CHAPTER 4

4.1 In considering future allocations for inclusion in the Plan it is important that any calculations are based on sound information. It is acknowledged in the NWS that much of the information needed on waste is not readily available at present. An important element of the NWS is to ensure that better information relating to waste management is available. Planning Policy Guidance Note 10 (PPG10) published in September 1999, promotes the establishment of regional fora, comprising the WPA’s and the Environment Agency, acting in consultation with industry and other organisations to assess waste arisings, likely future trends, the need for waste management facilities within the region, taking account of existing waste management capacity and interactions with other regions. It will be important for the Environment Agency to work closely with any regional fora that develop as a result of the guidance. The Environment Agency expects to be able to replace the information that was previously supplied to Waste Management Plans with better, nationally consistent information. The Environment Agency has published a "Strategic Waste Management Assessment" (SWMA) document for the East Midlands which includes waste management statistics for the Plan Area for 2000. For the purposes of making provision for future disposal capacity it is necessary to base future predictions on the most reliable data available. Although the Environment Agency's SWMA is the most up to date information, not all aspects have been subject to rigorous testing or projections for planning purposes. For this reason and the absence of certain key elements of data specifically for the Plan Area, the three Council's base information is taken from the statistics on waste arisings and deposits considered in detail and amended at the Waste Local Plan Inquiry. The statistics considered at the Local Plan Inquiry are based on information collected by the Environment Agency and the three Councils as Waste Disposal Authorities (WDA's) for the year 1998/99. Table 1 sets out a summary of controlled waste arisings and disposals for 1998/99. Due to the absence of some survey data and variations in some waste classifications, most notably on the disposal of industrial and commercial and construction and demolition wastes, some of the figures that appear are derived figures based on known deposits of waste in the Plan Area.

The figures contained in Table 1 are based on statistical information supplied by the Environment Agency to the Waste Local Plan Inquiry (held in 1999-2000) for the year 1998/99, and information supplied by the three Councils for 1998/99 on household and civic amenity wastes.

*These figures are from the SWMA 2000: East Midlands, published by the Environment Agency in October 2000. Concern exists about the accuracy of these figures because they were not available to be tested at the Waste Local Plan Inquiry and they are in disparity with the disposal figure which was tested at the Inquiry and is derived from base statistics used in the SWMA.

**The Waste Local Plan Inquiry established that, having taken account of classification anomalies between the recording of inert waste and industrial and commercial waste disposals at licensed landfills, 384,172 tonnes of industrial and commercial waste were disposed of in the Plan Area in 1998/99. The disposal figure of 400,572 tonnes for industrial and commercial waste includes an additional 16,400 tonnes of dredgings disposed of by British Waterways in a canal side tipping area in Oadby and Wigston Borough.

4.2 For the purposes of this Plan it is considered appropriate to assess future waste disposal requirements in the Plan Area in terms of waste arisings in Leicestershire, Rutland and Leicester and to include estimates of export and import flows of waste into and out of the Plan Area. In managing waste arisings in Leicestershire, Rutland and Leicester, the three Councils should contribute towards regional self-sufficiency.

4.3 The future disposal requirement for the Plan Area in terms of household and civic amenity waste and industrial and commercial waste has been predicted using a series of forecasts that are based on the figures contained in Table 1 above and the predictions and targets contained in the NWS. In all, 6 scenarios were considered with 4 scenarios concluded as representing an appropriate cross section of possibilities. An explanation of these 4 scenarios can be found in Appendix A to the Plan and for illustrative purposes the calculations provide projections for the years beyond the Plan Period up to 2021. The scenarios used to establish the disposal requirement are referred to as Scenarios 1c, 2c, 4c and 6c. They have each been calculated using the same base data and have followed the same methodology. In applying the methodology the following points and predictions have been taken into account:

Scenario 1c predicts that recycling of household and civic amenity waste arisings remains at 11%, which is the level achieved in 1998/99 - see Table 1.

Scenario 2c predicts that recycling of household and civic amenity waste arisings increases by 1% each year from 11% in 1998/99 to 19% in 2006. This reflects the current rate of increase in recycling these wastes in the Plan Area.

Scenario 4c predicts that recycling of household and civic amenity arisings increases from 11% in 1998/99 to 25% by 2005 in accordance with the target contained in the NWS.

Scenario 6c predicts that recovery of household and civic amenity arisings increases to 40% by 2005 in accordance with the target contained in the NWS.

Table 2 - Potential Waste Arisings and Deposits 1998/99 to 2006/7.

4.4 The scenarios in Table 2 above predict varying rates of reduction and recycling of household and civic amenity waste during the Plan Period to 2007. The reduction and recycling of industrial and commercial waste is assumed to be consistent in

each scenario for the reasons set out in the second bullet point in paragraph 4.3 above. Potential increases in reduction and recycling of household and civic amenity waste could vary the total amount of waste to be disposed of in the period 1998/99 - 2006/7 by up to almost 1 million tonnes. The average annual quantity of waste to be disposed of could vary by up to around 100,000 tonnes per annum. It is not possible to be precise in predicting the future rates of waste reduction and recycling. In view of the targets contained in the NWS it would seem unlikely that recycling rates will remain at the levels achieved in 1998/99. On the other hand there are no guarantees that the targets put forward in the NWS will be achieved. For these reasons the three Councils preferred scenario is 2c, which is based on past performance and would see a continuation of previous increases in rates of recycling.

4.5 In order to assess the future waste disposal requirements in the Plan Area over the Plan Period it was necessary to obtain information on the remaining capacity of landfill sites with planning permission which would be available up to 2006. In January 1999 the Environment Agency undertook a survey of waste management operators in the Plan Area to identify the remaining capacity at 6 sites that accept household and civic amenity and industrial and commercial waste. By deducting the estimated proportion of capacity that would be taken up by construction and demolition waste an overall figure of remaining capacity for the disposal of household, civic amenity and industrial and commercial wastes up to 2006 was established. The annual contribution of an additional permitted site becoming available in 2001 has also been included in the calculation of permitted capacity for the period up to the end of 2006 having first deducted the estimated capacity that would be taken up by Construction and demolition waste. The overall permitted capacity figure in Table 3 below has also been adjusted to take account of deposits in the first quarter of 1999. Taking account of the remaining capacity and the potential waste to be deposited during the Plan Period it is possible to establish the potential shortfalls in capacity that may arise under the four scenarios for waste reduction and recycling.

A Conversion Factor of 1.0 Tonne to 1.0 Cubic Metre of Waste has been applied for household/industrial/commercial and inert waste.

It is assumed that the New Albion permitted landfill/waste management facility in North West Leicestershire will become available to accept waste in 2001/2 and will provide an average of 240,000 cubic metres of capacity (for household, civic amenity, industrial and commercial waste) per annum through the remainder of the Plan Period (a total capacity in the Plan Period of 1,440,000).

4.6 For reasons set out in paragraph 4.4 above the three Councils preferred scenario for determining the waste disposal requirement in the Plan Period is scenario 2c. As can be seen from Table 3 the disposal capacity for the Plan Period is consistent for each scenario but the quantity of waste to be disposed of, and therefore the shortfall in capacity, varies with the potential reductions and recycling rates that may prevail under the different scenarios. In scenario 2c the predicted shortfall in capacity is 1,702,762 cubic metres using the conversion factor of 1 tonne of waste to 1 cubic metre of capacity. Table 3 demonstrates that even in the event that the Government's targets in the NWS are largely achieved (scenarios 4c and 6c), there is a shortfall in capacity within the Plan Period. The shortfall range in disposal capacity during the period 1998/99 to 2006/7 is from 1,908,780 to 1,206,816 cubic metres.

4.7 The existing landfill disposal facilities in the Plan Area that can accept these waste types are at Bradgate, Cotesbach, and Narborough. In the case of these sites, excluding Cotesbach, it is likely that waste disposal operations will be complete before the end of the Plan Period. For the purposes of calculating the disposal requirements within each scenario the input rate/capacity for the Cotesbach site is assumed to be 150,000 tonnes of waste per annum with void space being created and filled as mineral working progresses during the Plan Period. Cotesbach will have further capacity beyond the Plan Period contributing approximately 200,000 tonnes/cubic metres worth of disposal capacity each year up to 2014 when the planning permission for mineral extraction expires. As mentioned, and identified in Table 3, the New Albion site is assumed to contribute 240,000 tonnes/cubic metres of capacity from 2001 to the end of the Plan Period, thus providing a total of 1,440,000 cubic metres of capacity up to 2006. Beyond the Plan Period it is assumed that the New Albion site will continue to provide 240,000 cubic metres of capacity annually up to 2013 when the planning permission expires.

