• CONTENTS
• List of Policies
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Maps
• Introduction
• Part I Strategy & Policies
• Strategy
• Policies
• Part II Detailed Policies & Justification
• 1 Sustainability Appraisal
• 2 The Environment
• 3 Design
• 4 Housing
• 5 Industry and Employment
• 6 Rural Economy
• 7 Tourism
• 8 Shopping
• 9 Movement
• 10 Conservation of the Historic Environment
• 11 Countryside
• 12 Nature Conservation
• 13 Recreation & Leisure
• 14 Community Facilities
• 15 Minerals
• 16 Waste Planning Management
• 17 Implementation & Monitoring
• Appendix 1: Cadw Register of Landscapes, Parks & Gardens
• Appendix 2: Licensed Non-landfill Waste Facilities
• Glossary

15 Minerals

Minerals Objectives

1. To allow for appropriate mineral development which minimises harm to the environment and local communities.

2. To encourage the use of secondary aggregates to protect finite natural resources.

3. To protect existing sources of high grade minerals for the most appropriate use and prevent the unnecessary sterilisation of resources.

4. To ensure that when extraction operations cease the land is reclaimed to a high standard and to a beneficial and sustainable after-use.

15.1 INTRODUCTION

15.1.1 Minerals are a fundamental national resource and provide energy (e.g. coal, oil and gas), construction materials (e.g. hard rock, sand and gravel) and raw materials for industry (e.g. limestone). Therefore, minerals are indispensable to the national, regional and local economy and provision must be made to ensure an adequate and continuing supply. Monmouthshire, in conjunction with other authorities in South Wales, is responsible for ensuring its share of the regional demand for minerals is met in a sustainable manner taking into account social, environmental and economic costs.

15.1.2 The basic facts of geology mean that minerals can only be exploited where they are found. This underlies the fundamental conflicts of interest between the need for minerals and the impact of “winning and working” them on the environment and the amenity of local communities which have grown up close to and on these mineral deposits. The closeness of these communities to remaining reserves of minerals, together with a much larger scale of operation, is potentially a major source of conflict. Another is that in many cases the durability of the rocks, which resisted the forces of erosion to create attractive landscapes, is the very characteristic essential for construction materials. Extraction of these minerals can be detrimental to environmental quality. Reconciling these conflicts of interest is the task of the planning system. Monmouthshire County Council has special responsibility for development control as Mineral Planning Authority (MPA). This chapter will replace the mineral policies of the Gwent Structure Plan 1996 when adopted, and has taken account of the Draft Gwent Aggregates Minerals Local Plan; which was issued in Draft in 1987, but was never taken through inquiry to adoption. This later Plan made reference to potential mineral extraction at Five Lanes Quarry that has now been dropped given the environmental constraints and the large land bank of permitted reserves elsewhere within the County. It also mentioned the possibility of sand and gravel extraction in the Trellech area, but this has since been discounted by the minerals industry because of problems of ensuring an adequate water supply for washing the mineral and the satisfactory settling and disposal of the resultant by-products. Other extraction sites mentioned in the Gwent Plan are discussed in the following UDP paragraphs.

15.1.3 In December 2000, the National Assembly for Wales issued advice in Mineral Planning Policy Wales (MPPW), which sets the broad framework for considering development proposals for mineral extraction and related development. Guidance on marine aggregates is given in Interim Marine Aggregates Dredging Policy South Wales November 2004 (IMADP). Other advice on minerals will be given in Minerals Technical Advice Notes; the first one on Aggregates was issued in March 2004 (MTAN1).

15.1.4 Review of Existing Workings: The Environment Act 1995 requires the MPA, i.e. the Council, to carry out periodic reviews of all mineral planning permissions in its area. The purpose of the review is to assess the continuing effectiveness of existing working, restoration and aftercare arrangements of mineral working sites and, where necessary, update planning permissions granted many years ago with the intention of protecting both amenity and the environment. The former Gwent County Council produced a ‘Review of Mineral Planning Permissions: Schedule of Sites’ document in January 1996. The ‘First List’ dealt with permissions granted before 1st April 1969, and Caerwent Quarry, near Caldicot, is the only quarry in Monmouthshire within this category. This permission has now expired and the quarry is reverting satisfactorily to a natural state, although some additional restoration works may still be needed and, if it becomes necessary, the Council will consider using its enforcement powers to achieve this. The ‘Second List’ refers to permissions granted between 1st April 1969 and 21st February 1982, where conditions will have to be submitted to the MPA by 31st October 2001. However, there are no such mineral planning permissions within Monmouthshire.

