Agenda item

The report before Members dealt with an application for the continuation of waste inputs and operation of other waste management facilities.

The application had been brought before Members on 11 September and 17 July 2014. Members previously resolved to defer the application to allow for additional information to be gathered in relation to various matters. These issues were dealt with further on in the report.

The application related to a 177 hectare site located on the River Thames at the most south eastern part of the Borough. The application site currently benefited from an existing consent (reference: P1275.96) to deposit refuse materials through controlled landfill amounting to the importation of 12.3 million cubic metres of waste. The current landfill consent required the site to be restored by 2018, relying solely on river sourced waste imports from 2012.

The proposal was for the importation of an additional 3.6 million tonnes of non-hazardous waste over the current landform. This would achieve a higher pre-settlement restoration height than previously approved under the 1998 permission but which would settle over time to a lower height that is similar to what was previously approved.

The importation of additional volumes of waste would require an extension in time for road-borne waste imports for the life of the landfill. The proposed completion date for landfilling was now proposed for December 2024, with restoration to be completed by December 2026.

During the debate members discussed the cumulative impact of vehicle movements from the proposal and other current and proposed developments within the area.

Members also discussed the percentages of waste that would be road borne/river borne and the possible inclusion of the Rainham & Wennington Working Party to ascertain their views of the proposed time extension and the benefits to the community of the continued operation of the site.

It was RESOLVED that subject to the Stage 2 referral process resulting in no significant adverse comments being received or contrary direction from the Mayor of London, that the proposal was unacceptable as it stood but would be acceptable subject to the planning conditions set out in this report and subject to the applicant first entering into a Legal Agreement under Section 106 and Section 106A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended), to secure (for the avoidance of doubt the heads of terms of the Section 106 agreement, set out below, are amplified by the draft agreement attached to this report and the detailed terms of the draft annexed take precedence should there be any inconsistency between the heads of terms and the draft; further the Head of Regulatory Services is given delegated authority to insert title details, plans and draft documentation to amplify and give effect and meaning to the draft Section 106 agreement attached and to make textual changes which have substantially the same effect as the terms of the draft agreement as agree between Veolia and the Council in late 2012) and to include a £100,000 contribution for highways maintenance and a Bond to fully protect the Council in the event of default in carrying out the obligations in particular the obligations to fully remediate and restore the application site, such Bond to be index linked from December 2012 to the date or dates when it is drawn down by the Council.  provided that if this agreement remained incomplete later than six months after the date of this resolution the resolution be brought back to Committee for further consideration.

Also subject to additional planning condition the exact wording of which was delegated to the Head of Regulatory Services requiring the applicants to submit to the Local Planning Authority, annually, a summary report, based on professional site survey, confirming the prevailing land restoration levels both absolute above datum and in comparison with the final restoration scheme levels shown on the previous drawing. The reason for the condition is to ensure that progress is being made to achieve the approved contour levels within the permission timeframe so that the impacts of the proposal are limited in time.

The vote for the resolution was carried by 10 votes to 0 with 1 abstention.

Councillor White abstained from voting.