County Durham Waste Local Plan.

12 Reclamation.

12.1 The opportunity to restore a site by the importation of waste should be determined by a demonstrable need to import waste to achieve a satisfactory reclamation of the site.  To ensure that long term environmental impacts are minimised and the overall aim of sustainability is achieved, the County Council will aim to ensure that all land taken for waste management is restored to a high standard and is capable of sustaining an acceptable after-use.

12.2 When assessing the potential for different after-uses, and for any possible importation of fill materials, regard will need to be had to other relevant parts of the Development Plan as appropriate.

12.3 The process of restoring sites may itself have environmental impacts relating to, for example, the import of fill material and necessary site operations. Any such impacts will be taken into consideration when the effects of a proposal are being assessed, and will be dealt with in terms of the relevant policies.

Reclamation Conditons.

12.4 Where a reclamation proposal involves the importation of waste, regard will be had not only to the adequacy of the proposals themselves but also to their feasibility, including the likely financial and material budgets for restoration, aftercare and after-use, implementation of the scheme, and the availability of waste material which needs to be imported.  Where proposals will require long term management beyond any after-care period, provision should be made for this through, for example, the use of endowments or formal agreements, or the transfer of land to an appropriate agency.  The relevant considerations for the reclamation of any given site will be identified in pre-application discussions.

12.5 A successful restoration depends on the way in which soils are stripped, stored (if necessary), replaced and subsequently managed.  Proposals should be supported by a detailed soils handling strategy which includes details of soil profiles and the treatment of soils following reclamation.  Where there is a shortage of soil material then every attempt should be made to recover suitable soil-making material from the excavated overburden.

12.6 Working schemes should maximise the potential for progressive restoration.  Where appropriate a staged approach should be adopted to the restoration of landfills, (ie partial soil replacement and grass seeding with final restoration postponed until the cessation of deferential settlement and remedial engineering works.)  Sites should be managed under a care and maintenance basis until such a time it is agreed that a viable block of land is available for final restoration and subsequent aftercare.

After-care of closed sites.

12.7 Waste management facilities can be divided into two types – those involving built development of a permanent nature and those where operations make use of land for a temporary period, following which land can be returned to its previous use or a new use can be established.  Restoration, aftercare and after-use are not directly relevant to facilities involving permanent built development such as transfer stations, incinerators etc.  They are more pertinent to transient operations such as the landfilling of waste.

12.8 In order to ensure that newly restored land is properly treated during its first critical years and to ensure it is reclaimed to a satisfactory standard, "After-Care Conditions" are imposed by the Planning Authority where reclamation to agriculture, forestry or amenity is proposed.  An aftercare scheme submitted by the applicant and approved by the County Council should cover a period of 5 years or such other maximum period after compliance with the restoration condition as may be prescribed.  The maximum 5-year aftercare period may be extended by mutual consent, where this will enable the reclamation objections to be met.

12.9 During the after-care period sites are monitored annually in accordance with MPG 7.  However, interim assessment may also be taken to monitor progress.  Operators are required to produce annual monitoring reports, recording work that has been undertaken and setting out a detailed programme for the forthcoming year.

After-use.

12.10 Appropriate after-uses can help to conserve and enhance the character of the landscape and nature conservation value while maximising benefits to local communities and the environment.  The usual location for landfill development is away from urban areas and accordingly, an open after- use will usually be most appropriate.  It may be appropriate to restore land to its former character as part of the agricultural landscape.  However, where the site may have previously contained the best and most versatile land, the presence of systems such as landfill gas and leachate control can inhibit the range of agricultural operations and reduce potential land quality for the foreseeable future.  In such cases the operators will need to forward comprehensive reclamation schemes, including details of gas and leachate control, as part of the planning application.  Attention should always be paid to the opportunities for environmental enhancement and other public benefits.

12.11 Opportunities will also often arise for the creation through reclamation of new features of landscape, nature conservation or amenity value including community woodlands, public open space, wetlands, heathlands or other habitats of nature conservation interest.  The development of such features may help to mitigate the adverse impacts of the working site. Waste operators will need to have regard to the advice contained in any landscape and nature conservation strategies prepared by the Waste Planning Authority when designing reclamation schemes.  In the case of non profit making after-uses, applicants will be required to provide long term management proposals to demonstrate how such uses will be sustainable in the long term (both during and beyond the after-care period.  Where woodland is proposed, landfill operators should have regard to the advice contained within the County Woodland Strategy and other relevant advice when planning reclamation of appropriately engineered sites to forestry.  Should any proposal arise for new planting on former landfill sites in the area covered by the Great North Forest, the scope for creating new community woodland will be of particular importance.  When considering sport and recreation afteruses, regard  should also be had to District Local Plans and Sport and Recreational Strategies.

• Back to Top

• Previous
• Next