6
6.1
COMPLIANCE WITH PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE
THE APPROACH
The Ministry of Housing and Lands has developed the Planning Policy Guidance (PPG
1- Design Guidance), a national planning instrument under the terms of the Planning
and Development Act 2004.
The PPG1-Design Guidance for Industrial Development provides a tool for planning
Authorities to assess proposals, facilitate the creation of acceptable planning schemes
as well as allow proponents to demonstrate that they have taken into account the
requirement of good design in their development proposal.
It is therefore proposed in this section to consider the compliance of the proposed
chlorine depot at La Nicoliere with the relevant planning policies and design guidance.
6.2
INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY
The chlorine depot at La Nicoliere can be classified as belonging to Group 5 – Special
Industry i.e. hazardous installation, noxious in accordance with the following grouping
specifications as enumerated by the PPG:

Group 1: Home Industry

Group 2: Light and Service Industry

Group 3: General Industry

Group 4: Extractive Industry

Group 5: Special industry (i.e. noxious), and Water Intensive and Polluting
Industry
6.3
SITE CONTEXT
6.3.1
Existing Context
The site actually harbours the disused building encompassing the former La Nicoliere
treatment plants. The existing buildings will be pulled down and new construction will
be erected.
6.3.2
Industrial Development in the Countryside
The site earmarked for the setting up of the proposed special industrial activity is
located in La Nicoliere i.e. within the country side where it will be important to
reduce the visual impact of the new development.
The measures to reduce any visual impact are as mentioned below:
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(i)
Tree belts will be planted along the frontage to create a screen and break the
building silhouette on the skyline
(ii)
The buildings are not located on the crest of hill where it would protrude in the
skyline
(iii)
Natural, dark and non-reflective finishes will be favoured as dark colours are
less prominent over longer distances
6.4
BASIC PRINCIPLES
6.4.1
Plot Ratio
The land use of the project site has been broken down into each component as given
in Table 6-1 below.
Table 6-1: Project Land Occupation
Building
Area(m2)
Tonner Storage Building
864
Cylinder Storage Building
160
Neutralizer tower
88
Central Store
706
Mess Room
31
Pump, Generator Workshop
302
Metal Workshop
131
Chlorine Workshop
42
ICM Workshop
48
Total Building Area
2,372
Total Site area
7764
Site Coverage
30%
According to Design Guidance Industrial Development Sub- section 2.4 “Plot Ratio”,
for new industrial development, it will be expected that plot ratios will generally be
between 35% to 40% and no greater than 50% on any one plot
Within the context of the Chlorine Depot Storage development, the plot coverage is
30% hence within the PPG stipulated limit of 35%-40%.
6.4.2
Building Set-Backs
The building setback is the distance between the plot boundary and the building wall
or the kerb edge to parking spaces, access roads or pedestrian routes. Generally the
purpose of the setbacks is to provide:
(i)
Adequate space for landscaping to provide an appropriate setting to the
industrial development and/or act as a “buffer” between development and
sensitive areas
(ii)
Minimum reserve for essential utility services
(iii)
Sufficient space for light and ventilation
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(iv)
Separation from noise sources
(v)
Adequate distance between buildings to minimize the potential danger for fire
transfer and provide access opportunities for fire escape and fire fighting
As per the Design Guidance for Industrial Development, set-backs from buildings are
reproduced in Table 6-2 below.
Table 6-2: Building Setbacks
Frontage Area
Main Street Frontage (A or B Building
Roads)
Car Park/Internal Access Driveway
6metres
Other Roads
Building
3metres
Building
3metres
Car Parking/Internal Access Driveway
3metres
Interior Frontage
Building
2metres
<9metres
Car Parking/Internal Access Driveway
2metres
>9metres
Car Parking/Internal Access Driveway
2metres
Building
2metres
Car Parking/Internal Access Driveway
2metres
3metres
Side Area
Side Street Frontage
Rear Area
As per PPG stipulations above, the set-back of the building frontage from road (road
classified as other roads) should be 3metres.

Set-back of building frontage from access road/eastern side …..………13metres

Set-back of building from northern rear side……………………..……………7.6metres

Set-back of building from southern rear side………………..………………..3.6metres

Set-back of building from western rear side………………..…………….…..5.6metres
Hence the PPG requirements with regards to boundary set-backs have been fully
respected.
6.5
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Except for the chlorine depot(which is of GF configuration only), these project
components have been regrouped within a GF+1 back-up building positioned towards
the southern boundary, opposite the chlorine storage area in order to:
(i)
Beneficially make use of the maximum available space for the project’s
functional requirements
(ii)
Segregate the chlorine storage area from the working and office areas
(iii)
Restrict access to the chlorine storage buildings
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This functional planning has taken into account the fact that visitors or people
attending meetings do not have to cross the site and do not approach the chlorine
storage buildings.
6.5.1
Architectural Detailed Design
The GF + 1 back-up building, 20.2metres x 61.8metres i.e. of 1248m2, made up of
blockwall, beam and reinforced concrete will be designed as described below:-
6.5.1.1
Ground Floor Configuration
The ground floor of the back-up building will encompass:

Central Store of area 706m2

Pump &Generator Workshop of area 302m2

Metal Workshop of area 131m2

ICM North Workshop of area 48m2

Chlorine Workshop of area 42m2
The ground floor configuration of the back-up building has been enclosed at Annex
6A at the end of Section 6
6.5.1.2
First Floor Configuration
The first floor of the back-up building will encompass:

Reception corner of area 17m2

Board Room/Conference Room of area 96m2

Offices of area 155m2

Mess/Changing Room of area 39m2
The first floor and roof configuration of the back-up building have been enclosed at
Annex 6A at the end of Section 6.
6.5.1.3
Roof Configuration
The building of GF + 1 will consist of a flat roof structure with a height approximately
of 8metres for both floors to allow for sufficient head room, being given its size. This
building height will also ensure good natural ventilation
The roof configuration of the working area building has been enclosed at Annex 6A at
the end of Section 6.
6.5.1.4
Parking Area
As can be observed from the drawings enclosed at Annex 4A at the end of Section 4,
the parking area has been centrally positioned so as to be used by all working staff
and CWA staff having business at the project site.
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6.5.1.5
Section
The ground floor slab has been set at 4.75metres whilst the first floor roof level has
been set at 8.05 metres.
The section drawings through the back-up building have been enclosed at Annex 6B
at the end of this Section.
6.5.1.6
Elevation
The elevation drawings of the back-up building have been enclosed at Annex 6C at
the end of this Section.
6.5.2
Wall and Fences
The site in its present state is bordered by a block wall.
The existing boundary wall will be maintained.
6.5.3
Landscaping
Landscaping can have a substantial impact upon the appearance of the industrial area
and can be an essential advantage to the scale and appearance of the industrial
building.
The landscaping elements comprising of green areas, planted trees and ornamental
flowers will be used to positively integrate the development within its surrounding.
6.5.4

Priority will be given to hard and soft landscaping in the areas such as:

Entrance to the facility

Frontage area and exposed exterior loading and storage areas

Parking areas
Signs
Signage is required to identify the presence of the facility and can be an important
public signature for the proposed facility.
Consequently, appropriate signage will be placed as part of the front elevations
where the building faces the street. The signage will be sited at conspicuous spots to
easily identify the business.
6.5.5
Lighting
Lighting will be provided for the security and safety at the parking area, loading and
unloading facilities and along the pathways.
It is proposed to provide floodlight along the frontage of the building, the main
entrance, car parking and perimeter area.
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6.5.6
Road and Parking Area
The driveway entrance to and exit from the site will be 8metres wide as it will
constitute a two-way entrance and exit access and will lead to and from the chlorine
storage building.
The parking area for the offices will be constructed out of premixed asphaltic
concrete and the entrance/exit will be double-way.
Each parking lot will be 5m x 2.5m. The parking space will be provided with the
required turning space to enable vehicles to exit in forward gear.
A total parking for 13No vehicles will be provided within the complex for staff and
visitors.
6.5.7
Vehicular Access
The internal vehicular roads will be of width 8metres, and will be provided to
facilitate access to delivery vehicles. .
6.6
SAFETY DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Given that the chlorine depot is considered to be a hazardous installation, the safety
precautions taken in the design are as listed below:
(i)
The chlorine tonner and cylinder depot/storage buildings have been situated as
far as possible from the offices, workshops and store, in the down-wind
direction with respect to the other project buildings.
(ii)
The chlorine tonner and cylinder depot/storage buildings have been located to
the northern portion of the site area, segregated from the rest of the other
back-up buildings, which will be located towards the southern portion of the
site.
(iii)
The back-up buildings i.e. workshop, stores, offices have been kept as close as
statutorily possible to the boundaries of the site in order to make maximum
use of the available space for the project’s functional requirements, being given
that the site is not very big, implying that each square metre of land must be
used as much as possible.
(iv)
The back-up building has been positioned close to the main entrance from the
main road to the site. This functional planning has taken into account the fact
that visitors or people attending meetings do not have to cross the site and do
not approach the chlorine storage buildings ; this functional planning decreases
the risk of any accident.
(v)
The chlorine depot/buildings have been isolated from the rest of the other
buildings and from the remainder of the premises by the provision of a bund
wall enclosing the chlorine storage and operations area.
Note: Such a peripheral wall around the chlorine storage buildings will ensure
that any chlorine gas leak is kept contained within a dedicated and controlled
area while activating the alarm and gas neutralising systems.
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(vi)
All the surfaces around the chlorine storage buildings will be tarred thereby
facilitating the manoeuvering of vehicles all around the storage buildings for
ease of operation and specially for easy and speedy evacuation of injured
personnel during any emergency
(vii) It can be observed that the chlorine storage buildings have been located in the
leeward position whereby wind blows away from the site. Notwithstanding this
fact, the whole design of the chlorine storage buildings is based on the
requirement to contain/trap any leakage within the buildings themselves; they
are further protected by a bund wall. Hence any chlorine gas leak at the tonner
and/or cylinder storage buildings will not affect the other people in the other
buildings within the site.
Note: Chlorine being heavier than air in density will tend to stay close to the
ground, so that the bund wall will trap any chlorine gas within its area and
prevent it from propagating to the other parts of the premises.
Other measures have been exhaustively treated at Section 4 to which the reader is
referred.
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