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Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 8 September 2006. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Chris Norman |
Job title | Chief Development Control Officer |
Organisation | West Lothian Council |
Address | County Buildings, High Street, Linlithgow, EH49 7EZ |
Telephone | 01506775224 |
Fax | 01506775255 |
Email | chris.norman@westlothian.gov.uk |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
1 Ecosse Regeneration Ltd | 2 Fauldhouse and Whitburn Community Councils |
3 CC Consultants | 4 McGrigors |
5 Bell and Scott | 6 Polkemmet Residents Groups |
3 Tick the category of nomination
Title of entry | Polkemmet Opencast Coal Site; provision for community liaison, compliance assessment and financial security |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary 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. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe, in your written submission, how the criteria which you have ticked relate to your project.
Description of project
The carrying out of opencast mining at Polkemmet to recover 1.4 million tonnes of coal has the potential to give rise to very significant environmental effects. Specific measures required by West Lothian Council though a section 75 agreement, and which are the subject of this nomination, require (a) the setting up of a community liaison committee to provide a link and forum with adjacent communities, (b) the appointment of a compliance assessor to ensure that conditions and agreements imposed by the council are met, and (c) the provision of financial guarantees of some £4m to address any default in the event of the developer not carrying out his restoration and aftercare responsibilities and otherwise prematurely vacating the site, for whatever reason. |
Context - describe the background to the project
The Polkemmet opencast coal site, operational since June 2004, is the precursor of the largest colliery regeneration project in the UK. Removal of 500 hectares of derelict, polluted and burning colliery land will allow the regeneration of the site to allow the construction of 2000 houses and two golf courses - the 'Heartlands' regeneration project. Notably, the site lies some 80 metres from the closest house and is within 500 metres of Fauldhouse, Whitburn and Longridge The failure of the developer to carry out proper restoration of the site would add to the existing dereliction on the fringes of communities already suffering from environmental injustice; community mistrust and scepticism about opencast mining required to be overcome and the council required effective specialist monitoring of the operation. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
Opencast mining in close proximity to communities was essential to realise the Heartlands regeneration scheme. The section 75 agreement required by the council sees (a) a properly constituted liaison committee meeting regularly to act as an exchange of views on the scheme and provide information to key local players on the status of the mining project (b) the compliance assessor allowing for technical scrutiny of a massive and complex mining operation and the assessment of operational and restoration components, to protect the environment and public interests and (c) the joint escrow account and standard security allows sufficient funds, at any time, for the council to assume responsibility for the completion of the project to restoration and aftercare conditions set out in the planning permission, with the provision for the release of funds as the restoration liability reduces. |
Timescale - over what timescale has the project been developed?
The section 75 agreement was compiled between August 2002 and the issuing of the planning permission in June 2004. The developer financed legal representation for the council and involved very detailed and complex calculations for the lodging of monthly payments into the joint escrow account as well as a standard security. The agreement's provisions commenced with the beginning of the mining operations and allows for a monthly report from the compliance assessor, a quarterly meeting of the liaison committee and a monthly staged payment onto the escrow account, the quantum of which now stands at £1.7m. The project will run until the completion of mining restoration in early 2008 when it will be replaced with a similar arrangement for the Heartlands s regeneration scheme |
Action - explain the process and action taken
The terms of the section 75 agreement area enacted by the appointment of ' CC Consultants' for the compliance assessor's roles. The lead consultant, formerly an employer of British Coal, is able to use his detailed technical knowledge of the mining history of the site, and opencasting generally, to ensure proper compliance by the developer with the planning permission. The community liaison committee comprises representatives of the three adjacent communities and those of local residents. The payments into the escrow account are based upon a complex calculation of quantities of material placed above ground levels on a monthly basis. A monthly demand is forwarded to the company who make payment directly to the council, in line with the demand. |
Explain the role of the key partners
The community representatives are able to report concerns that they have may have on any aspect of the mining activity. The information provided at community liaison committees includes reports from the council's planning and environmental health officers, the company and the compliance assessor. This enables each community representative to cascade this information to the wider community. The compliance assessor makes one announced and one unannounced visit to the site each month and produces a monthly report to the council setting out the degree of compliance with the planning permission and working method. Technical advices on variations to the mining methodology are also provided to the council. The compliance officer also confirms with the company the amount due to be made each month into or from the escrow account. |
Results - what results were achieved?
Since the commencement of mining operations at the site there has only been one minor complaint relating to the use of reversing bleepers on an item of mobile plant; some 24 reports have been complied saving the council considerable manpower resources in monitoring the site. Potential difficulties have been identified in early course allowing problems to be overcome without any breach of the planning permission. The community liaison meetings have been fully attended and there is current demand to increase the frequency of the meetings and expand the eligible membership. Importantly, even after the first contractor on the site went into receivership, the joint escrow account proved to be robust to meet only the council's requirements and not that of other creditors. |
Conclusion - in summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
The Polkemmet legal agreement provides for considerable innovative safeguards for the environment and local communities where opencast mining is required to regenerate derelict land in very close proximity to local communities. Opencast mining is often viewed as an unwelcome intrusion by host communities. However the steps taken by the council at Polkemmet set an example of proven means to monitor mineral planning permissions, to involve local communities in the implementation of major planning permissions and to ensure that, in the event of default, restoration and aftercare obligations can be met. With the imminent introduction in Scotland of such measures on a statutory basis Polkemmet is an early exemplar of compliance monitoring, financial bonding and community liaison, all of which form key planks of the Executive's policy on minerals planning. |
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