Barrowford Parish Council has submitted the objections listed below regarding Planning Application 17/0284/FUL (Installation of 14 containerised gas-fired standby generators with ancillary structures including a DNO metering station, transformer compound, switch room, store room and oil storage tank. AT: Land North East Of Vantage Court Riverside Way Barrowford.).
Objection: On the following grounds:
- Departure from Policy
- Reduction in Employment Potential
- Loss of visual amenity leading to reduction of viability of Strategic Housing Site and Hotel, Pub and Creche Site
- Effect on local Air Quality
- Flooding
- the risk of flooding through elevated river levels as have occurred twice in the last 20 years
- the effect of emergency discharge into the river of the Newbridge water attenuation scheme. This retains water through large bore drainage pipes situated in Newbridge which then go under the river into large storage tanks to the rear of Nelson & Colne College and have the ability to pump large quantities of water through an outflow in the river adjacent to the proposed site.
- Site justification
- Loss of Habitat
The land is highlighted in the Local Plan as for B1a employment use and this application represents a significant departure from policy.
The primary purpose of this site is to create higher quality employment opportunities within Pendle. The creation of up to two engineering posts covering maintenance of numerous similar sites across the North of England does not meet that criterion, whilst the size of the proposed site will reduce the future employment potential of the Riverside Business Park.
The proposed installation by its very nature is of an industrialised appearance containing 14 self-contained generators housed in containers measuring 12.2m by 3m by 2.6m with an additional 3m bank of radiators on top each with a chimney with a proposed height of up to 13.6m from ground level. If this application is approved the loss of visual amenity will have a significant effect on the viability of the recently approved application for an Hotel, Pub and Crèche adjacent to this site and will also reduce the viability to potential developers on the adjacent Trough Laithe Strategic Housing Site, which was recently granted outline permission for 500 houses. Nelson and Colne College, directly opposite the proposed site, will also suffer from a significant loss of visual amenity to both its buildings and the sports field.
The application does not address the air quality question. A half-page sheet on Generator Input Data does not adequately deal with what the emissions are and how they will be dispersed in the atmosphere, or their effect on local residents and current pollution levels at local traffic hotspots such as junction 13 of the M65. A recent application for a self-contained gas fired generation site at land south of A678 (Blackburn Road) Padiham Burnley contained a detailed 45 page Air Quality Assessment with an 11 page appendix dealing with the generators' specifications. Surely this site, given its location, needs an equally thorough Air Quality Assessment prior to consideration.
The site is within the natural floodplain of Pendle Water. Attenuation measures have been included to reduce the runoff on hard surfacing by water storage and the risk of surface water flooding is low. However the flood risk assessment does not adequately address
Justification on the grounds of an available gas supply and connection to the local power main is not only applicable to this site but could equally have applied to the extension of the Lomeshaye Industrial Site or other sites within the Borough.
The site is currently degraded pasture land that has not been farmed for over a decade and is bounded on two sides by public footpaths and the Pendle Water river corridor. River corridors are natural highways for wildlife. In recent years improvements to weirs and the introduction of salmon ladders have led to the re-introduction of salmon and sea trout in the upper Calder Basin which are now seeing salmon return to the upper reaches. Following sightings in recent years of otters less than 10 miles away at Padiham, this month (13 July 2017) a clip of video showing an otter in the river at Sandy Lane, just above the proposed site, was posted online. This is probably the first recorded sighting in Barrowford for over 50 years and is a key indicator of the continued improvement in water quality of Pendle Water.
The application does not adequately address loss of habitat due to potential leakage from the oil storage tanks or generator lubricating/cooling oils contained in the generating equipment; nor does it include any additional measures if the site is flooded by the river over spilling its banks, as set out in Objection 5 above.
Full details of the application can be found at Pendle Council or you can consult the documents at Barrowford Parish Council (Holmefield House) during office hours.
If you wish to comment on the application please do so as soon as possible,
- online at Pendle Council (you may need to register an ID with them first);
- or by email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;
- or by post to: Planning and Building Control, Town Hall, Market Street, Nelson, Lancs, BB9 7LG.
Copy of the letter sent to Pendle Council from Barrowford Parish Council:
