Agenda item

We considered the report of the application and late correspondence which was recommended for approval subject to the conditions outlined in the report and subject to the conditions as amended in late correspondence, plus an additional condition 5 in relation to regular servicing of the boiler.

 

It was noted that the wording in condition 2 would be revised to just involve virgin wood as a fuel and to incorporate monitoring of the fuel type to ensure compliance with British Standards.

 

Llanarth Fawr Community Council had submitted a written statement in respect of this application which was read to the Committee by the Head of Planning, as follows:

 

‘The Council is aware that a request has been made to defer consideration of this application because insufficient evidence is available to show concerns raised over a number of issues, particularly noise, have not been fully resolved. We support this request.

 

On the question of noise, no proper noise assessment (compliant with BS 4142:2014/A1 2019 Methods for Rating and Assessing Industrial and Commercial Sound) has been undertaken. We do not agree with the Case Officer and the Environmental Health (EH) Officer’s short visit during office hours (i.e. not in the evening / night or weekend) could sensibly be said to comply with the BS standard. In any event, there has been no assessment at all of the noise impact during night-time and weekend operation (the plant will operate 24/7).

 

TAN 11 (Noise) at Annex B (revised 2015) notes: “The significance of sound of an industrial and / or commercial nature typically depends upon both the margin by which the rating level of the specific sound source exceeds the background sound level and also the context in which the sound occurs”. Further, since background sound levels vary throughout a 24-hour period it will usually be necessary to assess the acceptability of sound levels for separate periods (e.g., day and night) chosen to suit the hours of operation of the proposed development. Similar considerations apply to developments that will emit significant noise at the weekend as well as during the week.

 

The Case Officer relies at para 6.3.6 on the Environmental Health (EH) Officer’s daytime visit. They did not experience any significant noise, but without any detail on actual sound / tone levels emitted following the baffle cowl mitigation, or on background sound levels. The EH Officer suggests future noise complaints could be raised under statutory nuisance legislation. Planning Policy Wales (edition 11) states: “The planning system must protect amenity, and it is not acceptable to rely on statutory nuisance under the Environmental protection Act 1990to do so.” This is because “Lower levels of noise, however, can still be annoying or disruptive and impact on amenity and as such should be protected through the planning process wherever necessary”.

 

We recommend that an assessment by means of BS 4142 is undertaken to protect the amenity of residents in Llancayo and Bettws Newydd, as well as those living opposite the site in Monkswood, who are additionally concerned by potential sound amplification in this valley location. A BS 4142 assessment could assess this risk.

 

If the Committee does consider this application: regarding proposed Condition 2: “The bio-mass boiler shall only use Virgin Wood or British Standard PAS111:2012 Grade A – Clean Recycled Waste Wood”. We recommend that this is strengthened by the addition of: “and the developer is required to provide regular data, available for inspection by the Local Planning Authority (LPA), on volume and source of wood chip”. This would ensure no contaminated waste wood chips are used in future, which could impact both on emissions and on the regulatory regime.’

 

Ms. L. Williams, representing objectors to the application, attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points:

 

·         There will be the release of carbon emissions with occasional plumes of smoke. There will also be noise emissions.

 

·         The site has had a chequered planning history having been granted permission to store straw but instead used it to house a gasification plant and incinerator which was installed without planning permission. Residents had to go to court to force the Council to take enforcement action.

 

·         Residents acknowledge that this application is not on the same scale but today’s proposal has already been installed and operating without planning permission.  However, the applicant has made the necessary planning application, but residents wanted to see a correct and full assessment of potential impacts from this scheme on the amenity of local residents. Many residents belong to the local organisation called SWIPE.

 

·         Welsh Government polices PPW 11 and TAN 11 support appropriate technical noise assessments and recommend that these should also cover night-time and weekend operations if the development operates 24/7, and it will.

 

·         PPW 11 notes that lower levels of sound would be dealt with as statutory nuisance as this could be disruptive and impact on amenity.

 

·         The applicant supplied a noise assessment but had acknowledged that this did not follow British Standards and was deemed inadequate by Environmental Health.

 

·         Environmental Health’s short daytime visit did not consider night or weekend impacts or the potential for noise amplification in the valley.

 

·         Late correspondence indicates that another officer site visit has been undertaken at night with a slight hum being noticeable at the farm entrance. This would suggest that at night with little background noise that the boiler wasn’t fully operational. The recent Planning Committee site visit had heard noise from the plant and the flue.

 

·         Some sound mitigation has been undertaken which is welcome but given the 24/7 nature of the development a proper noise assessment must be undertaken that complies with British Standards and Welsh Government Planning Policies. It was considered to be unacceptable to risk a community’s amenity and health without investigating the noise issue in full and should not proceed without consideration of night-time and weekend operation of the scheme and to rely on the short daytime and one night-time visit. Neither of the visits have resulted in recordings or data on actual and background sound levels being taken or retained for inspection.

