Solihull Local Plan (Draft Submission) 2020

Object

Representation ID: 11176

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

RECOMMENDATION
Challenge L - Improving water quality and flood risk.
We recommend this is amended to reflect the groundwater environment as we note there is no specific Challenge relating to brownfield land and/or legacy waste / landfill sites (of which there are a couple in your site allocations).

Support

Representation ID: 11179

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

We welcome part 4 of policy regarding adaption methods, with particular note to flood prevention and mitigation measures Part 4 (i).

Pleased to see green infrastructure included in Part 4, as alongside climate change benefits, these measures bring about a wealth of positives to people and the environment. Suggest that where evidence may support it, specific elements of this policy are made more prescriptive i.e. green roofs would be required on a particular type or size of building. This would help make the policy more effective. This section should link with the SuDS requirements 7 and 8 of Policy P11.

Note at strategic level Part 2 (ii) making more efficient use of natural resources. Can also refer to eliminating waste and related emissions as far as possible and transition to a Circular Economy. This will also improve economic resilience by creating “Green” job opportunities and reduce dependence on raw materials.

Support

Representation ID: 11182

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

We are supportive of Defra’s proposals to mandate biodiversity net gain as an important first step, but we are equally keen to collaborate on developing and testing a wider approach to environmental net gain. We are supportive of this policy’s inclusion of net gain, with a specific requirement of 10%.

Delivery of net gain should follow the sequential steps of the mitigation hierarchy: avoid impacts to biodiversity, mitigate impacts and finally compensate impacts. In addition, delivery of net gain should follow the spatial preference: deliver within the footprint of a development first and where this is not possible delivered at a suitable alternative site. Where net gain cannot be delivered on site or at a suitable alternative site the last option would be to compensate through a tariff system.

Consideration should be given to including issues relating to contaminated land and the chance to clean it up plus also need to consider the ‘underground environment’ i.e. groundwater resources, as water supply to rivers and wetlands and as a drinking or process water supply, rather than only in P11 and P14.

Support

Representation ID: 11183

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

We support the water quality policies in P11, particularly with ensuring that there is no deterioration of water quality. Package treatment plants provide a lower quality of sewage treatment than water company assets and are more difficult to regulate if issues arise. As a result we recommend that connections are made to the foul or combined sewer opposed to package treatment plants.
SUDS schemes help to remediate the impact of urban diffuse pollution such as historic misconnections which are often an issue for surface waterbodies, and are a particular issue for the River Blythe.

Object

Representation ID: 11184

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Recommend that the more specific flood risk management requirements identified within Para.'s 347-348 are added into the body of this policy. In addition, it should be made clear that single-storey dwellings and habitable basements are not acceptable in Flood Zone 3, which links to section 7.3.3 of your level 1 SFRA.

Please note that the EA is in the process of finalising its updated guidance on changes to peak river flow and peak rainfall allowances which is expected to be published in 2021. As such any planning application should consider the most up to date climate change allowance guidance and approach the EA for the most appropriate climate change levels to use when assessing flood risk on a site. Any hydraulic modelling required as part of a planning application will need to be updated to the relevant climate change allowance for the vulnerability classification of the development and all major developments. A web application is being developed to provide more accurate site specific climate change allowances which will be available in 2021. This also links to Policy P9.

Object

Representation ID: 11185

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Although we welcome the addition of text that acknowledges ‘On previously developed land where there is contamination known or suspected, any infiltration proposals must be agreed with the Environment Agency', protection of groundwater resources should be given greater weight within this policy. Paragraph 334 recognises the importance of the Water Framework Directive, and the associated status of the rivers Cole and Blythe, but does not include any acknowledgement of the importance of groundwater bodies also covered under this legislation. This should be rectified. Paragraph 336 advises that ‘Developers will be expected to demonstrate that they have thoroughly assessed the impact of their proposals on surface and ground water systems, and incorporated any necessary sewerage and drainage mitigation measures.’ Acknowledgement of the vulnerability of groundwaters to drainage proposals is welcomed, however this should go further with a commitment to protect groundwater quality and quantity more holistically.

Object

Representation ID: 11186

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Plan does not seem to reference need to transition to a Circular Economy, although mentioned in Hendecca Waste Needs Assessment.
Waste will need to be embedded in economic landscape, rather than treated as a separate activity, or continue with linear economy approach of flow of raw materials to waste generation.
Future planning will need to consider far more the use of secondary and recovered materials, and the creation of jobs. Conversely, traditional waste disposal requires constant funding to run dedicated logistics and infrastructure, with the associated emissions.

Object

Representation ID: 13689

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Part 1 - appears difficult to measure easily.
Should consider the metrics to be applied.
May be possible to quantify carbon reduction as well as waste reduction (link to climate change policy). Recommend consideration is given to Circular Economy thinking, where necessary, appropriate low carbon development also supports the demand for recovered and sustainable waste materials as far as possible.
Advocate the requirement for a “Whole Life” plan for any new buildings, -covering the design, construction, maintenance, refurbishment and end-of-life, to minimise waste production at each stage.
Consideration should be given to extending the obligation to refurbishment activities on existing buildings, rather than just on new development, although we acknowledge the loosening of controls over changes of use through permitted development regulations reduces the scope of controls over this.

Support

Representation ID: 13690

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Part 2 - Query how the obligations will be monitored and if necessary enforced.
The first sentence does not specifically mention a circular economy, but this is implied.
It may be necessary to start to differentiate between potentially recoverable, reusable waste that could still offer economic value, and residual or other contaminated wastes (e.g. hazardous or clinical wastes) that will still require “disposal” arrangements. It also seems to be inferred that the reprocessing facilities will need to be located nearby, to reduce transport emissions, however the “direction of travel” has been for waste to travel longer distances. Hence the need for the provision of local reprocessing and remanufacturing capacity for both useful materials and for any necessary “disposal” as far as possible. This should be covered in Part 3, again differentiating between Circular Economy recovery/remanufacturing capacity and traditional residual “waste management” facilities.

Object

Representation ID: 13691

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Environment Agency

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Safeguarding -
Recommend that the general issue of safeguarding regulated activity (such as AD plants, landfill, composting and other waste processing facilities) from proposed new sensitive receptors is considered within this policy as it is becoming an increasing concern. This is partly touched on in sections 8(x) 8(xiv) and 9.
Issues can include housing development close to waste operating facility.
‘Safeguarding’ can also refer specifically to providing for appropriate future expansion of existing infrastructure, by preventing conflicting developments. We are seeing increasing pressure on waste facilities especially in urban areas, largely due to housing developments which result in an increase in complaints to ourselves as the regulator of those facilities. Changes to planning system now allow commercial properties to be converted to residential use, such as offices on industrial estates.
It should be made clear that the Environmental Permitting Regulations do not demand ‘zero impact’, so conflict situations become inevitable.
Para. 182 of NPPF now makes reference to placing obligations onto the “Agent of Change” (i.e. the developers/applicants,) requiring them to ensure appropriate mitigations are put in place to protect neighbouring users from impacts.