Proposed Recycled Paper Mill Partington Wharfside. Non Technical Summary

Transcription

1 Proposed Recycled Paper Mill Partington Wharfside Non Technical Summary SLR

2 NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY General 1.1 SAICA is a major recycled paper and corrugated packaging manufacturer based in Spain but with operations in Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, the UK and Ireland. The Company was established in 1943, and is currently the leading manufacturer of Containerboard in Spain, and the 3 rd largest Containerboard producer and 4 th largest box manufacturer in Europe. SAICA is also the biggest paper recycler in Spain. At present the company uses 2.1million tonnes per annum of recovered paper. 1.2 SAICA has identified the need for additional recycled paper production capacity in the UK. The proposed recycled paper mill would produce paper for corrugated products and would utilise recovered paper from a variety of sources as its principal raw material. The paper would be particularly lightweight, whilst retaining all the required technical characteristics. As a result of this, and the fact that it uses 100% recovered paper, the paper product is particularly environmentally friendly. There are currently no paper mills in the UK producing paper to the specification planned for the proposed paper mill. 1.3 A number of alternative locations have been considered for the proposed plant in the UK and the selected site is at Partington in Trafford. 1.4 The proposed application site at Partington is located adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal and to the north east of the village of Partington. The application site covers an area of hectares of brownfield land which was formerly used as a BP oil depot. Access to the site is from the A6144 Manchester Road which links with the A6144(M) Carrington Spur and the M60 to the north east of the site. The general location of the site is shown on drawing SP1/1. A photomontage showing the location and appearance of the proposed development is included as Drawing SP 1/2 1.5 Prior to the submission of the application, SAICA have undertaken an extensive programme of consultation with the local community and stakeholders. This has included the circulation of leaflets to those residents closest to the development; newspaper advertisements, and public exhibitions. 1.6 Planning permission was granted in April 2008 for the development of an employment park on the site of the current planning application. This development, which would have generated significantly more traffic than the proposed paper mill, would not proceed if planning permission is granted for the recycled paper mill. The Proposed Development 1.7 The proposed development is a recycled paper mill producing approximately 400,000 tonnes per annum of high quality, lightweight recycled paper for use in the subsequent manufacture of corrugated board and boxes in the UK. i

3 1.8 The development would be a state-of-the-art facility operating on a 24/7 basis to the highest safety, environmental performance, energy and water efficiency and product quality standards. The facility would be modelled on one of the world s most advanced recycled paper mills at SAICA s facilities in Spain and would benefit from the very latest technological advances. 1.9 The paper mill would use recovered paper and native starch as its principal raw materials only Paper would be produced in reel form and would be despatched by road to UK customers from an on site warehouse The recycled paper mill would draw water from the Manchester Ship Canal with the full consent of the Environment Agency, and would treat the waste waters arising from the process to a very high standard in an advanced biological treatment plant, before returning approximately 70% of the water abstracted from the canal back into it under a tightly controlled discharge consent from the Environment Agency A fully self contained power station employing high efficiency Natural Gas fired Combined Heat and Power technologies would provide all of the electrical and 80% of the steam needs for the site, whilst also generating surplus electricity which may be exported to the National Grid. Residues arising from the process would be further processed in an Energy Recovery Boiler generating the remaining 20% of site steam requirements. The Energy Recovery Boiler would enable SAICA to minimise the amount of residual material for off site disposal, and maximise the recovery of residual energy content as part of the paper mill s overall energy balance The main access for the facility from Manchester Road would be located immediately to the north of the Trafford Council Depot. This access is in the same location as for the recently permitted employment park. As with the employment park, localised widening is proposed to provide a central right turn lane for vehicles turning into the site from Manchester Road. Planning Policy and Need 1.14 The application site is situated within an area allocated for general employment uses. All of the land surrounding the site has either previously been used, or is currently in use for industrial purposes. Various chemical and petrochemical uses are sited to the west and east of the site, and the site itself lies within a special health and safety zone for development control purposes due to the industrial activities which handle hazardous substances The application site is a predominantly disused and derelict site with an unsightly appearance. In its present state it contributes nothing towards the regeneration and improvement aims set out for Partington. The proposed recycled paper mill would secure an appropriate re-use of the site that is consistent with the employment allocations of the site. As a significant capital investment in the area, and a major generator of new employment the development can be expected to make a significant contribution to the overall regeneration aim for Partington. ii

