Part 1
ITEM NO.
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REPORT OF THE LEAD MEMBER FOR PLANNING
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TO LEAD MEMBER FOR PLANNING ON 22 MARCH 2011
CABINET BRIEFING ON 12 APRIL 2011 AND
COUNCIL ON 18 MAY 2011
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TITLE: GREATER MANCHESTER JOINT MINERALS DEVELOPMENT PLAN
DOCUMENT
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RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that Council:
1. Approve the Publication Joint Minerals Development Plan Document and its
submission to Secretary of State; and
2. Delegate responsibility to the Greater Manchester Joint Minerals Planning
Committee for approval of any minor or non-material changes to the
Publication Joint Minerals Development Plan Document before its
submission to the Secretary of State for independent examination.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In November 2009 the ten Greater Manchester Authorities agreed to produce a joint
Development Plan Document (DPD) covering minerals. Since then the document
has undergone a series of consultations to identify locations for future minerals
development and to develop a suite of minerals planning policies. The Publication
DPD has been approved in principle by the Joint Minerals Planning Committee but in
order to comply with the relevant regulations, the Publication DPD and its
submission to the Secretary of State now requires approval by each District’s full
Council. Should any minor amendments to the document be required prior to the
submission of the DPD to the Secretary of State, Members are asked to delegate
such minor changes to the Joint Minerals Planning Committee.
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BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
(Available for public inspection)
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KEY DECISION: NO - The Joint Minerals Development Plan will have implications
for Salford at a citywide level and will therefore impact on two or more wards.
Notwithstanding this, as the decision will be made by full Council it is not a Key
Decision that needs to be published on the Forward Plan.
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DETAILS:
1.
Purpose of the Report
1.1
This report is to inform Members of the continued development of the Joint
Minerals Development Plan Document for Greater Manchester (JMDPD), and
to seek full Council approval of the Publication DPD and its submission to the
Secretary of State. In addition, Members are asked to delegate responsibility
to the Greater Manchester Joint Minerals Planning Committee for agreeing
any minor or non-material changes to the Publication DPD prior to its
submission to the Secretary of State.
1.2
Members are asked to refer to the Publication Draft Joint Waste Development
Plan Document (July 2010) which accompanies this report. An electronic
version of the Publication Draft Joint Waste Development Plan Document is
available on SOLAR.
2.
Background
2.1
The ten Districts constituting the Association of Greater Manchester
Authorities (AGMA) agreed to produce a Joint Minerals Development Plan
Document (JMDPD) in 2009. Work on the JMDPD has been led by the
Greater Manchester Geological Unit with support from officers from each
AGMA District and it has been overseen by a Greater Manchester Joint
Minerals Planning Committee which comprises an elected member from each
of the constituent councils. The document is now at the Publication stage and
in order to comply with the relevant regulations, the Publication DPD and its
subsequent submission to the Secretary of State requires full Council
approval by each of the ten AGMA Districts. Approval for this document to
date has been delegated to the Joint Minerals Planning Committee.
2.2
The JMDPD covers land-use planning matters in relation to minerals
development for the Greater Manchester area and sets out the policy
approach to each mineral found here: construction aggregates; brick clay;
natural building stone; coal; unconventional gas resources; and peat. The
document includes a set of development management polices which will
assist in the consideration of minerals planning applications. In addition, the
JMDPD identifies Areas of Search for future mineral development, which are
broad areas within which there may be particular sites that could meet any
shortfall in supply. It also sets out how Greater Manchester’s mineral
resources will be protected from sterilisation through Mineral Safeguarding
Areas. Minerals Areas of Search and Minerals Safeguarding Areas will need
to be added to each District’s Local Development Framework Proposals Map
upon adoption of the DPD.
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2.3
All policies within the JMDPD, have been subject to consultation with
stakeholders. The Publication JMDPD is now ready to be published in
accordance with Regulation 27 of the Town and Country Planning (Local
Development) (England) Regulations 2004, as amended. This means that
formal representations will be invited on the DPD prior to it being submitted to
the Secretary of State. Representations relating to the Publication DPD
should be submitted to GMGU within a 6 week consultation period. This
period for representations to be submitted is likely to take place from July to
September 2011.
2.4
The Publication DPD is the last opportunity for consultees to make
representations on the JMDPD. Following the receipt of representations the
document will then be submitted (together with any representations received)
to Secretary of State in December 2011. A public examination will then follow
in April 2012.
