Minerals And Waste Planning Application
Paul Downing
You will need to apply to the County Council for a Minerals Waste Planning Application if you are a waste business regulated by the County Council. Chances are that you may already have an environmental permit for your waste activity issued by the Environment Agency.
Many of the documents required for you environmental permit application can also be submitted as part of your waste minerals planning application as well, as the County Council will also look at environmental impact and your effect on nearby sensitive receptors.
Most businesses if located within a building are issued planning consent by their Local Authority but by nature waste operations are conducted outside and hence are regulated by the County Council instead. You will be required to submit a number of baseline reports and surveys as part of your minerals waste planning application which may include some of the following, however depending on your particular operation other specific data may be requested.
- Traffic and Transport Assessment
- Air Quality Assessment
- Dust Monitoring
- Noise and Vibration Studies and Abatement
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Contaminated Land Assessment
- Surface Water and Drainage Systems
- Ecology Surveys
- Waste Acceptance Procedures and Processes
- Storage and Operations
- Vehicle Parking and Movements
The process of applying for planning permission for a waste operation may take a year or more due to the requirement for the County Council to advertise the application and give residential neighbours and nearby businesses the opportunity of commenting on the application. You may have to tweak operations slightly if comments suggest that you may be creating a disturbance. In most cases it is possible to work with the council to come to a compromise between residential concerns and business interests.
Paul Downing & Associates have helped several clients with both their environmental permit applications and also their minerals waste planning application and in some cases these have been completed and submitted concurrently to avoid duplication of workload.