4 1.16 The application site includes an area of land that is allocated as a low grade Site of Biological importance and a Wildlife Corridor. However planning permission has already been granted on this land for the development of an employment park, and the land has been cleared of vegetation. The landowner has entered into a legal agreement to provide mitigation of the loss of ecological value, and these mitigation proposals would be unaffected by the development of the recycled paper mill Overall the proposals are considered to be in conformity with the existing development plan In light of the EU Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) and under increasing environmental pressure to reduce the amount of packaging used, manufacturers of corrugated boxes are increasingly specifying high performance lightweight papers for use in their products. As these papers cannot be produced in the UK, significant volumes of light weight papers are imported from Europe In 2007 the UK collected 8.617m tonnes of recovered papers of all types, although domestic consumption of recovered papers amounted to only some 4.047m tonnes in 2007(4.172 m tonnes in 2006). The shortfall in recycled paper making capacity in the UK meant that the balance of 4.570m tonnes of recovered papers was exported from the UK in 2007 with much of it going to China and India as well as to the near Continent As a result of the lack of UK paper mills capable of producing lightweight papers of the required quality, and the huge surplus of recovered paper available in the UK, we have the bizarre situation that locally produced recovered paper is exported from the UK whilst lightweight paper is imported. The high economic and environmental cost of such a situation is clear SAICA s new UK paper mill would use locally produced recovered paper to manufacture lightweight paper to meet the current and future needs of the UK corrugated box makers A search for potential sites for the recycled paper mill was undertaken throughout north and central England. As a result of this site search a shortlist of 8 sites was produced. The proposed site at Partington was considered to represent the best site based on economic and environmental considerations. Socio Economic 1.23 It is well recognised that the Bucklow St Martins ward, and Partington and Carrington in particular, is in need of new employment prospects. The decline of the Carrington Industrial Complex has brought about a decline in the number of jobs and future job prospects. The proposed recycled paper mill would generate up to 200 direct long term jobs. The positions would be spread across high, intermediate and lower skill levels, and would be located immediately adjacent to Partington where levels of deprivation and worklessness are severe. iii

5 1.24 In addition to the direct long term jobs the development would create an immediate requirement for construction staff during the construction period that would commence in late 2008/early The short term and long term posts would represent a significant growth in local employment prospects. As an indication the number of posts equates to around 5% of all persons employed in the Bucklow St Martins Ward The limitations on road access to the Partington/Carrington area are recognised in the UDP. However economic development and employment prospects inevitably bring with them increased requirements for travel, both for the transport of goods and workers. The proposed development involves a moderate level of both lorry and car traffic. However the 24 hour operation of the facility spreads both lorry and car traffic throughout the day, and as a result the impact on the peak hours, when congestion is at its worst, is limited. Overall the impact on congestion levels is likely to be very limited, and probably as low as could be anticipated in any form of industrial development. The levels of traffic from the proposed recycled paper mill would be significantly below those of the employment park which was recently permitted on the same site Overall the proposed development is considered to be a significant positive socio-economic benefit to the Partington/Carrington area, and to the Trafford Council Area. Indeed the positive long term benefits may well accrue to a broader area by providing a new state of the art industry that would utilise recovered paper from the surrounding regions, and will require a range of supplier, engineering and other supporting businesses to operate effectively. Ground Conditions 1.28 Site investigations undertaken in 2005, comprising 10 boreholes (up to 17m deep), 38 trial pits and 4 rounds of ground gas monitoring (over 1 month) to complement previous studies completed in 1997 and The investigation found predominantly heavy end hydrocarbons, mainly in the shallow made ground with no significant volatile organic carbon (VOC) contamination The conclusion of the 2005 site investigation was that due to the absence of risk to human health and controlled waters no specific remedial measures are required to prepare the site for industrial development. However, based on the ground gas monitoring it was recommended that gas protection measures such as a vapour membrane and a passive vented void space be incorporated into the construction of buildings on the site Additional boreholes were drilled in 2007 at the request of the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency subsequently confirmed that their concerns regarding potential risks to groundwater had been addressed and stated that they consider that it is unlikely that the site poses an unacceptable risk to controlled waters at this time. Therefore, based on all the information reviewed by SLR, the Partington site does not appear to pose risks to either controlled waters or commercial/industrial end users. iv