2.5
Prior to formal submission it may be necessary to make some minor
amendments to the Publication DPD (for example to correct any spelling
mistakes or other minor errors) but these cannot fundamentally change the
substance of the document or its intentions. The Council is therefore asked to
delegate responsibility to the Greater Manchester Joint Minerals Planning
Committee for agreeing any minor changes to the Joint Minerals Development
Plan Document prior to its submission to the Secretary of State.
3.
Minerals within Salford
3.1
The Publication DPD includes a strong policy on peat that seeks to minimise
future extraction. This is a significant improvement on previous drafts of the
JMDPD and is the result of representations by officers and Members of the
city council. The policy focuses on achieving restoration of peat extraction
sites. It therefore would only permit extraction where: the site has been
previously worked for peat, the removal of peat is physically required to
facilitate restoration and the site is to be restored to lowland raised bog.
3.2
There are some small Areas of Search for gravel in Salford. Two of these are
close to the River Glaze on Chat Moss (outside the areas of Grade 1 and 2
agricultural land) and the third is a small portion of Boysnope Golf Course. As
explained in paragraph 2.2, Areas of Search are only broad areas within
which there may be sites which could meet a shortfall in the supply of a
particular mineral. There is no expectation that all the Areas of Search will
come forward for extraction. Any applications for extraction within an Area of
Search will have to be accompanied by evidence to clearly demonstrate that
any unacceptable environmental impacts or impacts on residential amenity
can be adequately mitigated and that the mineral is required to meet a
demonstrated need.
3.3
Minerals Safeguarding Areas (MSAs) are identified in order to protect mineral
resources from non mineral development. There are MSAs in Salford for peat,
coal, brick clay and sand and gravel. Following representations by Salford, the
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size of the Minerals Safeguarding Areas has been greatly reduced in order to
exclude the urban area. This has resulted in a policy which will be far less
onerous for developers and planning authorities to implement than the policy
proposed in the Preferred Approach Report of October 2010. The policy in the
Publication DPD represents a proportionate approach which will avoid
unnecessary sterilisation of mineral resources whilst encouraging
regeneration and economic development within the urban area.
3.4
The Publication DPD includes a Minerals Safeguarding Area for peat, despite,
the strong policy resisting further peat extraction. This is in order to ensure
compliance with national policy which requires there to be safeguarding areas
in order to preserve the availability of proven mineral resources. The
Publication DPD makes it clear that peat is not expected to be extracted in
future. The presence of the MSA for peat within the plan may help to protect
the peat resource as an environmental asset.
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KEY COUNCIL POLICIES:
Once adopted, the Joint Minerals Development Plan Document will update the
Council’s minerals planning policies as currently set out within the Unitary
Development Plan.
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EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS:
Greater Manchester Geological Unit will undertake an Equality Impact Assessment
of the Joint Minerals Development Plan Document in advance of formal Publication.
This will assess any differential impacts in terms of equality and diversity, and the
mitigation measures required to address any impacts that are identified.
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ASSESSMENT OF RISK:
Medium – approval by full Council is required from each of the ten Greater
Manchester districts to the Publication and Submission Joint Minerals Development
Plan Document. In the event that any one of the ten districts does not approve the
document for Publication and Submission, the timescale for production of the
document would be jeopardised and there would be associated financial implications
in terms of the additional work needed to be undertaken by Greater Manchester
Geological Unit on behalf of the ten districts.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
The ten Greater Manchester authorities have funded Greater Manchester Geological
Unit to prepare the Joint Waste Development Plan Document on their behalf. The
funding for production of the plan has been agreed and represents committed
expenditure.
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LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Supplied on 24th February 2011 by Richard Lester,
Outstationed Locum Solicitor 0161 793 2129. The DPD is being processed in
accordance with legislative requirements. Challenge by way of judicial review is
unlikely at this stage, as any further objections or representations will be referred by
the Secretary of State for independent examination.
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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS Supplied by Alison Swinnerton on 4th March 2011 (ext.
2585).
There are no financial implications for the council as a result of this report.
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OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED:
No other Directorates have been consulted.
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CONTACT OFFICER:
Graham Gentry
TEL. NO. 0161 793 3663
Fiona Fryer
0161 793 3659
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WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S):
The Greater Manchester Joint Minerals Development Plan Document covers the
administrative area of the ten Greater Manchester districts. In relation to Salford its
scope is therefore citywide. The document does however have particular importance
to the wards of Irlam and Cadishead, due to the presence of peat and gravel in those
wards.
Minerals
Potential Press
Plan_Publication Report
Release
MarchInformation.doc
2011_all maps_reduced.pdf
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