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Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2003

Application form

This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically (pdf version) on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning . Please complete all four questions. The deadline is 12 September 2003. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.

Please provide a name and contact details of the organisation responsible for this work. If partners were involved, identify the lead organisation, and then list the other partners/bodies who had a key role.

Name of key partners (if appropriate)

Please complete the form by providing a brief summary (in no more than the space provided) of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude, with a key reason, as to why you think this work merits an Award.

Please tick the key criteria which relate to this entry:

You must describe in your written submission (below) how the criteria which you have ticked relates to your project.

Description of project

East Ayrshire experiences significant and sustained pressure from the coal industry for the extraction of the substantial coal reserves that are located throughout the authority area. The Opencast Coal Subject Plan has been prepared:

• to address and manage the full range of often irreconcilable operational, environmental and amenity issues raised by opencast coal extraction developments;
• to direct coal extraction developments to specific identified areas in order to give certainty to the coal industry and local residents;
• to minimise any adverse impacts of opencast coal extraction on the amenity of local residents and the environment;
• to establish a clear and concise policy framework against which all opencast coal
• extraction proposals will be assessed;
• to provide clear advice to developers and the general public on the Council's approach to opencast coal proposals; and
• to encourage and ensure the highest possible standards for the operation, restoration, aftercare and after-use of opencast sites.

Timescale (over which the project has developed)

The original consultative draft version of the Subject Plan was prepared by the former Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council in 1995. Following local government reorganisation, an updated consultation version of the Subject Plan was produced in 1997, placing the plan in an East Ayrshire context. A finalised version of the plan, incorporating the findings of the then Scottish Office's consultation paper 'Opencast Coal - Review of Planning Policy in Scotland' was then prepared, this plan being further refined to meet the requirements of NPPG1 6 : Opencast Coal and Related Minerals, published in March 1999. Following a public Local Inquiry into unresolved objections to the plan, the Subject Plan was formally adopted by the Council on 14 March 2003. The Subject Plan has remained, since its inception, fully responsive to emerging governmental policy and advice on the subject of opencast coal extraction. This has ensured that the plan has fully reflected the most up to date national policy available at every stage of its production.

Context (the problem which had to be addressed)

At the time that work first started on the preparation of the Subject Plan, there was no comprehensive national, strategic or Local planning policy context against which the increasing numbers of opencast coal related applications received by the authority could be assessed. The Subject Plan was therefore prepared in the context of:

• a significant and continuous increase in applications for the extraction of coal by opencast methods within East Ayrshire;
• a lack of any detailed, comprehensive, national, regional or authority wide policy framework against which opencast coal related applications could be assessed;
• significant pressure for opencast development in environmentally sensitive locations and locations detrimental to the amenity of local residents and communities;
• a lack of certainty by local residents and developers as to where opencast development would be considered acceptable to the Council; and
• a concern of residents that the amenity and the environment of local communities would be disadvantaged by opencast developments.

Action taken

The Subject Plan has addressed the problems identified above by directing developers to a series of Potential Coal Extraction Areas where opencast operations are acceptable in principle and by developing a comprehensive, authority wide set of policies covering all aspects of opencast coal development. The plan also protects local amenity and the environment by restricting opencast developments in sensitive locations, by creating buffer zones around settlements and by encouraging developers to adopt good and efficient operational practices. These actions have been facilitated through the introduction of extensive consultation and partnership arrangements with opencast operators, amenity and other specialist organisations, local communities, other Council Departments and neighbouring authorities. The Council has also drawn on its own substantial in-house expertise and professional knowledge, gained through extensive experience in dealing with all aspects of opencast coal development at the policy, planning application and operational level over a considerable number of years.

Results achieved

Production of the plan has resulted in a positive and equitable approach being taken by the Council in its assessment of opencast coal related developments, providing both local residents and the industry with a degree of certainty as to where future development may be considered acceptable. Certainty has also resulted in continuing benefits to local communities through providing sustained employment, in an area of high unemployment, for local people within the industry. The plan has identified a series of Potential Coal Extraction Areas, positively located away from local communities, sensitive landscapes and natural habitats, thus protecting the amenity of local residents and the environment from any adverse impacts of inappropriately located opencast development. Protection of the landscape and the environment and the promotion of operational practices which minimise any adverse effects of development on local communities are key underlying concepts behind the plan, reflecting the plans strong adherence to the principles of sustainability.

