Kerswell Gardens
Was the site inspected by your waste planning officers and how often?
Visits by planning officers to the site have been undertaken on the following dates:
25 March 2015
23 October 2015
23 March 2016
27 July 2017
11 February 2020
Was there any signalling to the Environment Agency when the waste amounts were exceeded, and how often?
The Council’s response to the previous request Kerswell Gardens included records of correspondence between the County Council and the Environment Agency regarding this facility, but these do not include specific “signalling to the Environment Agency when the waste amounts were exceeded”, apart from an email dated 20 August 2015 when reference was made to “the amount of material on the site”.
What action was taken by your waste planning officers when the amount reached 40000 tonnes (EA official records)?
Devon County Council has not quantified the tonnage of waste materials present at the site, but it noted in its enforcement assessment report of 25 March 2015 (a copy of which was provided in response to the previous request Kerswell Gardens) that the amounts of waste materials stored at the site were greater than the thresholds allowed for in Condition 8 of the planning permission.
Subsequently, the following action was undertaken by the County Council:
01/04/2015: letter to Armabridge referring to this breach and requesting submission of a site survey and details of tonnages of materials by 17 April 2015.
29/10/2015: email to Armabridge and agent referring to excess materials and giving a deadline of 11 December 2015 for submission of a planning application.
31/03/2016: letter to Armabridge warning of potential enforcement action, including in respect of breach of Condition 8, and enclosing a S330 Notice seeking information on Armabridge’s interest in the site.
02/08/2016: S330 Notice served accompanied by a letter advising of potential enforcement action in respect of the restoration of the site.
30/08/2016: further letter to director of The Landscape Company (SW) Ltd requiring completion of the S330 Notice.
11/10/2016: letter to landowner, advising of the potential for enforcement action.
25/10/2016: email to landowners solicitor explaining that the County Council is looking for removal of all waste materials and return of the land to agricultural use.
09/01/2017: restoration scheme approved by Devon County Council.
25/05/2017: email to landowners solicitor requiring restoration to be undertaken by 26 July 2017 in accordance with the approved documents.