ERECTION OF A 20 MEGAWATT BIOMASS FUELLED RENEWABLE ENERGY PLANT WITH ASSOCIATED ACCESS, CAR PARKING, INTERNAL ROADS, CANAL SIDE MOORING AND LANDSCAPING.
Land to the south of Manchester Ship Canal and West of Barton Bridge, Davyhulme
APPLICANT: Peel Energy LimitedAGENT: Turley Associates
RECOMMENDATION: MINDED TO GRANT SUBJECT TO LEGAL AGREEMENT
SITE
The site comprises a roughly rectangular shaped parcel of previously developed land that sits alongside the south-east bank of the Manchester Ship Canal immediately to the south west of the M60 Barton Bridge. The north eastern edge of the site extends under Barton Bridge with a narrow spur projecting to the north east parallel with the Canal which links the main body of the site to Trafford Way adjacent to the Power League Soccerdome.
The land immediately adjoining the site to the south and west is occupied by the United Utilities Davyhulme Waste Water Treatment Works with the residential neighbourhood of Davyhulme beyond. To the east beyond the M60 is located a mix of leisure and commercial uses including the Power League Soccerdome, a Travelodge Hotel, Chill Factor-e etc. To the north across the Ship Canal lies land which is currently vacant but which is being developed for a rugby stadium (Salford Reds) and related commercial uses.
PROPOSAL
It is proposed to erect a 20 megawatt biomass fuelled renewable energy plant on the site producing electricity that is to be input into the national grid. The plant is intended to provide sufficient electricity to supply power for up to 37,000 homes whilst the residual heat created as a by-product of the electricity generation process would be captured and used to provide clean, renewable heat to local businesses and other receptors.
The development would occupy approximately 85% of the site area and comprise areas of hardstanding, internal roads, car parking and landscaping in addition to the following buildings/structures:
· 40m high boiler house;
· Flue gas treatment equipment including 44.23m high flue stack;
· Biomass storage and loading building;
· Fuel feed conveyor;
· Steam turbine building;
· Water cooling pipelines and condenser;
· Administration building;
· Ash storage;
· Fuel storage/processing area (approximately 9000m2 capacity);
· Weighbridge at access;
· Open area safeguarded for future fuel storage;
· Mooring facility for future delivery by water;
· Electricity substation;
· Foul water pumping station
The main operational components of the development would be housed within a series of buildings to be finished in cladding materials and glazing. Access would be provided via the existing access road to the east of the site under Barton Bridge. The road was recently constructed and is in use by United Utilities providing construction access to their existing site and connects to the local road network via Trafford Way which in turn links to the wider road network around the Trafford Centre. A total of 29 parking spaces are proposed on site for staff and visitors.
The operation of the plant involves a combustion process fuelling a boiler which in turn powers a steam turbine and generating unit capable of producing up to 20MW of electricity. The process will also generate heat which may be utilised in the immediate locality of the site. The plant will also produce around 10,000 tonnes of ash per annum as a by-product of the combustion process which is to be removed from site for recycling where possible and disposal to landfill.
Fuel consumption is expected to be 200,000 tonnes of fuel per annum. This will comprise a mix of primary fuels, split as follows:
· Virgin wood material – Comprising up to 30% of the fuel input consisting of chipped virgin timber, wood pellets, short rotation coppice and energy crops;
· Reclaimed waste wood – Comprising between 65% and 75% of the fuel input consisting of waste wood sourced from various sources including water transfer stations, wood processing facilities/plants and other sources that would otherwise be predominantly sent to landfill;
· Solid Recovered Fuel – Comprising up to 5% of the fuel input produced to a recognised standard.
The fuel is proposed to be sourced from north west based suppliers where possible and where required would be treated off site to prepare it for use as a biomass fuel prior to delivery. The fuel would be delivered principally by road, although there is a longer term aspiration to utilise the Manchester Ship Canal via a new mooring facility adjoining the site. The fuel would be delivered using 20-28 tonne payload curtain sided lorry vehicles capable of 80m3 payload volume. This equates to between 7,150 and 10,000 deliveries per annum or up to 65 per day.