4.8 As well as assessing the shortfall requirement in waste disposal facilities for the whole Plan Area, an appraisal has been carried out of waste arising and potential shortfall by administrative area. Table 4 below indicates the waste arisings of household and civic amenity waste by Waste collection Authority area in 1998/1999. The Plan Area has subsequently been divided into two separate areas. Firstly, the rural areas to the south and east of Leicester and secondly, the more populated areas of Leicester and districts to the north and west.

Excludes 902 tonnes of "other" materials that are collected by the Waste Collection Authorities and recycled.

4.9 This area represents 17% of the total population of the Plan Area. Therefore, waste arisings are relatively small (20% of total household waste and 21% of civic amenity waste) when compared with the Plan Area as a whole. The Luffenham Landfill site in Rutland closed on 30th September 1996, and the Bescaby landfill site near Melton closed on 31st March 2000. The Cotesbach landfill facility will have further capacity throughout the Plan Period and beyond as outlined in paragraph 4.7 above. Given the geology of the eastern part of the Plan Area and the presence of underground aquifers, this area is not well suited to landfill operations for the more polluting waste types. No facilities have been proposed in this part of the Plan Area during the consultation exercise. Given the lack of potential sites for future landfill in this area, waste disposal sites may need to be provided out of the Plan Area. With waste arisings in this area remaining comparatively small, existing waste disposal facilities located close to the Plan Area boundary in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire may contribute to meeting waste arisings in this part of the Plan Area.

4.10 This area contains 83% of the Plan Area’s population. In 1998/99 80% of household and 79% of civic amenity waste arose in the North and West Leicestershire and Leicester City area. The existing landfill facilities that are utilised in this area are Narborough and Bradgate. The planning permission for importing

waste into Narborough now expires at the end of 2005. It is anticipated that waste disposal operations at Bradgate will be completed towards the end of the Plan Period. The New Albion Revised waste management facility was granted planning permission on 26th March 1999 and will be available to receive waste until the end of 2014.

4.11 It is therefore acknowledged that replacement disposal facilities will need to be identified in this part of the Plan Area during the second half of the Plan Period to replace Bradgate and Narborough which are currently the main disposal facilities used in this part of the Plan Area. A long term waste disposal facility does exist in Warwickshire, which is close to the Plan Area boundary, and which may contribute to meeting waste arisings in the south west of the Plan Area. The Cotesbach facility may also provide disposal capacity for waste arisings from the south of Leicester. The transport of waste may require the provision of waste transfer stations if the distance between the source of waste arisings and the location of the disposal facility is considered too great.

4.12 The allocation of preferred facilities are now considered in the light of the shortfall in disposal capacity during the Plan Period, the proposals put forward to meet this shortfall and the assessment of existing disposal capacity within the Plan Area. As set out in Table 3 the shortfall range is from 1,864,523 cubic metres to 962,368 cubic metres depending on the scenarios 1c, 2c, 4c and 6c for waste reduction and recycling rates. For reasons previously mentioned the preferred scenario of the three Councils is scenario 2c, which indicates a shortfall in the period 1998/99 - 2006/7 of 1,702,762 cubic metres.

4.13 The three Councils do not consider that any new landfill facilities for household commercial and industrial waste will be developed in the near future in the south and east of the Plan Area. No new facilities have been proposed in this area. Apart from the use of the Cotesbach facility, it is likely that waste will continue to be exported from the south and east of the Plan Area into Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. Encouragement should be given in this area to pursue alternative waste management options such as composting and anaerobic digestion in order to minimise these movements out of the Plan Area.

4.14 A large proportion of the household, civic amenity, industrial and commercial waste arises in the north and western parts of the Plan Area. Therefore a significant proportion of the shortfall will be arising in this area. The Narborough site has been granted an extension but with the Lount and Enderby facilities now closed, it would be desirable for replacement disposal facilities to be provided close to the major waste arisings in order to minimise transport of waste from the major source of arisings, and accord with the proximity principle. The site allocated on the Proposals Map is located within the north-western part of the Plan Area. It is envisaged that transfer stations may need to be provided close to Leicester to transport waste to the new waste disposal site.

4.15 It is considered that, in addition to the two permitted sites at Cotesbach and New Albion, one new landfill operation is needed to meet waste disposal requirements to 2006. The proposed location to satisfy the requirement for new operations is Newhurst Quarry.

