SEVERN TRENT WATER LIMITED
PROPOSED ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS
BIRMINGHAM ROAD SEWAGE PUMPING STATION
KINGS COUGHTON
PLANNING SUPPORT STATEMENT
June 2014
Wardell Armstrong Sir Henry Doulton House, Forge Lane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5BD, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)845 111 7777 Facsimile: +44 (0)845 111 8888 www.wardell-armstrong.com
Wardell Armstrong is the trading name of Wardell Armstrong LLP, Registered in England No. OC307138.
Registered office: Sir Henry Doulton House, Forge Lane, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5BD, United Kingdom
UK Offices: Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham, Cardiff, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Greater Manchester, London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Penryn, Sheffield, Truro, West Bromwich. International Offices: Almaty, Moscow
ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
INFRASTRUCTURE AND UTILITIES
LAND AND PROPERTY
MINING AND MINERAL PROCESSING
MINERAL ESTATES AND QUARRYING
WASTE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
DATE ISSUED: June 2014
JOB NUMBER: ST11947
ELECTRONIC REFRENCE:
REPORT NUMBER: 001
SEVERN TRENT WATER LIMITED
ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS
BIRMINGHAM ROAD SEWAGE PUMPING STATION
KINGS COUGHTON
PLANNING SUPPORTING STATEMENT
June 2014
PREPARED BY:
Ben Parkins Planner
APPROVED BY:
Stephen Stoney Technical Director
This report has been prepared by Wardell Armstrong LLP with all reasonable skill, care and diligence, within the terms of the Contract with the Client. The report is confidential to the Client and Wardell Armstrong LLP accepts no responsibility of whatever nature to third
parties to whom this report may be made known.
No part of this document may be reproduced without the prior written approval of Wardell Armstrong LLP.
Severn trent water limited New Lay-By kings coughton planning support statement
st11947/001 June 2014
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
The Need for Development 1
Site Location and Description 1
Development Proposal 2
Environmental Considerations 3
Planning Policy Context 4
Conclusions 6
DRAWINGS
Location Plan 70060.031-A-002
Visibility Splay 70060.031-B-002
Existing Site Location Plan 70060.031-C-002
Proposed Site Layout Plan 70060.031-D-002
Supporting Information
Phase 1 Habitat Survey (AMEC)
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Wardell Armstrong LLP has been commissioned on behalf of Severn Trent Water
Limited (STWL) to seek planning permission for a new lay-by on land adjacent to the
Sewage Pumping Station (SPS) off Birmingham Road, Kings Coughton.
1.2 The proposal will allow safe access to the SPS by STWL personnel whilst undertaking
routine maintenance activities. In this case, the works involve third party land,
highway land owned and controlled by Warwickshire County Council; therefore
planning permission is required.
1.3 A Design and Access Statement is no longer required to be submitted to support this
application under the Town and Country Planning (Development Management
Procedure) (England) (Amendment) Order 2013 Section 8 Part (1) as the
development is minor in nature.
1.4 The design of the lay-by has been informed by pre-application advice provided by
Warwickshire County Council and is in conformity with planning policy.
2 THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT
2.1.1 At present, operational vehicles are required to reverse onto the land fronting the
SPS and park on the highway. This is an unsafe activity which compromises the
health and safety of road users, pedestrians and STWL staff undertaking their
statutory function.
2.2 The proposed lay-by would allow for safe off-road parking for STWL vehicles, thereby
improving health and safety for the operatives, other road users and pedestrians.
3 SITE LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION
Nearest Postcode: B49 5QQ
Grid Reference: 410872, 259044
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3.1 The proposed lay-by is to be located on the grass verge fronting the Birmingham
Road SPS. The site is directly opposite residential properties.
3.2 The location of the lay-by has been restricted by the location of the existing sewage
pumping station. Due to the location of the SPS and the operational constraints
involved in the necessity for tankers to be in close proximity to the SPS equipment,
there is no other alternative location for the proposed lay-by.
3.3 The lay-by has been designed to be of sufficient width to allow for safe parking off
the public highway whilst ensuring maximum highway safety for road users.
3.4 Please refer to Site Location Plan 70060.031-A-002 for more details.
4 DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
4.1 The proposed development involves the creation of a new lay-by off Birmingham
Road. The lay-by will to allow for STWL operational vehicles to park safely off the
public highway whilst carrying out routine maintenance activities at the SPS.
4.2 The works are considered as an essential engineering operation which will improve
service access to the SPS.
4.3 The lay-by has been specifically designed in order to accommodate the largest
maintenance vehicles which will visit the SPS whilst ensuring optimal highway safety.
4.4 The lay-by will measure 6 metres wide up to the gated entrance to the existing SPS
and 24.4 metres in length along where it fronts the highway.
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4.5 The lay-by will be surfaced with grasscrete with 150 x 125 bull nose kerbs set 25 mm
above road level. Grasscrete is considered to be environmentally sensitive whilst
being robust enough to withstand operational usage.