Areas of the site have been identified to be retained as areas of strategic landscaping with the aim of providing an appropriate setting for the development and enhancing its ecological value. An area of existing landscaping approximately 24m wide is to be retained between the plant and the Manchester Ship Canal to provide a screen to the development along the canal corridor.
The plant would be designed to have an operational life of at least 25 years, with the factors determining decommissioning reliant on the economics of maintaining the plant at the time along side the cost of fuel and the capability of the plant to earn revenues within the prevailing electricity and heat market.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in the Localism Bill that is currently before Parliament, has signalled that it is the intention of the Government to revoke all Regional Spatial Strategies so that they would no longer form part of the development plan for the purposes of section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and therefore would no longer be a material consideration when determining planning applications.
Following a legal challenge to a decision of the Secretary of State to revoke the Regional Spatial Strategies using powers set out in section 79(6) Local Democracy Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, the Court of Appeal has determined their continued existence and relevance to the development plan and planning application decision making process until such time as they are formally revoked by the proposed Localism Act although the Government’s intention to revoke them may be a material consideration in a very limited number of cases.
The following policies are relevant:
Policy EM15 – A Framework for Sustainable Energy in the North West
Policy EM17 – Renewable Energy
The Revised Trafford Unitary Development Plan 2006
The Revised Trafford UDP was formally adopted on 19 June 2006. The following policies are considered relevant to this planning application;
A1 Priority Regeneration Areas
ENV1 Flood Risk
ENV10 Wildlife Corridors
ENV15 Community Forest
ENV16 Tree Planting
ENV29 Canal Corridors
ENV30 Control of Pollution
ENV33 Contaminated Land
E5 Hazardous and Bad Neighbour Industries
E8 Development Outside Main Industrial Areas
T15 Inland Waterways
WD1 Sites for Waste Disposal
WD3 Waste Treatment and Recycling
WD4 Disposal Sites and Treatment Facilities
WD5 Waste Disposal and Environmental Protection
D1 All New Development
D2 Vehicle Parking
D4 Industrial Development
D11 Renewable Energy
D13 Energy Considerations in New Development
Although the site has no specific allocation within the Revised UDP, it is previously developed land falling within the Manchester Ship Canal Priority Regeneration Area.
The Trafford Core Strategy
The Council has begun work on the production of its Local Development Framework (LDF), which will comprise a portfolio of documents and will, over time, replace the Revised Trafford UDP. Work on the Trafford Core Strategy, the first of these LDF documents, has reached an advanced stage in its production, with the Publication version of the Plan published for consultation purposes in September 2010 and Submission to the Secretary of State made on 3rd December 2010. The Core Strategy has just completed its Examination in Public stage with the Inspector due to report by December 2011.
The Core Strategy provides an up to date expression of the Council's strategic planning policy and as such can be considered to be a material consideration, alongside the Regional Spatial Strategy, the Revised Trafford UDP, and other relevant planning policy documents such as Planning Policy Statements and Planning Policy Guidance Notes, in the determination of planning applications. The following policies are relevant to this proposal;
L5 Climate Change
L6 Waste
L7 Design
National Planning Policy
At national planning policy level, Planning Policy Statements (PPS) and Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPG) set out the relevant policy to be taken into account when assessing applications for planning permission. They do not form part of the statutory development plan for Trafford but are material policy considerations which should be given significant weight in the decision making process. The following documents are relevant to this planning application;
· Planning Policy Statement 1 - Delivering Sustainable Development
· Planning Policy Statement 1 - Planning and Climate Change
(Supplement to PPS1)
· Planning Policy Statement 9 - Biodiversity and Geological Conservation
· Planning Policy Statement 10 - Planning for Sustainable Waste Management
· Planning Policy Statement 22 - Renewable Energy
· Planning Policy Statement 23 - Pollution Control
· Planning Policy Statement 25 - Planning and Flood Risk
· Planning Policy Guidance 24 - Noise
Greater Manchester Joint Waste Development Plan Document (JWDPD)
The Greater Manchester Joint Waste Development Plan is currently at examination stage with adoption anticipated in January 2012. The Plan is produced by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) on behalf of the ten Greater Manchester Local Authorities. It aims to set out a waste planning strategy to 2027 for Greater Manchester which enables adequate provision of waste management facilities in appropriate locations for municipal, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition, and hazardous wastes. It comprises of a set of development management policies to assist in the consideration of waste planning applications.
