Regulation 19 Rutland Local Plan
Pollution Control
What will the policy do?
This policy sets out the ways in which new development should minimise pollution and where possible contribute to the protection and improvement of the quality of air, land, and water.
Policy SC4 – Pollution control Comment
Development must seek to minimise pollution and where possible contribute to the protection and improvement of the quality of air, land, and water. In achieving this, development should be designed to improve air, land and water quality and promote environmental benefits.
Development (including proposals which involve demolition) that, on its own or cumulatively, would result in significant air, light, noise, dust, land, water or other environmental pollution or harm to amenity, health well-being or safety will only be permitted if the potential adverse effects can be mitigated to an acceptable level. This can be done by other environmental controls, or by measures included in the proposals. New development proposals must ensure that they do not have an unacceptable impact on existing operations.
Development that would lead to deterioration or may compromise the ability of a water body or underlying groundwater to meet good status standards required by the Water Framework Directive will not be permitted.
Developments within the catchments of waterbodies that supply Rutland Water or the River Glen must explicitly demonstrate that deterioration will not occur as a result of the development, and the mechanisms for ensuring this.
Major development proposals will be expected to provide a Construction Environment Management Plan which outlines how potential negative environmental impacts of the construction will be mitigated.
Development which involves artificial light should be designed to limit the impact of light pollution and minimise light spillage and glare to protect the rural character of the countryside, residential amenity and wildlife. In the countryside artificial lighting must be essential for the operational requirements of a development or facility to be considered acceptable and should be designed to focus on the intended target for illumination.
Development on Land affected by Contamination
Where development is situated on a site with known or a high likelihood of contamination, a preliminary risk assessment should be undertaken by the developer and submitted to the Local Planning Authority as the first stage in assessing the risk of contamination. Where risk is identified, appropriate remediation strategies to manage this contamination will be required.
Subject to the policies in this Local Plan, planning permission will only be granted for development on land affected by contamination where it can be established by the proposed developer that the site can be safely and viably developed with no significant impact on either future users or on ground and surface waters.
Why are these policies needed?
The NPPF sets out the need for local authorities to consider the impact of new development on noise, air, light and dust pollution. The aim of the NPPF is to ensure that new developments do not harm existing residents, future residents, or the natural environment. This includes minimising air, noise, light pollution, managing odour and maintaining or improving water quality to ensure that new developments are not harmful to other land uses, human health, tranquillity or the natural and built environment. The NPPF states that the local plan should seek to avoid and mitigate the impacts of pollution associated with development.
Pollution, noise, and nuisance impacts on residential amenity, and each can potentially have significant implications for people's health and quality of life. The possible effects from proposed development can be a material consideration in determining planning applications in so far as they affect development and the use of land.
The requirement for developments within the catchments of waterbodies that supply Rutland Water or the River Glen to demonstrate how 'no deterioration' in water quality is achieved is included to safeguard the habitats and features of Rutland Water SPA/Ramsar and Baston Fen SAC, and habitats that are considered to be 'functionally linked' to these sites. The demonstration of 'no deterioration' should take these designations into account.
Pollution can arise in a number of forms including from contaminated land, light pollution or emissions, odour, noise, and other forms of disturbance include overlooking, loss of privacy and loss of light. Where a development proposal may raise potential pollution outcomes the relevant statutory pollution control authority will be consulted at an early stage. Within the powers available to it the Council will control and reduce pollution in the environment.
Light pollution refers to the effect of excessive or intrusive lighting arising from poor or insensitive design. The Council will seek to reduce light pollution by encouraging the installation of appropriate lighting and only permitting lighting proposals which would not adversely affect amenity or public safety, however a planning application for lighting proposals can only be required where it is considered that the installation materially affects the character of the building. Lights should be appropriately shielded, directed to the ground, and sited to minimise any impact on adjoining areas, and of a height and illumination level of the minimum required to serve their purpose.
Where external lighting is required as part of a development proposal full details of the proposed lighting scheme will be required to demonstrate that it is the minimum needed for security and working purposes and that it is designed to minimise light pollution from glare and spillage (particularly in areas of open countryside) and that it will not detract from residential amenity or highway safety.
Pollution or nuisance caused by new developments can have significant implications for the health and quality of life of residents. Decision on planning applications will seek to control and reduce environmental impacts or detriment to health or amenity. In particular:
- existing developments must not be put at risk from unacceptable levels of soil, air, water, or noise pollution arising from a new development.
- an increase in noise level shall not give rise to significant adverse impacts on health, quality of life, or, where appropriate, tranquillity.
- the cumulative impacts on air quality shall be taken into account.
- the impact of pollution from artificial light on local amenity, landscape character and nature conservation shall be minimised.
Potentially noisy development will be expected to be accompanied by an appropriate noise assessment. Developers will be required to demonstrate the potential impact of proposals on the environment and on residential amenity and the ability to mitigate to an acceptable level.
There are no Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within the County of Rutland. However, air quality will be considered when assessing development proposals, where appropriate. The Council is committed to improving air quality in Rutland and, where relevant, will follow the guidance in the East Midlands Air Quality Network Air Quality and Emissions Mitigation Guidance for Developers June 2017 (or other relevant guidance).
Contaminated Land
Contamination in or on land can present risks to human health and the wider environment. Contamination can originate from polluting industrial processes, landfill, some agricultural activities or naturally occurring sources (e.g., radon gas from underlying rock).
Where pollution issues or risks from landfill gas are likely to arise or where land contamination may be reasonably suspected, developers should hold pre-application discussions with the Council and the relevant pollution control authority and any stakeholders with a legitimate interest.
All investigations and remediation should be carried out in accordance with 'Land Contamination Risk Management' (LCRM) which was published by Government in October 2020, or any subsequent updated advice. This is available at Land contamination risk management (LCRM) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Developers should use land contamination risk management (LCRM) to:
- identify and assess if there is an unacceptable risk
- assess what remediation options are suitable to manage the risk
- plan and carry out remediation
- verify that remediation has worked
Supporting Evidence
None
