Park Station Road Tadcaster, LS24 9JF Tel: 01937 837800
HAREWOOD WHIN WASTE TRANSFER STATION ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY February 2016 Printed on Recycled Paper
Introduction Yorwaste proposes to develop a Waste Transfer Station (WTS) at its Harewood Whin Resource Recovery Facility on the B1224 York-Wetherby Road. Harewood Whin is the principal facility for receiving, managing and disposing of waste that is generated in the administrative area of the City of York. The site location is shown below. Site Location An environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been carried out as part of the planning process for the development. This document is the Non-technical Summary of the Environmental Statement (ES) that was prepared as part of the EIA process. Assessment of Alternative Sites A study 1 was carried out to identify and assess alternative sites for the location of a WTS, and specifically to aid in demonstrating Very Special Circumstances should the preferred site lie within the City of York Green Belt. A long list of 100 potential sites was identified by reference to: Potential allocations within the Joint Minerals and Waste Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation Draft; Sites allocated for industrial/employment use within the CYC Local Plan incorporating the 4 th set of changes; and An internet search of property websites. This long list was screened by excluding those which: are outside of the administrative area of CYC; were marketed/allocated for office or retail use; are existing buildings of less than 2,000 m 2 in area; and were previously developed or vacant land of less than 1 ha. The outcome of this screening process was a short list of five potential sites: Land within the existing footprint of the Harewood Whin facility lies within the defined City of York Green Belt and therefore does not comply with the planning vision for the area. The site location is remote from designated sites and residential areas, access to the site is satisfactory and could accommodate the likely traffic to be generated and the site is well related to both the source of waste arisings and the Allerton Waste Recovery Project which the waste transfer station is intended to serve. In all other respects the site is anticipated not to give rise to any significant impacts upon the identified assessment criteria. 1 Alternative Site Assessment, MEWP Limited, January 2016.
Derwent Vally Trading Estate, Dunnington was considered to have little or no conflict with the criteria. However, on visiting the site it became apparent that the configuration of the site, the total floor area provided over three units would not lend itself to the operation of a WTS. Furthermore, the location of the site, to the west of York, would not provide suitable connectivity to the Allerton Waste Recovery project, a stated aim of the proposed development and one of the criteria against which the suitability of the short-listed sites has been assessed. Warehouse at James Street, York is partially at risk of flooding, and has the potential to have impacts upon the historic environment, residential amenity, air quality and traffic. There are also existing land uses that may be sensitive to the establishment of a WTS in close proximity and this may give rise to land use conflict. Furthermore, it is understood that the site is available only for a short-term duration. Units 3-7, Rose Avenue, York was was considered unlikely to give rise to any significant effects upon the majority of assessment criteria. However, the site lies within 75 m of residential development and has the potential to give rise to impacts upon residential amenity. Furthermore, it is understood that the site is currently under offer and would be unlikely to be available for the proposed development. Field north of Duttons Farm, Upper Poppleton is partially at risk of flooding, has the potential to have impacts upon the landscape as the site is not currently well screened from the A58 and surrounding roads, would require significant upgrading to the existing access from the A58 and, as the site lies within the defined Green Belt, would not comply with the planning vision for the area. The study concluded that, of the 100 sites identified, and taking into account relevant legislation and planning policy guidance, five sites were identified as being potentially suitable for the development of a WTS. Detailed evaluation of these five shortlisted sites identified the Harewood Whin site as the most suitable. It is considered that the study demonstrated that, due to the lack of potential alternative sites within the City of York administrative area, the Very Special Circumstances exist which would allow development to take place within the defined City of York Green Belt. Existing Environment The eastern limit of the village of Rufforth is approximately 900 m to the west of the application site with the boundary of the built up area of York approximately 2 km to its east. The A1237 York Outer Ring Road lies to the east about 1.4 km from the site. The site has an extensive planning history stretching back over 25 years. Waste management activities were established at Harewood Whin in 1984 for the disposal of waste material by controlled landfill. Landfill was the predominant means of waste management at the site for a number of years, however, more recent permissions have diversified the type of waste management activities that can be undertaken at the site to include composting, recycling and the generation of renewable energy from waste material either by the utilisation of landfill gas or the use of waste materials as a fuel. The proposed WTS fully complements the existing activities at the Harewood Whin facility. Odour Sources of odour in the surrounding area include Harewood Whin Landfill, the unmanned sewage treatment works off Landing Lane and agricultural activities on surrounding land. In addition, a small scale Waste Transfer Station is located to the south of the proposed development on Rufforth airfield. Landfilling operations at Harewood Whin have given rise to sporadic odour complaints from residents of Rufforth, Acomb, Knapton and Chapel Fields. Investigations carried out by both Yorwaste and the Environment Agency established that the main sources of complaint were associated with waste landfill operations and fugitive releases of landfill gas. Noise Audible sources of noise in the area around the site include road traffic, aircraft, agricultural activities and wildlife. Activities from the Harewood Whin facility are audible at some of the nearby properties, however the site complies with noise limits at all specified locations. Ecology The site is dominated by buildings and hardstanding including roads, car parks and storage areas. Some isolated areas of poor semi-improved grassland are also present with occasional scattered trees. There are two semi-mature plantation woodland blocks within the site, and to its south is a ditch bordered by a hedgerow with trees. There are no features of designated nature conservation interest within the site. There are four statutory designated sites of nature conservation interest within 5 km of the site and a further three non-statutory designated sites within 2 km of it. Ground Conditions The site comprises a yard and office buildings and is a mix of hardstanding and gravel areas used for storage and car parking. The offices comprise four small buildings which are mainly portacabin type, however, there is one brick building present. There are five above ground storage tanks on the site, three of which are used to store gas oil, one is used to store diesel and the fifth is not in use. A previous study by City of York Council in 2012 found that the site was not identified as contaminated land as defined by the relevant regulations
Aerial Image of Waste Transfer Station (as viewed looking north-west and from above the landfill) Aerial Image of Waste Transfer Station (as viewed looking north-east and from above site access road) Aerial Image of Waste Transfer Station (as viewed looking south-east towards the landfill) Image of Waste Transfer Station (as viewed looking north-east from the site access road)
From some time before 1965 the Site was occupied by buildings related to the then nearby RAF Rufforth base. By 1992 the structures associated with the airfield had been removed with only the access roads remaining. The site was redeveloped between 1994 and 2006, with the current site layout being in place by 2006. The site s location close to the former RAF base gives rise to the potential for unexploded ordnance on the site. A Preliminary Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Risk Assessment was carried out in 2012, which confirmed that Rufforth Airfield was an operational heavy bomber base during the war with a bomb dump located to the south of the site. The site lies in an area of low bombing density (less than 50 bombs per thousand acres), however the study notes that the military records may contain more site specific information and that the airfield would have been targeted by enemy bombing. Landscape and Visual Amenity The site lies within York Green Belt. There are no protected trees within or adjacent to the Harewood Whin site. The surrounding landscape character is of a flat open arable farmland type. The existing landfill and nearby airfield buildings contrast with the surrounding flat arable farmland which is more open with notably less vegetation cover. The Harewood Whin site is somewhat detached from the surrounding landscape by its raised landform, perimeter screen bunds and by the mature woodland surrounding the facility and alongside the B1224. The Proposed Development The proposed WTS would manage approximately 100,000 tonnes per year of kerbside collection black bag waste. This material is currently accepted at the existing Harewood Whin Site and disposed of via landfill. The purpose of the WTS is to bulk up this material for road export to and energy recovery at the Allerton Waste Recovery Park which is currently under construction near Knaresborough. The development would also include a weighbridge and weighbridge office, site offices, concrete hardstanding, internal haul roads, external lighting and a bale store to store processed clean, dry recycled materials prior to their removal off-site for re-use. The proposal involves creating a purpose built facility on land adjacent to the existing Harewood Whin landfill which would sustain the ongoing operations of Yorwaste and support the diversion of waste from landfill and the movement of the management of waste up the waste hierarchy. It would also ensure that increased rates of recycling achieved by residents of the City of York are supported by effective infrastructure and thus that as much waste as possible is recovered from the waste stream. Environmental Impact Assessment The ES has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of The Town and Country Planning Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 2011, to accompany the planning application for the proposed waste transfer station. The objectives of the ES were to: Identify the environmental effects of the materials recovery and renewable energy facility; Evaluate the extent and significance of these effects; Identify measures to be taken to avoid or mitigate significant effects; and Identify opportunities to enhance or otherwise benefit the existing environment. Consultation has played an important role in the design process of the materials recovery and renewable energy facility. Consultations have been carried out with statutory agencies and with appropriate interested parties. The aim was to ensure that their views were sought and taken into account in the development and EIA process. The details of the proposed development were presented at a public exhibition. Issues that needed to be addressed in the design of the proposal were identified as a result of this consultation process and changes made accordingly. Each of the following issues has been addressed in the relevant sections of the ES: Odour; Noise; Ecology Ground conditions; and Landscape and visual amenity. MITIGATION No significant effects are anticipated to arise from the proposed development, nevertheless a series of measures are proposed to further reduce any adverse effects and to benefit the nature conservation value of the site. These measures will include