4.6 Please see Proposed Site Layout (70060.031-D-002) for more design details.
5 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.1 The development of the improved works has been informed by the need to improve
service access to the SPS. However, consideration has also been given to the need to
address a range of other issues.
5.2 Flood Risk
5.3 The proposed development is located outside Floodzones 2 and 3, and is not
considered to have an impact upon flood risk in the area. Consequently, in
accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework, a flood risk assessment is
not required for this development.
5.4 Ecology
5.5 A Phase 1 Habitat Survey was carried out by AMEC Ecology in December 2013 which
indicated the development will not have an adverse impact upon any ecology either
within or surrounding the site. The full report is attached to support this application.
5.6 Traffic
5.7 The SPS will be visited by small maintenance vehicles such as Land Rovers and
occasionally by an 18 tonne articulated tanker. The site will only be visited
approximately four times per year for routine maintenance and will also be attended
to if an emergency should occur. Therefore it is not considered that the proposed
development will make a material increase to the traffic flow in the area.
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5.8 The lay-by will improve the overall safety of the public highway as it will allow for
operational vehicles to park safely off Birmingham Road (A435).
5.9 There is good visibility from the SPS along Birmingham Road, allowing for 48 metres
visibility splay each way. Please see visibility splay drawing 70060.031-B-002 for
more details.
6 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT
6.1 This Planning Application has taken into account both National and Local planning
policy. The following policies have been assessed and are considered to be relevant
for the proposed development at Birmingham Road.
6.2 National Planning Policy
6.3 National Planning Policy Framework
6.4 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) came into force on 27th March 2012,
replacing all Planning Policy Statements (PPS) and Planning Policy Guidance (PPG)
with the exception of PPS10 Planning for Sustainable Waste Management.
6.5 In terms of decision making, the NPPF highlights that;
Development proposals that accord with the development plan should be
approved without delay; and
Where local development plans are absent, silent or relevant policies are out-
of-date the permission should be granted unless:
o Any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably
outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies of the NPPF
as a whole; or
o Specific policies in the NPPF indicate development should be restricted.
6.6 Part 7 of NPPF (Requiring Good Design) attaches the importance of “good design” to
new developments. The proposed lay-by has been designed in order to achieve
optimal highway safety.
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6.7 Local Planning Policy
6.8 Stratford on Avon Local Plan (Saved Policies from 2007)
6.9 The District Local Plan sets out the Council's policies and proposals for the
development and use of land for the period up to 2011. It is used as a basis for
considering all planning applications, including those for new housing, industrial and
commercial development.
6.10 The Local Plan Review expired on 14 July 2009. However, most of the policies and
proposals it contained have been ‘saved' and can continue to be applied. They will
remain in force until they are replaced by the Local Development Framework Core
Strategy.
6.11 The following Local Plan policies are relevant for the proposed lay-by:
6.12 Policy DEV. 4 (Access) states that “new or improved access arrangements to serve
development will be treated as an integral part of the overall layout.” The safety of
all users is paramount when providing access to the development. Careful
consideration of the environmental effects of access arrangements is also important.
6.13 The proposed lay-by does not constitute an entirely new access; however the
development will change the layout of the existing access to the SPS. Therefore,
Policy DEV.4 is still applicable.
6.14 According to this policy, the layout of the access is required to meet a range of
design criteria. Table 1 (below) demonstrates how the proposed lay-by is in
accordance with the relevant design principles of this policy.
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Design Criteria How the Proposed Development meets this
Criteria
1. Ensure safety of all road users and
pedestrians are not impaired
Currently, STWL vehicles are required to park on
Birmingham Road during visits to the SPS which is
an unsafe activity for both STWL operatives and
road users. The proposed development is
designed to improve health and safety as vehicles
will be able to park off the highway during
routine operational activities.
Pre-application discussions with Warwickshire
County Highways indicated that the proposal is
considered to be acceptable in terms of health
and safety.
2. Minimise impact on the landscape,
existing properties and features of
ecological and historic importance
The lay-by has been designed to the most
appropriate size within operational constraints.
The Phase 1 Habitat Survey shows that the
development will not have a significant impact on
any ecology within or surrounding the site.
Table 1: How the proposed lay-by accords with Design Criteria of Policy DEV. 4 of Stratford on Avon Local Plan
6.15 Overall, the new lay-by is considered to be in accordance with National and Local
policy in terms of design, layout and safety.
7 CONCLUSIONS
7.1 STWL operatives currently attending the sewage pumping station for operational
maintenance purposes currently have to park their vehicles on the highway, creating
a health and safety hazard for both operatives and other road users.
7.2 The proposed lay-by will remove the need for maintenance vehicles to park on the
public highway whilst carrying out routine maintenance activities at the SPS. The
provision of the lay-by will therefore allow vehicles to park safely off the highway
which will improve highway conditions.
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7.3 The lay-by has been designed in accordance with pre-application advice gained from
Warwickshire County Highways and accords with policy.
7.4 This Statement promotes the essential need for the proposed lay-by in improving
highway safety when STW vehicles are required to visit the SPS for essential
infrastructure maintenance activities.
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