R. (on the application of PPG11 Limited) v Dorset County Council and Viridor Waste Management Limited

摘要

Trigon Hill Quarry was an open cast clay quarry. Permissions existed under which clay could be extracted from the site until 2015. In December 1999 Viridor Waste Management Limited (Viridor) applied to Dorset County Council (Dorset) for planning permission to use the quarry as a landfill site for controlled waste. The scheme as presented sought permission to deposit waste for some 20 years commencing in 2002 after which the site would be restored to match the surrounding heathland area. The proposed access road was routed so as to avoid, in the main, land of an ecologically sensitive nature. The net result of the scheme was that the two areas of heathland lying north and south of the clay quarry, each of which was a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) would be reunited upon the completion of the filling of the quarry when it would be covered by a new managed heathland area. Incorporated within the application was an Environmental Statement dated December 1998. There was substantial consultation following submission of the application, including two public meetings and the submission of a mass of written material, all of which was before Dorset when its relevant committee met. It also had before it a report from its Director of Environmental Services and the advice of the County Ecologist. In his report the Director considered the adequacy of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) work done by the applicant in the particular area of nature conservation and set out the proposed mitigation measures. The report concluded that provided these measures were adequately secured, it was considered that in this particular case the planning authority could reasonably and rationally conclude that there would not be significant adverse effects on protected species or important areas for nature conservation.