Summary of Effects Flood Risk The site is not at risk of fluvial or tidal flooding. All surface water falling onto areas of hardstanding will be discharged to the environment at a controlled rate via underground attenuation which will be provided within the WTS area, and to reduce the risk of surface water flooding. The development is considered unlikely to increase flood risk on the site or to third parties. Odour Odour from the WTS is expected not to result in adverse effects at off-site receptors. Measures to reduce the risk of odour releases will include: Noise - entrance and exit roller shutter doors that will close when the building is not operational or when weather conditions dictate (periods of high winds for example) - visual inspections of baled materials for contaminated materials and any that are split or insecurely wrapped. Bales that are excessively wet or deteriorated will be either reject or dressed to remove contamination or split and re-baled. - inspection of all incoming material and off-loading in the designated waste reception bays/ areas. - the maximum timeframe of waste materials stored in the WTS will be 48 hours. - odour suppressant spays will be used above doorways. Predicted operational noise levels from the WTS are substantially below the existing ambient noise levels during weekends and evening periods, indicating that the proposed development be inaudible at nearby receptors and will not contribute to ambient noise levels in the area. Predicted operational noise levels are also substantially below the existing noise limits for the site. Ecology No statutory or non-statutory nature conservation sites will be affected by the proposed development. Habitats at the site are generally of negligible or low ecological value and no valued ecological features will be affected by the development. All the habitats at the site are common and widespread and present within the surrounding area. No protected species were recorded or are likely to be present within the site boundary. Committed enhancement measures at the site, including the erection of bat and bird boxes and the creation of log piles within the retained woodland, will have a positive effect on the ecological value of the site. Ground Conditions Demolition of existing buildings may disturb the ground. A preliminary risk assessment (PRA) has been carried out and has identified the potential of localised contamination only. A degree of uncertainty remains with respect to predicting the scale of impacts during demolition until the planning of the works is further progressed e.g. until such time as detailed method statements are available for all works proposed. The PRA also identified the potential for unexploded ordnance to be present, however as the majority of the site has previously been disturbed this is considered to be a low risk. A detailed risk assessment of unexploded ordnance will be completed in line with the recommendations of the PRA prior to any intrusive works being undertaken. Any recommendations will be considered and implemented as deemed necessary.
Landscape Effects The landscape in which the site is located is reasonably common place within the wider region. It is largely undesignated and is considered to be in average condition with scope for improvement. Apart from the Green Belt designation (not an indication of landscape quality or sensitivity), the landscape within the study area is not designated and there are very few protected features or sites within the study area. The development would be constructed on previously disturbed brownfield land within the boundary of an existing waste facility, therefore there would be minimal loss of greenfield land or agricultural land. No notable landscape effects have been identified, apart from a minor loss of mature trees to facilitate construction of the WTS. Compared to the extensive woodland across the landfill site, the proportional loss would be negligible. The proposed development would not change the character or composition of the landscape. The overall change to the landscape would be confined within the Harewood Whin site boundary and the wider landscape would be unaffected. Visual Amenity Views of the proposed development would be negligible, primarily due to the extensive screen planting and embankments around the edge of the site. Views of the WTS would be theoretically possible from parts of Rufforth village and from two adjacent footpaths, although these would be limited to the upper part of the building and would be substantially screened by intervening vegetation. Green Belt The proposed development would result in a minor reduction in the openness of the Green Belt, although it would not prejudice the primary objectives of the Green Belt in protecting the special character of the City of York. The development would be located within an area of highly disturbed brownfield land, which is physically and visually separated from the surrounding farmland. The development would result in a minor increase in the amount of hard standing compared to existing. The effects of this would not extend beyond the boundary of the exiting waste facility. Mount View Standard Way Northallerton DL6 2YD Tel: 01609 774400 Fax: 01609 772327 Golder House Tadcaster Enterprise Park Station Road Tadcaster North Yorkshire LS24 9JF Tel: 01937 837 800