6 Hydrology and Hydrogeology 1.32 The groundwater and surface water regimes at the proposed development site have been assessed with reference to information held by the British Geological Survey, the Environment Agency, Local Authorities and others The site is underlain by alluvium and fluvial glacial gravel deposits. Two distinct groundwater bearing units are present beneath the site, comprising a superficial gravel aquifer located within the alluvial and sand/gravel deposits and a deeper groundwater body located within the Sherwood Sandstone. The two aquifers are separated by a thick layer of low permeability clay. Existing water quality within the shallow aquifer is poor There are no private water supplies or groundwater abstractions within 2km of the site boundary The site lies within Flood Zone 1 (low flood risk) and is considered appropriate in accordance with the principals of PPS25. However, the development comprises Major Development according to PPS25 guidance, and a Flood Risk Assessment was therefore required and has been prepared in support of this application. It can be demonstrated that, with the implementation of a surface water management scheme, which includes attenuation storage and controlled discharge of surface water, there would be no increased or residual flood risk from the proposed development It is proposed to undertake more detailed assessment to establish the measures required to mitigate the impacts of effluent discharge on water quality in the Manchester Ship Canal. This approach has been agreed with the Environment Agency and will be undertaken as part of the Environmental Permit application for the site With the incorporation of water quality treatment and SuDS measures including attenuation facilities with manual and automatic isolation valves, it can be demonstrated that water would be discharged from the site, with a negligible impact on water quality Overall, it is concluded that, with respect to geology, groundwater and surface water, there are no significant residual impacts of the development after consideration of the identified mitigation measures. Landscape and Visual Impact 1.39 The landscape and visual impact assessment seeks to identify the magnitude and significance of changes to the character of the existing landscape and to visual receptors which would arise from the construction and implementation of the proposed development Due to the size and scale of the proposed industrial manufacturing complex there will be a high visual impact on close up views from Manchester Road and the A57. As the majority of receptors on the highways would be travelling at speed the overall significance is regarded as low Footpath users circumnavigating the site on the north and western boundaries will experience a significant impact in visual terms. The footpaths v

7 are localised routes used by residents for informal recreation along the canal corridor. These local routes are used occasionally only as they are not currently through routes to particular destinations. Their sensitivity is however regarded as high and it is recognised that the overall significance will be high for footpath users due to the close proximity and scale of the proposed development As the topography is flat and low lying, a significant amount of vegetation is present in the area along the canal corridor and neighbouring industrial estates, and the presence of similar large scale industrial structures, the significance of the proposed development on the surrounding landscape character is Slight Mitigation of views is proposed by tree planting along the northern boundaries to assist in reducing the visual impact and also to supplement the existing landscape fabric of the locality. Ecology 1.44 The ecological receptors that may be affected by the proposed recycled paper mill are breeding birds, neighbouring SBI-designated habitats, national and international designated sites within the zone of influence of the proposal and the application site as a whole. The application site has recently been cleared of vegetation in preparation for industrial development. Assessment of the predicted impacts upon these receptors has not identified any significant adverse or positive ecological impacts that would result from the proposed development With the exception of breeding birds, no evidence of protected species has been found at the site, and due to the site location and habitats present, the presence of such species is not considered likely Little ringed plover are confirmed to use the site for breeding. This species is included on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and is protected from disturbance during breeding. Other common bird species also use the site for breeding, and are protected from damage during breeding. Subject to mitigation measures, including appropriate work scheduling and checks by an experienced ecologist, there are no anticipated significant impacts to this species group In the absence of the proposed development, it remains the intention of the landowner to prepare the site for industrial/commercial uses and much of this preparation has already been commenced Mitigation measures proposed are limited to protection of the adjacent SBIdesignated habitat through fencing No significant residual impacts upon ecological receptors have been identified. Transportation 1.50 The proposed recycled paper mill would utilise a recently approved means of access from the A6144 Manchester Road. vi

8 1.51 It has been calculated that the paper manufacturing process would generate approximately 230 two-way HGV movements per day, averaging around 12 movements per hour The application site is well located in terms of access to the strategic road network and all HGV traffic would be routed north from the site access to the M60 at Junction 8. This is a well used route used by numerous heavy goods vehicles associated with various local uses The operation of the proposed access junction has been assessed. It has been demonstrated that the junction would operate with significant reserve capacity in the defined scenarios, with no queuing or driver delay expected Particular consideration has been give to the Flixton Road junction due to its perceived sensitivity by local residents. The proposed development would not significantly increase traffic at the junction compared to the current situation and would, indeed, provide a significantly reduced traffic impact compared with the baseline situation which includes the permitted development of the site to a business park. This is in part due to the fact that the development and associated vehicle movements would take place 24 hours per day The development proposals would generate a moderate increase in HGV numbers on the A6144 Manchester Road although no significant environmental impact has been concluded An assessment of personal injury road traffic accidents identified no accidents within the immediate vicinity of the site access junction during the previous five years and the calculated traffic increases would not be so great as to materially alter the safety of the road network particularly when considered against the permitted use of the site Overall, therefore it is considered that the development proposals are acceptable in traffic and transport terms. Noise 1.58 A noise assessment has been undertaken that has included background noise monitoring at the closest noise sensitive properties. The assessment has considered both the potential for the construction and operational proposals to give rise to noise and vibration impacts at the closest noisesensitive receptors It should be noted that the predicted noise levels for the proposed development are based on boundary measurements taken at a site operating three paper-mills and as such is considered to be an over-estimation of the likely noise levels generated at this site The assessment has found that: construction noise levels, would lead to a minor, barely perceptible, impact at all locations assessed; construction traffic is not likely to produce any impact.; vii

9 perceptible levels of vibration from the construction works is improbable at the nearest vibration-sensitive receptor, however, it is recommended that vibration levels be subject to a watching brief; the operational noise levels from the proposed development would, at worst, lead to a situation that would be considered to be between marginal significance and complaints likely at Orchard Avenue on Sunday night; and the on-site heavy goods vehicle movements would have no impact at any of the receptors The assessment has been based on monitoring of noise levels from a paper mill in Spain that houses three paper machines. The noise predictions are therefore considered to represent an over estimation of actual noise levels from a single paper machine. Nevertheless this has demonstrated that the plant could operate without any unacceptable impacts. However the site would be designed to include mitigation measures to reduce noise levels from particularly noisy operations as required to help meet the requirements of Trafford Council. With these mitigation measures in place the noise impacts from the proposed development would be minor. Air Quality 1.62 An assessment of the air quality impacts associated with the proposed Recycled Paper Mill has been undertaken. The assessment has focused on the principal emissions to air, including: Dust emissions during the construction and operational phase; Odour emission during operational phase. Air Quality Strategy Pollutants from vehicles; and Air Quality Strategy and Pollutants from combustion point sources; 1.63 The assessment of dust has been undertaken qualitatively. The construction phase is identified as the phase with greatest potential for dust impact. The impact at all residential receptors is predicted to be low on account of the prevailing winds, the buffer distance between source and receptor, and the presence of the disused railway track adjacent to the site which acts as a significant barrier. Due to the proximity of the TMBC depot offices (identified as of medium sensitivity) best practice mitigation measures would be employed. The residual impact at this location is considered to be low The assessment of odour has been undertaken qualitatively. The Effluent Treatment Plant is identified as the source with greatest potential for odour impact. The impact at all residential receptors is predicted to be low on account of the prevailing winds, and the buffer distance between source and receptor The findings of the screening assessment of traffic emissions relating to operational traffic have found that the changes to traffic flows would be very vii

10 low. The screening assessment undertaken for a selection of receptors on the affected route predicted a very small change in levels of Nitrogen dioxide and particulate PM10, resulting in a slight adverse impact in case of Nitrogen dioxide and negligible impact in case of particulate PM The impact of emissions from the proposed combustion stacks on European designated sensitive ecosystems is predicted to less than 1% of the appropriate standards and therefore insignificant. Due to existing background concentrations the critical levels (for Nitrogen dioxide only) and critical loads (for Eutrophication and Acid deposition) are exceeded already in the majority of cases The findings of the assessment of emissions from the stacks serving combustion sources at the proposed Recycled Paper Mill has found that for the majority of substances the predicted long-term and short term impacts would be negligible. The exception is Nitrogen dioxide for which a small change is predicted but results in a slight adverse impact due to the existing background levels. The predicted concentrations at all receptors are within the appropriate environmental assessment levels and Air Quality standards. Cultural Heritage 1.68 A desk-based assessment was carried out for the proposed site. The site lies on the floodplain for the River Mersey, which was canalised in this area to form the Manchester Ship Canal, which lies immediately to the north Investigations carried out in the past show that the area is partially made up of made-up ground with spoil from the construction of the ship canal, with the majority of the area being heavily landscaped to form the former coaling yards and later oil terminal for the Partington Basin of the Ship Canal. Earlier mapping shows the site was built on pasture, which was rapidly developed from 1890 onwards, with the general area of the site and its surroundings being used to service the coal requirements of ships refuelling at the Partington Basin The cultural heritage issues of this site relate both to direct effects on known archaeological sites within the application boundary and also to indirect effects on sites in the vicinity of the development, particularly those with statutory designations (Listed Buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments etc) The late 19th and 20th century activity is considered to have heavily disturbed the site, to an extent whereby any archaeological deposits are thought to have been destroyed. Since no cultural heritage features are thought to survive within the site, the development is considered to be of negligible significance Outwith the site, several listed buildings were noted, although these are within the lower listing category, in built-up areas and are not thought to have a clear view of the site. Consequently, it is not considered that the development would be of more than low significance to the surrounding cultural heritage. ix

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