Client:
Kimberly Clark
Location:
Flint
Project Title:
Kasabian
Project Number:
60-PV49-01
Document Title:
Planning Statement
Jacobs Documento No: 60-PV49-01/A.02e/1001
Rev.
A
Issue Date
08-Dec-2014
Pages
16
Issue Purpose
Issued for Planning Application
Prepared
Checked
Approved
AS
MH
CT
Project Title: Kasabian
Project No: 60-PV49-01
Document Title: Planning Statement
Document No. 60-PV49-01/A.02e/1001
Revision A
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
4
1
1.1
1.2
Background
Description and Location of the Site
Pre-Application Discussions
5
5
6
2
The Proposal
7
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
Site Considerations
Economic Benefits
Parking and Servicing
Siting Considerations
Ground Conditions
Surface Water Considerations
8
8
8
9
10
10
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
Planning History and Policy Considerations
Planning History of the Site
Local Development Plan
Policy Summary
11
11
11
14
5
Conclusions
15
6
Reference Documents and Drawings
16
Project Title: Kasabian
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REVISION HISTORY
Revision
A
Main Changes
New Document – Issued for Planning Application
Project Title: Kasabian
Project No: 60-PV49-01
Document Title: Planning Statement
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PREFACE
This Planning Statement forms part of the Flint Mill extension planning application submitted by
Kimberly Clark and should be read in conjunction with the associated Design and Access Statement,
which gives a more detailed explanation of the principles behind the proposed development, and also
the accompanying Planning Drawings listed in Section 6 of this Planning Statement.
The purpose of this Planning Statement is to describe the background and the elements of the
proposed expansion of Flint Mill, at the Kimberly Clark Site in Flint, and it also explains the need for the
proposal and how it accords with policies in the local development plan and supplementary planning
documents.
Project Title: Kasabian
Project No: 60-PV49-01
Document Title: Planning Statement
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BACKGROUND
Kimberly Clark Limited (K-C) is applying for this extension to increase production of its baby care
products line and to consolidate this use of their site in Flint. They are a global healthcare manufacturer
employing over 4,000 personnel throughout the UK, with 310 based at this Flint site.
The K-C Flint Mill is involved in the manufacture and packaging of baby care products. This project is
to double the existing capacity of the baby wipes manufacturing & packaging facility (known as a
converting line). Wet wipes are currently produced on an existing converting line (known as “CL-2”),
where non-wovens material is received on large reels, cut to size, folded and packaged, before finally
being palletised for transport.
1.1
Description and Location of the Site
The K-C Flint site is approximately 28 ha in area and consists of a series of development plateaus,
along with a series of man-made ponds, which are used to help attenuate surface water from the site’s
building within a carefully landscaped setting. DWG 60-PV49-01/A.01/0001 – Site Location Plan,
shows the location of the site, the existing layout of the site and the main buildings, which consist of:
•
Flint Mill - Baby Care products manufacturing & packaging (the subject of this Planning
Application);
•
Coleshill Mill - Professional Care products manufacturing & packaging;
•
Delyn Mill - formerly manufacturing, partially demolished and now made up of two elements:
o A warehouse; and
o A conference / office centre.
National Distribution Centre (NDC) – warehousing and distribution.
•
The site is located to the north west of Flint town centre (see Figure 1 and the Site Location Plan
DWG: 60-PV49-01/A.01/0001), with the main site entrance via Aber Road (A5119), which is off the
main coastal road (A548).
The areas of change (the Planning Application area) cover approximately 1.3 ha. These areas are
shown edged red on the Site Location Plan, with the extent of the K-C land ownership, of the overall
manufacturing facility, edged in blue.
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Figure 1 - Indicative Location Map
1.2
Pre-Application Discussions
Meetings were held with Flintshire County Council (FCC) Planning Department on 23rd September
2014 and 11th November 2014 at the site (and subsequent conversations) to discuss the emerging
proposals. The main outputs arising from the discussions were that the proposal should:
•
Prepare both a Planning Statement, including an economic explanation / justification for the
proposal, and a Design and Access Statement (in accordance with FCC’s guidelines);
•
Identify an appropriate level of car parking to accommodate the new development;
•
Describe any increase in servicing vehicles in order to assess the suitability of the current
site access arrangements;
•
Complete a land contamination report; and
•
Provide a Flood Consequence Assessment, due to known previous instances of flooding at
the northern boundary of the site, and the potential for this project to affect that downstream
amenity.
It was also determined that due to the siting of the works that the environmental implications were
limited and that no environmental surveys would be necessary.
