Miller Goodall was instructed to complete an assessment of the impact of road traffic emissions and dust generation associated with development work at a golf course to accompany a planning application.
Background
Low Laithes Golf Club, Wakefield, sought to reprofile some of their existing golf course and to improve their existing practice area through the importation of inert material.
The proposals involved the importation of inert material from construction sites to raise the levels around the site to required levels. The depth fill material would be an average depth of 2-3 m and it is anticipated that the works would be completed within a period of 12-15 months. However, the site is next to an air quality management area (AQMA) and would lead to increased flows of heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) through it.
Investigation
The local authority has adopted Air Quality & Emissions Technical Planning Guidance which includes a methodology for the assessment of construction dust and which was used to assess the proposal. The guidance provided a three-stage process for classifying the potential risk of construction dust effects, and the corresponding mitigation required to reflect the risk.
This local guidance broadly reflects the same site classification risk procedure and impact matrices as those published in the national guidance documents of the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) and the Mayor of London’s SPG for demolition and construction dust.
Outcome
The Dust Management Plan was approved by the local authority without revisions, and there were no objections to the scheme based on impacts on air quality. Planning permission was granted.