15.1.5 For the remainder of the sites where permission was granted on or after 22nd February 1982, a different regime applies. In these cases, the permission will be periodically reviewed no later than 15 years after the relevant permission was granted. There are two such mineral planning permissions in Monmouthshire, i.e. the Bedwin Sands in the Severn Estuary (review date 9th June 2002, which has been extended, the application still being under consideration); and Livox Quarry, north of Chepstow (review date 13th September 2006). Ifton Quarry, near Rogiet has recently been reviewed under the Modification Order Procedures. In reviewing these permissions the latest technological innovations and environmental standards will be applied.

15.1.6 Paragraph 14 of MPPW requires that development plans should make clear where mineral extraction should, or is most likely to, take place, clearly identifying these areas on a proposals map. This approach is not considered to be necessary in Monmouthshire. There is an ample land bank in the County for stone aggregates, as described in paragraph 15.6.2 below. The situation in the County regarding sand and gravel deposits is such that site specific or area of search policies are not appropriate, as explained in paragraph 15.7.6 below. The Plan does, however, contain a criteria based policy (Policy MN1) in order to guide the review of existing permissions and facilitate the consideration of any new proposals that may arise.

15.2 GENERAL MINERAL DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERATIONS

15.2.1 Mineral extraction can be damaging to the environment and to the amenity of local communities. The need for the particular mineral must therefore be weighed against the impact of the extraction and associated operations. Account must also be taken of the extent to which environmental impacts can be mitigated and of any positive environmental benefits that can be achieved. The above criteria are intended to provide a general checklist of matters to be considered, though not all the criteria will be applicable in all cases. Additional matters are included in policies relating to specific minerals and may arise in particular circumstances.

15.2.2 Nowhere is the conflict of interest between the case for mineral extraction and the need for protection of the environment more sharply drawn than in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The durability of the rocks that created dramatic landscapes is the quality sought for construction purposes and other industrial uses. Government guidelines therefore stress that “because of the serious impact mineral working may have on the natural beauty of AONBs, minerals applications in these areas must be subject to the most rigorous examination”. AONBs are of national importance in landscape terms and it is therefore appropriate that any mineral extraction from them should be of overriding national importance.

15.2.3 The Council is required to consider whether a proposed development requires Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and current guidance is given in the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (England & Wales) Regulations 1999 and National Assembly Circular 11/99 ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’. An EIA is a technique for drawing together in a systematic way expert quantitative analysis and qualitative assessment of the environmental effects of proposed development. Presenting the results in an Environmental Statement enables the importance of the predicted effects, and the scope for mitigating them, to be properly evaluated.

15.2.4 Mineral extraction can have the effect of temporarily or permanently impacting upon groundwater levels or flows in the area, which can reduce flows in watercourses, affect existing water abstractions, impact upon water features and the flora and fauna dependent on those features. Potential developers should contact the Environment Agency Wales at the earliest opportunity as there may be a requirement for pre-development monitoring of water resources, which could be 18 months or longer.

15.2.5 Substitute Materials - Various materials sometimes considered as waste are effective substitutes for natural aggregates for many purposes. Such materials, which lie within or near Monmouthshire, include power station fuel ash (PFA), steelworks slag, colliery spoils, demolition waste, road scalpings and spent rail ballast. Some of these materials are already widely used and have been found to have properties that make them particularly suitable for specialist purposes. However, whilst it is accepted that there can be substitution of some materials, in some cases, this cannot be regarded as a general position as alternative materials can cause their own environmental problems. For example, power station fuel ash is lightweight and very strong and so is valuable where the ground requires lightweight construction and bulk fill, but should be used only where there will not be leaching of elements from the ash that will have an adverse impact on flora and fauna and the water environment. However, the full potential of secondary aggregates has not been realised and there remains suspicion and prejudice against them by many users, including local government specifiers. Increased use of secondary aggregates is to be encouraged because it not only avoids the tipping of waste, but also reduces the amount of primary aggregates that need to be extracted, a double advantage environmentally. It also meets sustainability criteria and County policies under Local Agenda 21.