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THE PROPOSAL
The General Layout Drawing: 60-PV49-01/A.0/0002 shows the elements and the extents of the
proposed works, which consist of:
1.
Flint Mill Extension (3,190 m²);
2.
Additional Effluent Tank (3m diameter x 8m high);
3.
New Pallet Store (109 m²);
4.
New Air Compressor Housing (72 m²);
5.
Allocated Car Parking Area (re-use of existing under-utilised car parking);
6.
New Fork Lift Truck Maintenance Building (50 m²); and
7.
New road and hard landscaping area.
The main development (Flint Mill extension) will be steel framed building, of pitched lattice truss roof
design, as the current building, with composite insulated cladded in colour to closely match the existing
Flint Mill.
Other elements of the development will consist of:
•
Drainage Infrastructure modifications to facilitate the works.
•
Modification to the existing south pond outlet weir to achieve attenuation
•
Demolition of the existing Fork Lift Truck Maintenance building
•
Demolition of the existing Air Compressor housing
Project Title: Kasabian
Project No: 60-PV49-01
Document Title: Planning Statement
3
SITE CONSIDERATIONS
3.1
Economic Benefits
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This project is known as Project Kasabian and represents a significant investment in the K-C Flint
based operation, thus helping secure long term operations at the Flint facility, which currently provides
employment for 310 employees (198 K-C Flint site employees, plus 112 other K-C employees, agency
& permanent contractors). It is estimated that an additional 43 new jobs will be created (38 shift
workers and 5 regular day workers).
3.2
Parking and Servicing
Car Parking
It is proposed to utilise existing under-utilised car parking spaces adjacent to the nearby Delyn Mill in
order to cater for the increased number of personnel for the Kasabian project.
There are a total of 253 car parking spaces on the Flint site. There are 10 spaces outside the site
security gate, for visitors, leaving 243 usable spaces for staff parking. Table 3.1gives a breakdown of
parking spaces around the site.
Refer to drawing 60-PV49-01/A.0/0012, for the current provision and the proposed allocation for the
new employees:
Table 3.1 – Location and Numbers of Vehicle Parking Spaces
Area
Flint Visitor Car Park
Disabled
Car
Car
Cycle
Motor Bike
2
10
10
4
10
2
National Distribution Centre NDC
55
Delyn Mill Car Park
49
Coleshill Mill Car Park
64
Coleshill Contractor Car Park
Contractor & Visitor Sign in Main gate
16
1
Delyn Offices and AOE Car Park
9
10
47
3
250
30
6
Of the current 310 employees, around 124 are day workers (8.00am to 5.00pm, 5 days / week) the
remaining work shifts (a five shifts rota over seven days). There are around 186 shift workers in total.
The maximum number per shift is 38, which means a maximum of 76 on site during change-over. The
shift change time (07:00 to 19:00 and 19:00 to 07:00) is different that the day workers arrival and
departure time (08:00 to 17:00), so there is no parking overlap between these two sets of workers.
Therefore, the maximum number of employees on site between Monday to Friday is 162.
From available data it has been established that there is up to approximately 170 car parking spaces
used on a daily basis, leaving (on average) approximately 73 unused spaces within the site.
The increase in employees as a result of the new development will be 43 (this will be 5 day workers
and 38 shift workers). There will be 7 employees on each of the 5 shifts, over 7 days, therefore 14
during shift change-over.
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As a result of the Kasabian project (from 2016) it is envisaged that there will be an average of
approximately 184 car parking spaces used on a daily basis, still leaving (on average) approximately
59 unused spaces within the site.
As a result of the Kasabian project (from 2016) it is envisaged that there will a maximum of
approximately 221 car parking spaces used during the shift change-over periods, still leaving
approximately 22 unused spaces within the site.
Based strictly upon Flintshire County Council’s parking requirements (one parking space/50m²) the
2
new development floor space of 3,190 m would equate to an extra 64 spaces. However, as defined
above, there will only be 14 additional employees (a maximum of 21 at shift change-over) out of the 43
new employees, on site at any one time.
There is an overprovision of car parking spaces for both the current and the proposed increased
number of employees. All employees intending to travel to work using their private motor vehicles, will
be amply accommodated within the existing par parking.
Therefore, K-C are proposing that there is no need to provide additional car parking spaces, as a result
of the new development.
