Re-Working of Former Landfill Sites
14.33 The excavation of former landfill sites for the purposes of recovering material is an activity that can be dangerous and potentially polluting, particularly where the clay cap or seal is ruptured or gases are released. The ingress of water into a previously sealed waste mass can give rise to leachate which may exceed the design capacity. There may, however, be cases where a site may be reworked if it would benefit from reclamation and environmental improvement subject to controls and beneficial reinstatement of the site. The following Policy will therefore apply:-
Policy WM 10
Reworking of Former Landfill Sites
The reworking or disturbance of old landfill sites and colliery spoil tips that have been restored or reclaimed to a satisfactory standard will not be permitted unless it can be demonstrated that:- the reclamation of the land or landform and after use so created would produce a substantial environmental and/or economic benefit:
- the proposal would not give rise to unacceptable adverse impacts on people and the environment in terms of:-
- visual amenity;
- noise, dust, air or ground water pollution,
- traffic and the effects on the highway network, or
- risk to health and safety of the public
- the operations would be completed within a limited timescale to safeguard the amenity of local communities;
- the site would be restored to a standard appropriate to its intended after use; and
- the provisions of other relevant UDP policies are met.