HILLINGDON UNITARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN - London Borough ...

Accordingly the Council will consider the effect which proposals could have on the flood plain and water
table. There is consequently a need for future schemes to provide clear evidence that the substitution of
permeable gravels with impermeable waste will not result in hydrogeological problems occurring once site
restoration is completed. As an alternative the Minerals Planning Authority will consider schemes for
water table level monitoring which incorporate feasible solutions to incipient problems that may arise if
significant increases in the water table are found to occur subsequently around the site as work progresses
and once the land has been restored.
MIN21 THE MINERALS PLANNING AUTHORITY CONSIDERS THE LONG TERM
IMPACT OF LANDFILLING ON THE LOCAL HYDROGEOLOGICAL REGIME TO BE A
MATERIAL CONSIDERATION. APPLICANTS SHOULD PROVIDE CLEAR EVIDENCE TO
ENABLE THE IMPACT OF PROPOSALS ON THE LOCAL HYDROGEOLOGICAL REGIME
TO BE DETERMINED. ANY PROPOSALS SHOULD PROVIDE FOR THE MONITORING OF
THE WATER TABLE DURING EXTRACTION/LANDFILLING, AND ONCE RESTORATION IS
COMPLETED, AND IN APPROPRIATE CASES INCLUDE MITIGATING MEASURES TO BE
PUT INTO AFFECT IF ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE LOCAL HYDROGEOLOGICAL
REGIME DEVELOP. IT WILL NORMALLY BE NECESSARY TO ENTER INTO AN
APPROPRIATE LEGAL AGREEMENT, HAVING REGARD TO THE CONTINUING NEED TO
MAINTAIN MONITORING AND MITIGATION MEASURES FOR THE DURATION THAT
THEY ARE CONSIDERED NECESSARY.
Buffer Zones Between Excavation and Landfill and Adjoining Sensitive Land Uses
13.43 Most future mineral working is likely to affect the higher grades of agricultural land, sports fields
or other areas demanding very high restoration standards. Such workings require clean inert fill for
restoration and experience has demonstrated that this offers the best chances of operations being conducted
without serious long-term adverse effects on adjacent land or premises. Policy MIN22 meets this case but
distances given will need to be increased where it is insufficient to secure compliance with other policies or
where the material being handled is more likely to create environmental problems. Prevailing wind
direction will be an additional factor to take into account, requiring increased distances downwind. It
assumes that the provision of graded, grassed and planted screen banks usually 3 to 4m high will be
provided at all sensitive locations.
MIN22 NO DEVELOPMENT INVOLVING THE DISPOSAL OF WASTE SHALL NORMALLY
BE NEARER THAN A MINIMUM OF 60 METRES TO ANY BUILDING USED AS A
DWELLING, SCHOOL, HOSPITAL OR FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES; NOR SHOULD IT BE
WITHIN 15 METRES OF THE CURTILAGE OF SUCH A BUILDING WHERE REASONABLE
ENJOYMENT OF THAT CURTILAGE WOULD BE PREJUDICED. SCREEN BANKS OR
OTHER MEASURES FOR DUST CONTROL OR NOISE ATTENUATION MAY BE PROVIDED
WITHIN THE BUFFER ZONE WHERE THE MINERALS PLANNING AUTHORITY IS
SATISFIED THAT THIS COULD REASONABLY BE CARRIED OUT WITHOUT THEM
CAUSING UNDUE DETRIMENT TO AMENITY THEMSELVES.
Assessment of Noise at Mineral Working and Landfill Sites
13.44 Minerals can only be excavated where they are found and although noise emission is inevitable it
can have a significant impact on the environment and the quality of life of communities. The Council is
concerned to ensure that noise levels are kept to the minimum practicable level consistent with good
environmental practice and the efficient and economic working sites. Applicants for planning consent for
mineral extraction or waste disposal will be expected to submit a noise assessment having full regard to
MPG 11 ‘The Control of Noise at Surface Mineral Workings’ (April 1993), as well as existing British
Standards and current best practice. It involves establishing the exisitng noise climate of the locality and
the likely future noise climate with the proposed development. It also states that to predict the likely level
of noise from a proposed development, British Standard 5228, Part 1 (1984) ‘Noise Control on Contruction
and Open Sites’ should form the basis for the noise prediction model and modifications may be necessary
to take account of particular circumstances of mineral sites. The Minerals Planning Authority considers
London Borough of Hillingdon Unitary Development Plan