Service Vehicles
There will be approximately a 10% net increase of HGV movements on/off the site. This will return the
total HGV movements to around the same numbers as those experienced at the site prior to 2011
(before the closure of the Delyn Mill facility), as summarised in Table 3.2:
Table 3.2 – Estimated HGV Movements
HGV Movements
Total
Movements/Year
Average Movements/
Day (24 hours)
Peak Day Movements/
Day (24 hours)
19,406
53
64
15,599
50
58
19,500
54
64
2011
(Pre-Delyn Closure)
2014
(Year to Date)
2016
(Project KASABIAN)
3.3
Siting Considerations
The accompanying Design and Access Statement describes in-detail the reasoning for the siting and
location of the proposed extension to the existing Flint Mill operation, but in summary:
•
Its location next to the existing operation is required to connect into and optimise current
operational activity and servicing requirements, and
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Project No: 60-PV49-01
Document Title: Planning Statement
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3.4
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Whilst avoiding current ponds and thus any environmental consequences associated with
this (the only impact will be to change the weir level on the pond to the south to increase its
capacity slightly to cope with additional surface water discharge). The majority of the new
development area will be upon existing hardstanding, operational areas, though some of
the development will be upon a managed landscaped area, which includes a number of
ornamental trees. The proposals will be adequately landscaped to mitigate the impact of
the development
Ground Conditions
A full structural geotechnical investigation was undertaken, between June 2014 and August 2014 and
accompanies this application.
The investigation included soil and water contamination testing.
Subsequent further groundwater testing and gas monitoring was undertaken from four boreholes, on
six subsequent occasions during to August 2014 and September 2014.
The Land Contamination report accompanies this application and contains details of the chemical
testing carried out, risk assessment to human health, environmental risk assessment with respect to
controlled waters, results of the gas monitoring and recommendations. In summary the results of
chemical analysis were all below respective guideline values, described as very low, and are
considered not to pose a risk to human health. Asbestos screening was carried out, no asbestos was
detected.
Results of sub-strata testing indicate very low concentrations of potential contaminants in the soil and
water, and given the ground conditions, it is considered unlikely that any receptors (controlled waters in
this case) are at risk. No further assessment of the risks to controlled waters is considered necessary.
Some localised gas (carbon dioxide) was detected in one of the boreholes, and some localised
mitigation will be required, in the form of a sub-slab vapour barrier.
3.5
Surface Water Considerations
A Flood Consequence Assessment has been prepared and also forms part of this planning application.
The conclusions of this assessment were that the adjacent pond will be used to attenuate storm water,
in order to mitigate the known occasional downstream flooding problems at the northerly site boundary.
The surface area of the pond is approximately 9.146 sqm, sufficient attenuation can be achieved by
simple modification of the outlet weir arrangement.
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Document Title: Planning Statement
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4
PLANNING HISTORY AND POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
4.1
Planning History of the Site
The existing K-C site in Flint has been operational since the early 1980’s. It has developed over a
number of years and the massing of the structures has largely been dictated by the evolution of the
processes undertaken on site. The existing Flint Mill was constructed circa. 1982 as a warehouse.
Internal alterations were made to the mill in 2002. Since then there has been a series of planning
permissions and developments undertaken at the site:
•
Erection of extensions to 2 no. separate existing Colehill and Delyn warehouses (ref:
045427) approved in 2009;
•
Construction of a screw press house sludge crumb bunker building and truck loading silo
(ref: 040882) approved in 2006;
•
Construction of a canopy (ref: 039949) approved in 2005;
•
Replacement of a paper machine hood exhaust chimney stack with a stack (ref: 038984)
approved 2005; and
•
Installation of a 1.5m diameter mist exhaust duct (ref: 039024) approved in 2005.
Most recently Delyn Mill was partially demolished in 2013/14.
4.2
Local Development Plan
The Flintshire Unitary Development Plan (FUDP) is the adopted development plan for the 15 year
period 2000 – 2015. The aim of the FUDP is to provide a framework for making rational and
consistent decisions on planning applications and to guide development to appropriate locations.
In Section 2.1, with regard to the FUDP Strategy and with regard to promotion of new development to
meet with demand whilst safeguarding the environment states that:
“Flintshire continues to need more houses, jobs, facilities and infrastructure. At the same time, the
Council is acutely aware of the need to protect and enhance Flintshire’s built and natural environment
and heritage.”
Policy GEN1 with regard to the general requirements for all types of development, states:
a.
