Green light to homes near toxic tips as rejection is overturned
GOVERNMENT INSPECTORS APPROVE DEVELOPERS’ APPEAL AND DISMISS COUNCIL’S DECISION TO REJECT TWO SCHEMES OVER CONTAMINATION FEARS
NEARLY 300 houses have been approved by government inspectors next to an infamous Derbyshire toxic tip.
Decisions to reject two housing schemes in Somercotes made by local councillors have been overturned by the Planning Inspectorate after the respective developers took Amber Valley Borough Council to appeal.
This includes plans from Gladman
Developments for 180 homes off Stanley Street in Somercotes and from Paul Newman New Homes for 99 homes off the B600 opposite Amber Valley Rugby Club.
Both of these were rejected by the borough council’s planning committee in December and September last year respectively, largely due to contamination fears from nearby historic toxic tips LS01 and LS41.
Decision reports on both the proposed Stanley Street and B600 developments show the borough council backed out of all objections based on contamination – despite this being a key issue raised by elected members in response to both applications.
In the case of the B600 application, borough councillor John McCabe and local campaigner Kellie Judson, also a member of Somercotes Parish Council, chose to maintain their objections on contamination grounds.
Cllr McCabe had said “people’s lives could be at risk” from the nearby landfills.
They were accused of “scaremongering” by the lawyers representing the developer on that case.
The planning inspectors involved in each decision did not discredit the presence of contamination on and near the respective sites but say that both applications can be approved and can deal with contamination as it arises through mandatory agreements and remediation through the borough council.
This sets in stone the principle of building homes on each of the sites – whether the developers choose to or not, the precedent remains.
In response to the Stanley Street site, which is separated from the LS01 landfill by a small stream, inspector David Rose overturning the council’s refusal to grant approval, wrote: “I consider that the site investigation works undertaken on behalf of the appellant, and its detailed response to the objections raised, provide clear and credible evidence that this is an instance where conditions could be used to secure remedial or mitigation measures to ensure there is no risk of harm to future residents.
“The proposal would also provide a range of economic social and environmental benefits including employment, the provision of affordable homes (30%) and enhanced biodiversity. Moreover, the development could be accommodated without material adverse landscape or other environmental impacts.
“Despite concerns about the increased use of Stanley Street and its junction with Somercotes Hill, any disbenefits would not come close to providing compelling grounds to dismiss the appeal.”
This comes in the wake of a landmark High Court case led by local campaigners, which concluded in March, over a third Somercotes housing site involving plans from private landowner Bernard Swain for 200 homes at land called Nether Farm off Birchwood Lane in the town.
It found that councils could justifiably approve planning applications on contaminated land without the site having to be remediated in advance and that authorities could attach “conditions” to ensure hazardous material is reported and cleared safely before construction starts.
Dominic Young, the planning inspector overseeing the B600 site, again overturning the council’s refusal to approve
the 99 homes for the site just across the road from two former landfills, referenced a ground investigation report commissioned by the developers.
He wrote: “The report found that whilst there was a potential for contaminants migrating from former landfills, there are suitable methods available for addressing this if a linkage is found.”
Mr Young referenced the High Court case.
He said: “In light of the (High Court) judgement and the wealth of information contained in two technical reports which are supported by the council’s own specialist consultees, I am satisfied that the level of information (regarding contamination) before me in this case is proportionate.
“I am thus satisfied that if contamination is found to be present on the appeal site then the suggested planning conditions would ensure there is no risk of harm to future residents.
“Planning authorities should work with developers to ensure adequate information is submitted with planning applications and where appropriate, to use conditions to secure remedial or mitigating measures.
“Overall, I have found that the development would contribute significantly to the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. Collectively these benefits carry significant weight. Although I have identified limited heritage harm, relative to the scale of the benefits arising, I find that this would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.”
The Nether Farm, Stanley Street and B600 sites combined will see nearly 500 homes built in close proximity to the former toxic tips.
Each of the housing sites sits close to former landfills LS01 and LS41, both of which were at the centre of a Local Democracy Reporting Service investigation last year.
LS01 in particular is shrouded in mystery and was the site of decades worth of immensely hazardous toxic waste dumping, unchecked.
Campaigners say the site is a threat to all those living near it and do not wish further households to be put at risk by excavating sites around it for further housing and potentially putting new residents at risk.
Intensive investigation reports filed as part of applications for all three housing sites show that contamination is present in the area surrounding the landfills and is leaching.
To what extent it has leached is not fully understood and developers – and now the borough council and two government planning inspectors – say the sites can be sufficiently remediated to make them safe for new housing and that the level of contamination does not prevent planning permissions.
Investigation reports for the B600 site found that soil on the site could contain a high concentration of metals and asbestos that would not be suitable for proposed gardens and landscaping around the development.
Houses on the Stanley Street and Nether Farm site would have to be built on suspended floors due to widespread underground hazards linked to previous mining and migrating materials from the nearby landfills.
The Diocese of Derby owns the Stanley Street site but has repeatedly not responded to questions surrounding contamination.
Previous plans from housebuilder Taylor Wimpey on the Stanley Street location are believed to have been withdrawn due to contamination issues.
It and the diocese have repeatedly refused to disclose the ground investigation report which led to this response.
The borough council has confirmed that thousands of tonnes of toxic materials were dumped in the LS01 tip from 1948 until the 1970s completely unchecked.
During this 24-year period, the council said “local authorities had no information on the wastes being deposited on site”.
As part of the Gladman’s Stanley Street investigation expert firm RSK confirmed that the borough council had “received claims” that radioactive caesium 133, cobalt 60, carbon 14, strontium 90 and uranium 234 had been dumped at the former landfill.
Amber Valley also confirmed to RSK that what is alleged to be “the most toxic dioxin of all” – 2,3,7,8-tetra-chloro-p-dibenzo-dioxin – had been approved by the county council at the former landfill.
The suggested planning conditions would ensure there is no risk of harm to future residents. Planning inspector