4.16 Newhurst Quarry is a large igneous quarry located to the south east of Shepshed. It has a potential capacity of 6 million cubic metres and could be operational for between 18 and 20 years. A proportion of this capacity could be made available for waste disposal up to 2006. The quarry contains geological interest of both national and regional importance and measures will be necessary to protect this interest. There is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the northern part of the quarry which contains "areas of prime interest." These include quarry faces showing mineralisation, together with two areas of diorite exposure. The quarry has also been identified as a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). There will need to be regard to the protection of these geological features prior to and during waste disposal operations, and following these operations in the restoration scheme. Improvements would be required to the existing access onto the A512 Ashby Road East. Any development proposals would have to address the issue of potential bird strike hazard for aircraft using East Midlands Airport. These measures should include an appropriate exclusion system for birds, which would include a proven system of netting, with other bird control measures. It is considered that the adjoining quarry processing area could beneficially accommodate various waste treatment and energy recovery options subject to the policies contained in the Plan, to provide an integrated waste management facility, which would be beneficial in terms of minimising the distance over which waste is transported.

4.17 The Proposals Map and Inset Map identify one area within which it is considered that a planning application for the release of land for waste disposal can be approved. Permission will only be granted where satisfactory details regarding the proposed development have been submitted. Any permission will be subject to conditions to minimise the impact of workings as set out in Policy WLP 11. The following facility in Policy WLP 15 has been identified to meet the shortfall estimated for the Plan Area which will be released during the Plan Period for the disposal of industrial/commercial, household and civic amenity waste:

4.18 This policy applies to both landfill and landraise sites, which have not been identified in Policy WLP 15, because the environmental impacts relating to landraising schemes are in many respects similar to those of landfill. The main difference is that because all activities are above ground on landraise proposals, there is greater potential for adverse visual, noise, odour and litter impact. The main advantage of landraising is that because the body of waste is more accessible it is easier to monitor and maintain pollution control measures for leachate. Policy WLP 16 would only be applicable as a "fall back" situation in the event of permitted and allocated sites not reasonably meeting the need for disposal capacity in the Plan Period. Proving the need for development is appropriate in this case. In addition to assessing the need, proposals will be assessed in accordance with the environmental criteria of Policy WLP 8.

4.19 This policy applies to extensions to waste disposal sites. The two types of extensions are:

a. physical extension to an existing waste disposal site;

b. extension of time to complete previously approved development.

It is important that restoration of waste disposal sites is carried out in accordance with originally agreed proposals. A stricter test should be applied in allowing the continuation of this type of development beyond originally agreed proposals. Therefore unless the proposal can demonstrate that the need for the facilities cannot otherwise be reasonably met and the criteria in Policy WLP 8 are satisfied, then there is a general presumption against granting planning permission.

Source - Environment Agency Survey 1999 and Planning Applications/Permissions in the Plan Area.

Using Conversion Factor of 1 tonne: 1 cubic metre Inert Waste.

4.20 Construction and demolition waste is considered separately from household, civic amenity and industrial/commercial waste. For the purposes of assessing future disposal requirements it has been assumed that the amount of construction and demolition waste deposited in the Plan Area in 1998/99 will remain constant during the period through to 2006/7. In terms of disposal capacity at permitted sites it has been assumed that 20% of landfill capacity at sites licensed to accept household, civic amenity and industrial and commercial waste will be taken up by construction and demolition materials, used mainly for daily cover and site restoration. In the light of the predicted surplus in capacity during the period to 2006/7 it is not proposed to identify specific sites within the Plan Area for future provision.

4.21 Since the introduction of the Landfill Tax on 1st October 1996, there has been a substantial decrease in the amount of construction and demolition waste being taken to licensed waste disposal sites. The diversion of this type of waste away from licensed waste disposal sites has delayed the restoration of mineral sites where infilling with imported waste is involved. The Landfill Tax has also had an impact on household/civic amenity/industrial/commercial waste sites in reducing the amount of clay for capping and lining sites and also reducing the amount of suitable material required for covering down on a daily basis. It has also resulted in an increase in the amount of unauthorised tipping on agricultural land whereby waste operators are avoiding payment of Landfill Tax by depositing this waste away from licensed landfill sites. Therefore, the above factors need to be taken into account in the determination of planning applications for new or extensions to construction and demolition waste disposal sites.

(iv) in all cases, they would not cause unacceptable harm having regard to Policy WLP 8.