“the development should harmonise with the site and surroundings in terms of the siting,
scale, design, layout, use of space, materials, external appearance and landscaping;
b.
the development should take account of personal and community safety and security in the
design and layout of development and public/private spaces;
c.
the development should not have a significant adverse impact on recognised wildlife
species and habitats, woodlands, other landscape features, townscapes, built heritage,
features of archaeological interest, nor the general natural and historic environment;
d.
the development should not have a significant adverse impact on the safety and amenity of
nearby residents, other users of nearby land/property, or the community in general, through
increased activity, disturbance, noise, dust, vibration, hazard, or the adverse effects of
pollution;
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e.
the development should provide, where appropriate, safe and convenient access for
pedestrians, cyclists, persons with disabilities, and vehicles, together with adequate and
suitably located parking spaces and servicing/manoeuvring space;
f.
the development should not have an unacceptable effect on the highway network as a
result of problems arising from traffic generation, and should incorporate traffic calming
measures where appropriate.”
Other relevant considerations of Policy GEN1 are:
“i.
the development should not result in/be susceptible to problems related to drainage, land
stability, contamination, or flooding, either on or off site;
j.
the development should not prejudice land or buildings safeguarded for other uses, or
impair the development or use of adjoining land.”
Concerning design quality, Policy D1 (Design Quality, Location and Layout), states that above all
“All development must incorporate good standards of design”
And that:
“it respects the scale of surrounding development, its location, siting, and layout make the best use of
land, minimise the need to travel, and provide a safe and attractive environment”
Concerning the need to promote the local economy, Policy STR3 (Employment) states:
“The Plan will facilitate a diverse and sustainable economy through
…
d.
existing employment sites and buildings being retained, where necessary and practicable,
for that use; and
e.
appropriate expansion of existing firms and businesses.”
Policy EM5 (Expansion of Existing Concerns), highlights how to support the expansion of existing
industrial employers, in the area, as it states:
“Outside allocated sites, Development Zones or Principal Employment Areas the expansion of
industrial concerns will be permitted only where:
a.
it is located on land within or abutting the boundary of existing premises;
b.
any new development is subsidiary to the existing operation;
a.
the scale of the total cumulative development is in keeping with both the site and its
surroundings;
c.
development relates physically to the scale, pattern and form of existing development;
Concerning accessibility, Policy AC13 (Access and Traffic Impact) states that:
“Development proposals will be permitted only if:
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a.
approach roads to the site are of an adequate standard to accommodate the traffic likely to
be generated by the development without compromising public safety, health and amenity;
and
b.
safe vehicular access can be provided by the developer both to and from the main highway
network.”
d.
“any new site boundary is logical, utilising existing features wherever possible, or
incorporates suitable boundary treatment, supplemented by sensitive landscaping
measures; and
e.
the proposal is appropriate to the location and does not cause unacceptable harm to
residential amenity or areas and features of landscape, nature conservation and historic
importance.”
Policy AC18 (Parking Provision and New Development) identifies maximum parking requirements and
a series of considerations that may reduce the parking requirement. Whilst this scheme does not
neatly fit into these criteria it goes on to identify parking requirements, the essence of the policy is to
ensure that alternative more sustainable forms of travel are not discouraged by excessive provision of
car parking and that the surrounding areas are not detrimentally affected by ‘overspill parking’ from the
proposal site.
Further it the in the accompany text to this policy it states:
“full standards, including further details on how the standards will be implemented, will be set out in a
Local Planning Guidance Note…”
The Local Planning Guidance Note referred to is No. 11 (October 2006) and this states that:
“There may be occasions where the local circumstances, such as the availability and existing capacity
of nearby parking and public transport, and the particular characteristics of the development, do no
justify the maximum parking provision indicated above. The authority may give consideration to a
reduction in the parking provision. The developer will be required to give a reasoned assessment to
justify the parking provision proposed. The assessment will form the basis of the process to determine
the required parking provision.”
And goes on to state:
“It should be noted that the car parking standards are maximum standards for each land use category.
Where the maximum is not provided the developer will be required to show the scale of the journeys to
the site and the demand for parking attributable to these journeys. If this exceeds the proposed parking
provision, the developer will have to show how the resulting shortfall will be catered for.”
The Natural Resources Wales' Flood Map for Surface Water shows that some areas of the Aber Park
Industrial Estate are at risk of surface water flooding. Policy EWP 17 - Flood Risk therefore needs to
be considered as part of this scheme. The policy states:
“Development which would seek to reduce the impact and frequency of flood risk to areas at risk of
flooding will be generally supported provided:
a.
the design and character of the works is appropriate to the locality;
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b.
the works do not adversely impact on interests of acknowledged nature conservation and
recreation importance; and
c.
the works do not increase flood risk elsewhere.