RELEVANT PLANNING HISTORY
No planning history for the site. However the following recent planning applications for the adjacent sites are considered relevant in the assessment of this application:
Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works:
H/70123 – Erection of an advanced sludge treatment facility to include a combined heat and power plant, gas holders, silos and other associated buildings, plant and hard and soft landscaping works. Approved with conditions 16 January 2009.
Land adjacent to the M60 High Level Bridge and Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works and to the South of Trafford Soccer Dome:
74681/FULL/2010 – Construction of site for exploration, production testing and extraction of coal bed methane, transmission of gas and generation of electricity including combined heat and power facility, erection of temporary 34m high drilling rig, formation of two exploratory boreholes, installation of wells, erection of portacabins, storage containers and ancillary plant and equipment, creation of a new vehicular access road, erection of 2.4m high perimeter fencing and restoration of site following cessation of use. Approved with conditions 15 September 2010.
APPLICANT’S SUBMISSION
The applicant has submitted a detailed Environmental Statement with the planning application to address matters of Air Quality, Noise, Contamination, Ecology, Transport, Visual Amenity and Archaeology along with technical drawings of the plans and elevations of the structures on site, a Planning Statement, a Design and Access Statement, a Tree Survey and a Record of Stakeholder Involvement.
The detailed issues associated with each element of the proposal will be addressed in the Observations section of the report with the key components of the applicant’s submission detailed and assessed as appropriate. The following section provides an overview of the proposal as outlined by the applicant, how the applicant proposes the Plant will operate and of the biomass combustion process in general.
Proposed Biomass Fuelled Renewable Energy Plant
The development will consist of a number of different buildings that have particular roles. The fuel storage buildings would be about 25m high and would ensure that all biomass at the site is in an enclosed area. The tallest building would be the boiler house, which is expected to be approximately 40m high. The tallest overall structure would be the chimney, which would be designed in accordance with the latest environmental standards. The height of the chimney is determined by planning and environmental permitting processes and would be up to 44.23m tall.
The design of the development is commensurate with its intended use. The main operational components of the development would be housed within a series of buildings with very little plant on external view. Glazing and suitable cladding materials have been used to add visual interest to the development’s exterior where appropriate, particularly to the frontage to the Manchester Ship Canal.
The plant will consume about 200,000 tonnes of fuel annually. The fuel would be at least 90% wood-based biomass. Of this, 70-75% would be sourced from non-recyclable waste wood that would be otherwise end up in landfill and 15-25% from other plant derived biomass, such as managed forestry residues, energy crops and agricultural residues. The Plant might also consume a small amount of solid recovered fuel. A number of recent studies undertaken by Government departments and agencies indicate that the north west region generates over 500,000 tonnes of waste wood annually from construction, demolition and civic municipal facilities, so the intention is to source the vast majority of the biomass fuel from the region, which would stimulate jobs and investment in the northwest as well as keeping road transport emissions to a minimum. The proposal also includes provision for a jetty, as once the biomass supply market expands and matures further, it is anticipated that biomass fuel deliveries would be made by canal barges, further reducing road congestion and transport emissions.
Vehicular access to the development will be provided through the construction of an existing and dedicated access to the east of the site under Barton Bridge, currently in use by United Utilities running parallel to the Manchester Ship Canal. This road connects the site to the road network within the Trafford Leisure Village which links into the wider strategic road network including Trafford Boulevard and Junctions 9 and 10 of the M60. In the longer term, the site access will connect to the proposed Western Gateway Infrastructure Scheme (WGIS). This application seeks permission for the access capable of integration with existing consented highway schemes, pre, part and post WGIS.