Planning permission
This page was last updated on 25 July 2024
Enforcement Notice Served
Following the renewal of the Permit by the Environment Agency, work commenced on site to prepare Phase 2 for tipping in compliance with the requirements of the Permit. This required the construction of a geological barrier around the first cell within phase 2 before tipping operations could commence. As the construction of the barrier was development within the planning permission site, the development needed to comply with the conditions imposed on the 1958 planning permission.
One of those conditions states that no more than 5 acres of land must be out of cultivation at any one period, and it became apparent to the council that during the construction of the bund this condition had been breached.
In February 2023 an enforcement notice has been served on Grange Landfill Ltd as it is considered that more than 5 acres of land is out of cultivation in breach of Condition 3 relating to Phase 2 of the planning permission granted in 1958. The notice requires that within 3 months, the operator reverts land back into cultivation such that no more than 5 acres of land is out of cultivation at any time.
An appeal has been submitted against this notice which will be determined by an independent planning inspector. This effectively delays the requirements of the notice until the appeal is determined.
The appeal has now been heard and the decision was issued on the 15 July 2024. The decision of the Inspectorate is that the appeal succeeds and as a result the enforcement notice is quashed.
Consent For Tipping Of Waste
Tipping on the Grange Landfill site is believed to have begun in 1929, however formal planning permission was not granted until 1955. This was revoked by a planning permission granted in 1958 which gave consent for the tipping of waste on the site in two phases (areas), with different conditions. This included a condition that tipping on phase 2 was not permitted to start until a number of conditions had been met during the phase one. When operations ceased at the site following phase one (in the mid- 1990s), the planning permission and environmental permit allowing landfilling activity remained in place.
Unfortunately, the historic planning permission has very few restrictions, conditions or controls within it. Even though the permission is very old and takes no account of the current environment around the site, the Council has no legal powers to insist that the operator applies for a new planning permission.