Other development within areas at risk of flooding will only be permitted where the Council considers
that the development is justified and is satisfied that:
4.3
a.
the consequences of a flooding event can be effectively managed;
b.
it would not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere;
c.
appropriate alleviation or mitigation measures have been incorporated into the proposal and
will be available for the lifetime of the development; and
d.
it would not have any adverse effects on the integrity of tidal and fluvial flood defences.”
Policy Summary
Given the location of the proposals within the K-C Flint site, it is considered that the siting, massing
design and scale of the development is consistent and appropriate for its immediate surroundings.
The extension to Flint mill is in a central location of the site and does not impact upon the neighbouring
users. In addition there is not considered to be any significant environment impacts, so it is considered
to be in accordance with the provisions of Policy GEN 1 and Policy D1.
The expansion of existing industrial activities is also supported within the provisions Policy STR3 and
Policy EM5, as the proposal will create employment opportunities and as the investment on an existing
site will also help safeguard existing employment.
The proposed extension is estimated to take the proposal to a level of activity previously experienced
at the site and before the Delyn Mill operation was closed in 2011, and whilst not providing the extra
numbers of car parking spaces commensurate with the extension, it is considered the existing
provision is in excess of what is currently required and that the circumstances mean that it conforms
with the car parking exemptions as outlined in the Local Planning Guidance Note 11. Discussions with
Local Highway Authority have acknowledged this parking situation and also the access proposals, and
have considered them to be acceptable and thus in accordance with the provisions of Policies AC13
and AC18.
Flood attenuation measures have been incorporated into the design so that the capacity of the pond to
the south can cope with any increased surface water flow. As a consequence it is considered that any
risk from flooding from surface water has been satisfactorily mitigated against and thus it is in
accordance with the provisions of policy EWP 17.
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CONCLUSIONS
Project Kasabian provides an opportunity for significantly investment at K-C’s site in Flint, North Wales.
A series of developments have already been supported by the Local Planning Authority since it was
occupied in the early 1980’s. Recently part of the site has been cleared (part of Delyn Mill), but this
current proposal shows that K-C are keen to invest in the Flint site.
The proposals are considered modest, when considering the total area of the site and the current
levels of floorspace. They will bring the levels of activity and traffic up to levels just prior to the removal
of a large area of the Delyn Mill building. Consequently there is considered to be more than adequate
parking capacity upon the site and that the traffic flow servicing the site will not be detrimental to the
operation of the surrounding highway network.
The design and location of the proposals are also considered in-keeping and appropriate for their
respective locations. The means of surface water attenuation has been designed to avoid the increase
of the flood risk to the surrounding areas and there are not considered to be any other significant
environmental impact of the proposals.
In the light of the above, Flintshire County Council are respectfully requested to support these
proposals and approve the Planning Application.
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REFERENCE DOCUMENTS AND DRAWINGS
This Planning Statement is to be read in association with the documents identified in Table 5.1:
Table 5.1: Planning Documentation
Document Title
Document Number
Rev / Date
1
Design and Access Statement
60-PV49-01 / A.02e / 1002
A
08-Dec-14
2
Flood Consequence Assessment
60-PV49-01 / A.02e / 1003
A
08-Dec-14
3
Land Contamination Report
60-PV49-01 / A.02e / 1004
1
20-Nov-14
The Planning Statement and the Design and Access Statement, are to be read in association with list
of Planning Drawings in Table 5.2:
Table 5.2 Planning Drawings
Number
Title
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0001
/A0
(Planning)
Site Location Plan
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0002
/A0
(Planning)
Local Area Plot Plan
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0003
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill Ground Floor Plan (Existing)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0004
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill Mezzanine Floor Plan (Existing)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0005
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill Roof Plan (Existing)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0006
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill External Elevations (Existing)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0007
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill Ground Floor Plan (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0008
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill Mezzanine Floor Plan (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0009
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill Roof Plan (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0010
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill External Elevations Sht 1 (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0011
/A0
(Planning)
Flint Mill External Elevations Sht 2 (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0012
/A0
(Planning)
Site Car Parking & Vehicle Movements
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0013
/A0
(Planning)
Pallet Store Plans/Sections/Elevations (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0014
/A0
(Planning)
Fork Lift Truck Maintenance Building
Plans/Sections/Elevations (Proposed)
60-PV49-01
A.01a
0015
/A0
(Planning)
Compressor Housing – Typical Proposed
Arrangement and Example Image
60-PV49-01
C.01a
0021
/A0
(Planning)
Proposed Surface Water Drainage Scheme