15.2.6 Restoration - Mineral operations disturb the environment by consuming land rather than simply using it. It is therefore desirable that such disturbance is kept to a minimum, by restoring progressively and at the earliest opportunity behind operations as they progress. By this means, disturbance can be confined to the smallest possible area at any one time. Appropriate restoration and management will be required as a matter of course as the creation of dereliction that has occurred in the past is no longer acceptable. Therefore, a ‘Quarry Restoration Design’ must be submitted with any minerals application (including applications to review old mineral permissions) and approved before any works can commence. This restoration design must include details of: existing, phased and final landforms; quarry floors, faces and spoil tips; soil storage areas including an assessment of volumes and quality; the phasing of progressive restoration; the location of bunding and screening to mitigate environmental impact; a landscape strategy for areas of retained, existing and proposed new planting; where applicable, proposals for on or off site drainage or water storage; a strategy for aftercare including timing of restoration proposals; and a strategy for the after-use of the quarry area. The Quarry Restoration Design will be kept under review during the lifetime of the mineral operation.

15.3 PROTECTION OF COMMERCIAL MINERAL RESOURCES

15.3.1 Mineral resources are finite and irreplaceable. Policy MN2 aims to restrict non-mineral development in areas of permitted and potential future working which would hinder such working. The main threat to commercial mineral resources comes from the pressure for development on the edge of existing settlements. The purpose of MSAs, where designated, is to protect access to mineral deposits that society may need in the future. It should not be taken as implying that the working of the safeguarded resource will necessarily be acceptable and an extension to the permitted workings is unlikely to be necessary during the plan period (in accord with Policy MN5). However, a minimum ‘buffer zone’ of 100 metres for sand & gravel and other quarries where no blasting is permitted and 200 metres for hard rock quarries is required between extraction / processing areas and site haul roads and nearby residential properties. In rural areas new development is severely restricted and the risk of sterilisation is correspondingly minimal.

15.3.2 Livox Quarry, which is north of Chepstow and in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, until a few years ago primarily produced high quality dolomitic limestone, used as a flux at the nearby Llanwern Steelworks. Despite Livox Quarry’s location within the Wye Valley AONB, the current permission, which expires on 31st December 2011, was granted in September 1991 in the national interest, as no suitable alternative source of this grade of dolomitic limestone was available at that time. The steelworks has now completely ceased production; therefore, the quarry is now being used for aggregate production and there is a road coating plant on site. However, given current rates of extraction, it is expected that not all of the permitted reserves will be quarried by the end of 2011 and a further 3.2 million tonnes of limestone lie to the west of the quarry protected from sterilisation by a Minerals Safeguarding Area under Policy MN2. In the next review of this Plan, given the AONB location of the quarry, the most rigorous examination of the permitted end date for mineral extraction will need to be made, in respect of the future of any unused reserves, the practicalities of achieving restoration / beneficial after-use at that time, the need for aggregates and non-aggregates and the future of the adjacent safeguarded limestone resource.

15.3.3 The desirability of safeguarding sand and gravel resources, both marine and terrestrial (including potential resources in the Usk Valley) is dealt with in section 15.7.

15.4 MINERAL TIPPING

15.4.1 Policy MN3 relates to mineral waste that is the product of quarrying operations and which cannot be recycled, or is produced in association with other forms of development, such as road planings or construction / demolition activities. There are no plans to recycle quarry waste at present.

15.5 LOCAL BUILDING & WALLING STONE

15.5.1 Monmouthshire does not have high quality building and walling stone available within its boundaries and the UDP and Draft Design Guide SPG (Chapter 18: Hard Material Palettes) aim to reinforce the distinctiveness, character and identity of the County by using locally derived materials and skills in restoration work and new building. Policy MN4 will facilitate the development of small-scale quarries where appropriate to meet this need, which cannot be met by other existing quarries. However, any application will be considered against all other relevant UDP policies and there will be a strong presumption against the use of blasting and large road vehicles by the use of conditions.

15.6 AGGREGATES: STONE

15.6.1 It is essential to the health of the national and local economy that the construction industry is provided with a steady and adequate supply of the minerals it needs. There are two aggregate minerals quarries in Monmouthshire: Ifton Quarry, north of the village of Rogiet and the M48 Motorway; and Livox Quarry north of Chepstow and in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

15.6.2 The South Wales Regional Aggregates Working Party (SWRAWP) published “Guidelines for Aggregates Provision in South Wales” in 1995 based upon annual surveys of reserves, supply & distribution and expected future demand for aggregates. These guidelines apportioned production to the old Counties, including Gwent, and covered the period 1992 - 2006. As the SWRAWP has not yet updated these figures no guidance has been provided to 2011; the end of the plan period. Given that production has fluctuated dramatically over the past three years it is not possible to establish a base for land bank purposes. In the interim the Council can only state that at January 1st 1999, it had a maximum of approximately 17.5 million tonnes of permitted reserves and at current rates of extraction it would be expected to last approximately 40 to 50 years, even when taking into account the possibility of Livox Quarry closing at the end of 2011 with a large volume of the current reserve remaining. Indeed given Monmouthshire’s peripheral location to the larger markets and the limited distance minerals can economically travel, even at say a maximum of 500,000 tonnes per year this reserve would last approximately 30 to 35 years. Ifton Quarry has a planning permission for limestone extraction that extends well beyond the Plan period. The quarry is currently inactive but should demand for limestone increase then extraction could recommence to meet this demand.