 

·         Residents consider that it is not safe for the application to be decided without a proper noise assessment.

 

Mr. S. Butler, applicant’s agent, attended the meeting by invitation of the Chair and outlined the following points:

 

·         The proposed boiler will operate using certified clean virgin wood fuels.

 

·         The project is seeking to achieve four key aims:

 

-       To fully displace the use of fossil fuels for the heating of the Trostrey Farm poultry sheds.

 

-       To improve poultry health via the provision on lower humidity heating.

 

-       To decarbonise farming and food production operations at the farm in line with government policy.

 

-       To provide protection against fuel price volatility and supply risk.

 

·         There is a commercial need to increase the sustainability of food and farming operations in Wales and the UK. The agricultural sector accounts for 15% of Wales’s total carbon emissions and is obliged under the UK net zero emissions policies to reduce carbon emissions in line with 2040 and 2050 targets.

 

·         Monmouthshire County Council has declared a climate emergency. It was considered that this project would directly prevent over 274 tonnes of fossil carbon emissions being released to the environment and will allow the farm to transition towards net zero.

 

·         It is not considered that there are any adverse impacts arising from air quality, noise, transport, dust or landscape and visual effects from the proposed development.

 

·         The impacts of the scheme have been assessed on all identified habitat sites within the proximity of the site and concludes that there will be no impacts on human health, environmental habitats, or any effects on the river Usk.

 

·         Concerns raised by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) have been resolved.

 

·         The impacts of the emissions from the bio-mass boiler would be no greater than the existing heating systems. There would be no adverse noise impacts and there would be no significant visual impacts.

 

·         The bio-mass is a clean fuel and has been certified as not containing any harmful contaminants and is recognised by the UK Government and Ofgem as being a renewable fuel. The existing LPG fuels are not environmentally sustainable as LPG is a fossil fuel directly contributing to climate change.

 

·         The proposed scheme is environmentally sustainable and required to be delivered under regional and national carbon energy policy. The proposed development does not pose a risk to the health of people living and working nearby or upon the surrounding environment.

 

·         In planning terms, the sustainability benefits of the proposed development are a material consideration.

 

·         The proposed development fully aligns with regional and national planning policies, carbon policy, the net zero ambitions of Wales and will ensure a sustainable future for the farming operations at Trostrey Farm.

 

In response, representatives from the Environmental Health Department informed the Committee:

 

·         It is not a requirement for Environmental Health to ask for a BS 4142 assessment.

 

·         This is a retrospective application so issues relating to noise can be assessed in situ.

 

·         Based on the site visits the bio-mass boiler was not audible above background noises at the nearest receptor and is therefore classed as low impact.

 

·         The applicant has installed a silencer to the stack which was where most of the noise was emitting from the site. Mitigations have already been established.

 

·         Environmental Health supports the amended condition regarding the field stock and the burning of virgin wood only.

 

Having received the report and the views expressed, the following points were noted:

 

·         A solar scheme would have been a cleaner option to support the heating and energy requirements at this site.

 

·         Conditions are in place to require the maintenance of the boiler and flue.  There is also a scheme to monitor and verify that it has been serviced properly. A permit is not required from NRW or from any other agency.

 

·         Concern was expressed regarding the noise emissions at the site and it had been noted that Llanarth Fawr Community Council had asked for consideration of the application to be deferred until this matter had been rectified.

 

·         There will be four lorry movements per week.

 

·         The bio-mass boiler has been operational for four months.

 

·         Background sound levels in the rural location are likely to be low.

 

It was proposed by County Councillor J. Butler and seconded by County Councillor M. Powell that application DM/2022/00815 be approved subject to the conditions outlined in the report and subject to the conditions as amended in late correspondence plus an additional condition 5 in relation to regular servicing of the boiler.

 

It was noted that the wording in condition 2 would be revised to just involve virgin wood as a fuel and to incorporate monitoring of the fuel type to ensure compliance with British Standards.

 

Upon being put to the vote the following votes were recorded:

 

In favour of the proposal                 -           11

Against the proposal                       -           2

Abstentions                                       -           2

 

The proposition was carried.

 

We resolved that application DM/2022/00815 be approved subject to the conditions outlined in the report and subject to the conditions as amended in late correspondence, plus an additional condition 5 in relation to regular servicing of the boiler.

 

It was noted that the wording in condition 2 would be revised to just involve virgin wood as a fuel and to incorporate monitoring of the fuel type to ensure compliance with British Standards.