Message from County Councillor Tracey Taylor:
“I was advised last week that the application has been received by NCC, but it is important to note that (given the volumes of technical papers included) it has not yet been validated.
This message received today from the developer (HIVE) provides a link to the planning application documents that have been uploaded to their own website. I thought it might be useful to give residents early access to those documents to allow maximum time to consider the implications of the proposals.
To note re the reference to a 16 week target for decision making: that will only begin once the application has been validated, it is significantly lower than the nationally set 26 week “planning guarantee”, and longer time frames can be agreed if that is necessary to ensure all relevant information is properly considered .”
Hive Aggregates, part of the Hive Energy Group would like to inform you that the application for planning permission has been submitted for the Retford Circular Economy Project.
RCEP proposes to extract and reuse previously deposited pulverised fuel ash (PFA) waste from a former landfill site, situated south of the village of Lound and approximately 1 mile north of Retford, Nottinghamshire. The project would extract around 300,000 tonnes of PFA waste per year, turning it into a sustainable cement replacement and providing a vital tool to decarbonise the building products industry at a time when ‘fresh’ supply of PFA from existing power stations is ending.
Hive Aggregates has submitted the planning application to Nottinghamshire County Council, the planning authority for the proposal, who now have a target period of up to 16 weeks to make a decision. *SEE NOTE FROM COUNTY COUNCIL ABOVE*
Key elements of the planning submission include the following:
- use of the A638 to access the site, with designated routes to the A1 that avoid the villages of Lound and Sutton-cum-Lound;
- a detailed carbon assessment that considers all construction and operational emissions from the project, and demonstrating that it could bring about significant carbon savings of in excess of 5 million tonnes when compared to traditional cement;
- clear demonstration that the project complies with relevant planning policy, including that PFA in deposits like RCEP is classed as a mineral resource of local and national importance in the National Planning Policy Framework;
- utilisation of existing embankments to screen working areas, and acting as a buffer to the nature reserve that preserves all existing flood protections;
- plans showing progressive restoration and providing more than 10% Biodiversity Net Gain and creating local priority wetland habitats that complement the Idle Valley Nature Reserve;
- detailed environmental assessments covering a wide range of subjects, including ecology, traffic, noise and dust, which fully consider impacts on the local environment – including upon the Idle Valley Nature Reserve; and
- a comprehensive suite of mitigation measures and management plans.
The project website has been updated and all documents submitted as part of the planning application are available to view here:
https://www.retfordcep.co.uk/planning-application-documents
As you will be aware, the project team undertook community consultation in Autumn 2022, including events at Lound and Sutton-cum-Lound, and received valuable feedback on the proposals from the local community. We would like to once again thank those who provided us with feedback and attended our community consultation events. Hive Aggregates has analysed the feedback received and presented how it has been considered in the final design of the project in the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), submitted with the planning application. This includes how the project has responded to consultation feedback on the impact of traffic, particularly on the local villages of Lound and Sutton-cum-Lound. It is proposed that construction and operational traffic would now use the A638 to access the site, thereby avoiding the villages.
We will be looking to conduct further community consultation in the coming weeks and months, including regular updates, and meetings in the local community. Further detail on this will follow and the project team will be in contact with relevant stakeholders to make arrangements.
If you have any questions regarding this or the project itself, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Email: info@retfordcep.co.uk
Freephone: 0808 169 5659
Freepost: FREEPOST RCEP