15.6.3 The main thrust of Policy MN5 is therefore to maintain supplies of crushed rock to meet Monmouthshire’s sustainable contribution to the national and regional need for aggregates and to respond to changes in market demand so as to avoid placing an unsustainable burden of supply on adjoining mineral planning authorities and without allowing a proliferation of quarries or an unsustainable increase in permitted reserves which would discourage the use of substitute materials.

15.7 AGGREGATES: SAND

15.7.1 Construction frequently requires fine aggregates, sand, as well as coarse aggregates and crushed rock. Traditionally in South Wales nearly 90% of such material has been sea dredged from the Bristol Channel rather than land won and this material has to date proved adequate in quantity and suitable in quality for all purposes. There are no permitted land based sand and gravel sites in Monmouthshire, and there is only one marine sand-dredging site at Bedwin Sands, in the Bristol Channel south of Caldicot. The operator has planning permission to dredge up to 150,000 tons per year up until 30th June 2013, the greater majority of which is landed at the North Dock in Newport with the rest being landed at Fairfield’s Wharf in Chepstow. A review of the conditions of this planning permission is currently being undertaken. As part of this review the County Council is considering a proposal to increase dredging from the Bedwin Sands to 200,000 tonnes per annum.

15.7.2 There are very strong concerns being expressed by the general public about the environmental damage of continued dredging in the Bristol Channel and a number of studies have been carried out into land and marine sand and gravel extraction in South East Wales(*1) . The Welsh Assembly Government subsequently, in November 2004, issued its policy document: the Interim Marine Aggregates Dredging Policy South Wales (IMADP). This document confirms WAG’s policy (stated in December 2002 in a Ministerial Position Statement) that ‘While other sources of supply of suitable fine aggregates will continue to be investigated, the use of marine dredged sand and gravel will continue in the foreseeable future but only where this remains consistent with the principles of sustainable development.’ It is intended that aggregates dredging will progressively, over the next ten years, become focused in areas off-shore and to the west of the Bristol Channel.

(*1) (i) ‘Bristol Channel Marine Aggregates Study’ by ABP Research & Consultancy and Postford Duvivier Environment (2000).
(ii) ‘South Wales Sand & Gravel: Appraisal of Land-Based Extraction in South East Wales’ by Symonds Group (2000).
(iii) ‘Comparative Impact Assessment of Land and Marine Sand & Gravel’ by Symonds Group (2002).

15.7.3 If the extraction of marine dredged sand becomes constrained in the future, there is likely to be pressure to develop potential land based deposits of sand and gravel. Monmouthshire County Council commissioned Symonds Group Ltd. to undertake a review of the potential sand and gravel resources within Monmouthshire. This report, entitled ‘Monmouthshire UDP: Safeguarding Potential Sand & Gravel Mineral Resources’ was published in June 2004. An assessment was carried out of 26 potential resource blocks in the middle and lower Usk Valley from Llanfoist in the north to Newbridge-on-Usk in the south. While resource estimates could only be approximate, as borehole information is extremely limited, the report calculated that these blocks cover an area of 10.85 km2 and contain an estimated 157.53 million tonnes, with 33.17 million tonnes of covering materials. This is 40 per cent of the estimated total of potential sand and gravel reserves in South East Wales.

15.7.4 WAG’s position on minerals and their safeguarding is set out in paragraphs 13 and 14 of Minerals Planning Policy Wales (MPPW). Paragraph 13 requires that access to mineral deposits which society may need in the future should be safeguarded, although it is stated that this does not necessarily indicate an acceptance of working. Rather, such safeguarding would indicate that the location and quality of the mineral is known and that the environmental constraints associated with extraction have been considered. Areas to be safeguarded should be identified on proposals maps and policies should protect them from development that would either sterilise or hinder future extraction. Paragraph 14 further states that development plans should make clear where mineral extraction should, or is most likely to, take place, clearly identifying these areas on a proposals map. Such areas should consist of specific sites (where mineral resources with commercial significance exist and where development is likely to be acceptable), preferred areas (where there are areas of known resources with some commercial potential, and where planning permission might reasonably be anticipated) and areas of search (where it is likely that some sites will be appropriate for mineral extraction and where it is likely that appropriate mitigation measures can overcome all environmental effects). Within areas of search planning permission could be granted to meet a shortfall of supply should specific sites or sites in preferred areas not come forward, otherwise planning permission would not normally be granted in areas outside those identified except in exceptional circumstances.