By positively directing opencast development to areas of existing dereliction and degraded land, the plan has also achieved the restoration and regeneration of substantial areas of existing rural dereliction. In addition, the promotion of sensitive restoration practices has also resulted in the restoration of operational land to a wide range of beneficial and economic after-uses for agricultural, forestry, nature conservation and leisure and recreation purposes. The promotion and establishment of the Minerals Trust Fund as an integral part of the plan, a concept subsequently incorporated into national guidance, has also resulted in some 2.9 million being channelled into a wide range of regeneration projects between 1997 and 2002, benefiting those communities most disadvantaged by opencast operations. All of these measures demonstrate the plan's positive contribution to achieving benefits for local communities and protecting and enhancing community interest. The promotion of improved developer advice and guidance in the plan has also achieved substantial improvement in both on and off site operational practices by the industry. The promotion of transportation of coal by rail has also resulted in the removal of substantial volumes of heavy coal haulage traffic from the area road network on to rail, to the benefit of both local communities and the environment.

Conclusion - Why does this piece of work merit an Award?

The Council considers that the East Ayrshire Opencast Coal Subject Plan is, in its own right, at the leading edge of policy formulation in respect of opencast coal development within Scotland. The plan also represents an exemplary example as to how the highly complex and contentious environmental issue of opencast coal extraction can be addressed and developed by the planning profession through partnership working. The approach taken in the preparation of the plan is also highly innovative and proactive, as demonstrated through the plan's promotion of:

• Opencast Coal Liaison Groups to provide a forum for local communities and operators to discuss and resolve issues of concern;
• A Minerals Trust Fund which has channelled considerable sums into various environmental and other community regeneration projects within communities

• affected by opencast operations;
• Protective Buffer Zones which safeguard and protect the amenity of settlements from any opencast operations;
• A Transport of Coal by Road Protocol designed to ensure best practice by opencast operators in the transportation of coal by road.
• A Joint Environmental Accord, which sets the highest standards of operational and environmental housekeeping in relation to opencast activities.

The plan has also inspired the setting up of the East Ayrshire Coalfield Environmental Initiative, a partnership organisation which aims to achieve added value in the restoration of extraction sites and the regeneration of the coalfield area in general.

The plan has been prepared using innovative technology, making extensive use of an in-house GIS system to identify such elements as the extent of the coal resource in East Ayrshire, the location and extent of potential coal extraction areas and the location of environmental resources. The plan is therefore seen as a prime example as to how a modern, high quality policy document can be produced using up to date modern technology and new methods of working. It is also an example as to how a dedicated local plan dealing with a specific subject can, through its implementation, direct development to the most appropriate and suitable locations and, through the adoption of pertinent, comprehensive and positive policies, achieve development of the highest quality on the ground. Customer satisfaction with the plan is also evident, with a substantial decrease in the number of applications pertaining to sites outwith identified extraction areas and with applicants designing and operating their developments in full compliance with the provisions of the plan. A considerable reduction in the number and range of objections lodged with regard to opencast proposals has also been experienced since the plan has been in operation. Through all of its various stages of production the plan has informed and influenced the formulation of national advice and guidance on a wide range of opencast coal related matters. The plan has incorporated all available up4o-date guidance available and is considered to be at the forefront of planning policy formulation relating to the subject. The plan is also considered to be unique in Scotland, being the only adopted Subject Local Plan dealing specifically and exclusively with opencast coal related matters.

In summary, the East Ayrshire Opencast Coal Subject Plan is submitted for the 2003 Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning as an example of how the highly topical, locally important, sensitive and complex issues relating to opencast coal extraction can be addressed proactively through partnership working, the utilisation of innovative techniques, the application of new technology and the adoption of a culture of continuous improvement.

Date
10 September 2003

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