The Local Plan needs to ensure that there is enough industrial space to accommodate General Industrial use on sites that will not be hampered by surrounding land uses. DB Group operate in Bourn and their site is in close proximity to the Bourn Airfield New Village. The following operations and processes are undertaken on site:
- Sand grading – filtering sand to provide different levels of fineness;
- Production of additives used in concrete mixes – blending of powders from silo storage;
-Warehousing – receipt and dispatch of goods either manufactured or purchased off site for resale.
The blending and grading processes undertaken on site generates external noise, particularly in respect of the extraction system used to capture and recycle dust particles from the manufacturing processes to maintain air quality. The site is also serviced by an average of 2 incoming and 3 outgoing HGV movements a day.
The company currently employs 21 full time staff on site with a further 40 being primarily field based and visiting the site approximately once a week.
DB Group are currently exploring a number of expansion opportunities. One of these is a volumetric truck operator to supply concrete directly to customers. Activity at their existing site at Bourn associated with this operation would be external and would entail filling the various hoppers on the vehicle. This would require at least one further silo on site and the use of a mechanical loader to take aggregates and sand from external storage bays. These operations have the potential to increase the level of noise generated at the site and would also increase HGV movements.
A further opportunity exists in the production, cutting and finishing of precast concrete products. This would require concrete mixing equipment, supplied from bagged and/ or additional bulk silo stocks, as well as the use of stone-cutting saws.
In light of the above, it is essential that the proposed Bourn Airfield New Village takes full account of DB Group’s existing operations and will not hamper future expansion plans. This will require particular consideration being given to adequate distance separation from noise sources, site and building layout / orientation, provision of acoustic barriers as deemed necessary as a result of detailed assessments, particularly with regard to noise and air quality.
This accords with the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) which states:
“How can the risk of conflict between new development and existing businesses or facilities be addressed?
Development proposed in the vicinity of existing businesses, community facilities or other activities may need to put suitable mitigation measures in place to avoid those activities having a significant adverse effect on residents or users of the proposed scheme.
In these circumstances the applicant (or ‘agent of change’) will need to clearly identify the effects of existing businesses that may cause a nuisance (including noise, but also dust, odours, vibration and other sources of pollution) and the likelihood that they could have a significant adverse effect on new residents/users. In doing so, the agent of change will need to take into account not only the current activities that may cause a nuisance, but also those activities that businesses or other facilities are permitted to carry out, even if they are not occurring at the time of the application being made.
The agent of change will also need to define clearly the mitigation being proposed to address any potential significant adverse effects that are identified. Adopting this approach may not prevent all complaints from the new residents/users about noise or other effects, but can help to achieve a satisfactory living or working environment, and help to mitigate the risk of a statutory nuisance being found if the new development is used as designed (for example, keeping windows closed and using alternative ventilation systems when the noise or other effects are occurring).”
DB Group have recently received pre-application advice (reference 21/50156/PREAPP) from South Cambridgeshire District Council advising that an extension in hours of operations would be unlikely to be supported as a result of a “detrimental impact on the living conditions of existing neighbouring properties and future occupiers in the New Village development”.
This is constraining DB Group’s expansion plans and their ability to expand employment opportunities at their site. The Councils protection for existing business space also needs to extend to ensuring that expansion opportunities at existing successful business are supported. This includes ensuring that other development that is supported by the Plan does not unduly constrain existing successful business sites.