15.7.5 WAG’s position in relation to sand and gravel extraction is set out in paragraph 32 of Minerals TAN1: Aggregates. It is recognised that land based extraction is not considered appropriate at the present time but WAG still requires that those resources are safeguarded for potential use for future generations in view of their limited regional availability. Mineral planning authorities, therefore, are required to safeguard the resources in their development plans (in accord with paragraph 13 of MPPW) and to make clear whether or not it will be acceptable for the resources to be exploited during the plan period and what criteria would be used to judge any future proposals.

15.7.6 Having regard to the requirements of Paragraph 13 of MPPW, in Monmouthshire the full extent of potential sand and gravel reserves in the identified resource blocks is not known, as limited borehole investigation has been carried out, and it is far from clear, in any event, that their commercial exploitation would be viable. Such exploitation would also have considerable environmental implications, particularly in close proximity to the River Usk, which is a Special Area of Conservation and where it is likely that any Environmental Impact Assessment would identify a potential impact that would be difficult to alleviate or mitigate for. In addition, the situation in the Usk Valley does not fit into the categories for safeguarding set out in paragraph 14 of MPPW. The current WAG stance is that marine dredging is preferred over land based extraction. There is, therefore, no current need for extraction in the Usk Valley and no justification for designating specific sites, preferred areas or areas of search, even if environmental concerns could be met, which the Council considers to be extremely unlikely.

15.7.7 Nevertheless, evidence already available does suggest that significant resources could exist in some areas. It would be imprudent to jeopardise the ability of future generations to exploit them, if considered appropriate, by allowing other forms of development. Even in countryside locations some forms of sensitive development may not be ruled out by other policies. Policy MN6 safeguards such resources in accordance with WAG’s policy stance. At the same time, such safeguarding does not indicate acceptance of working. Policy MN6 also makes clear that exploitation during the lifetime of the plan would only be allowed in unforeseen and exceptional circumstances.

15.7.8 Safeguarding zones are identified on the proposals map. These are designated for blocks 2N, 2P, 2U, 2W and 2X (identified as high priority for safeguarding in the 2004 Report) and blocks 2H, 2L, 2Q and 2V (identified as offering the prospect of good quantities of mineral but likely to be more clayey than the high priority group). WAG considers that the five blocks in the Lower Usk Valley (Blocks 11A – 11E) should also be safeguarded as they are identified in the 2004 Report as ‘potentially useful prospects’. These are also included on the proposals map, therefore, although they do appear to be hampered by geological and environmental constraints, as well as significant flood risk. The safeguarding areas plotted on the proposals map include 100 metre buffer zones as required by paragraph 40 of MPPW and paragraphs 70-72 of MTAN1. Not all existing resource blocks in Monmouthshire are identified for safeguarding. Three are within the Brecon Beacons National Park and their safeguarding or otherwise would be a matter for the National Park Authority. Information provided on the block at Grove Farm, Llanfoist has eliminated it from further consideration. Eight blocks in the Middle Usk Valley have been identified as a low priority for safeguarding (unlikely to offer economically viable resource prospects) and are not identified on the proposals map.

15.7.9 With regard to the safeguarding of marine aggregate resources, it is WAG policy (as set out in the IMADP, paragraph 2.14) that it be consulted on any proposed non-dredging development in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. The protection of the aggregates resource will be considered in responding to consultations on applications for any such development and WAG may advise that the application should be refused or that steps should be taken to avoid the sterilisation of the mineral resource. No specific safeguarding zone needs to be identified, therefore, in relation to the area currently being exploited at Bedwin Sands.

15.8 OIL AND GAS

15.8.1 Some of the rocks underlying Monmouthshire may contain commercial quantities of hydrocarbons, i.e. oil and/or gas. The one exploration well drilled in the County in 1988, north of Usk, indicated that hydrocarbons are present but in less than commercial quantities and the exploration licence was subsequently relinquished. This well did, however, serve to exemplify the very high standards of site operation and restoration that can be achieved at hydrocarbon drilling sites. During both the exploration and development stages very careful siting and planning controls ensure that disturbance and environmental impact are kept to a minimum.

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