Macrete Ireland - Community Consultation

MACRETE IRELAND LTD.

PROPOSED EXTENSION TO EXISTING HARDSTANDING YARD FOR STORAGE AREA, LANDSCAPING AND ANCILLARY SITE WORKS

LANDS AT NO.50 CREAGH ROAD, TOOMEBRIDGE, CO.ANTRIM

CONSULTATION MAGAZINE APRIL 2022

MACRETE IRELAND LTD.

WELCOME Welcome to this online community consultation.

This online magazine has been prepared to illustrate the proposed extension to the existing hardstanding yard for storage area, landscaping and ancillary site works at Macrete at lands at no.50 Creagh Road, Toomebridge, Co. Antrim.

We warmly invite you to take time to absorb the work the applicant and their professional design and technical team have prepared to date to support the preparation of a forthcoming planning application. A statutory part of the preapplication process is to engage meaningfully with the local community to share our vision for the identified site and to invite your feedback.

Public engagement is an integral component of the planning application process as it allows the applicant to share their vision for the site and provides the local community an opportunity to provide constructive feedback.

The feedback received is very much welcomed as all matters raised will be taken into consideration during the detailed design of the scheme which will ultimately inform a future application submission Mid Ulster District Council.

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INTRODUCTION This community information pack follows a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) submitted to Mid Ulster District Council on 07 March 2022 in accordance with the Planning (General Development Procedures) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015.

The PAN notifies the Council that a formal planning application will be submitted after the required 12 week notice period expires.

The PAN was accepted by the Council on 12 April 2022.

The Department for Infrastructure temporarily removed the legal requirement to undertake an event in public on 01 May 2020 by The Planning (Development Management) (Temporary Modifications) (Coronavirus) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 (‘the Coronavirus Regs’).

The requirement to hold a public event was suspended from 01 May 2020 until 31 March 2022. This requirement was reinstated for PAN’s submitted to the Council after the end of the emergency period on 31 March 2022.

BACKGROUND Macrete Ireland, founded in 1979, are at the forefront of the precast concrete engineering industry, specialising in precast solutions for the sea defence, civil engineering, railway infrastructure, sports stadia and water and utility sectors.

The Company’s core strategic objective is to be recognised as a major provider of precast concrete technology, products, services and solutions and have made a commitment to effectively manage environmental performance in order to minimise the impact of their business processes on the natural environment and the community at large.

Based in Toomebridge, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, the Company utilises a 45-acre site. The manufacturing facilities at the site include: • State of the art manufacturing machines and systems; • Modern batching plants with waste management systems; • A testing laboratory where thorough concrete strength analysis is carried out; • Moulding workshops and casting workshops exist with contemporary equipment; • A 250Kw wind turbine, which is used to supply the factory, with any excess power being exported to the grid; • A 50Kw solar PV array, which is used to supply the factory, with any excess power being exported to the grid; and • Water harvesting processes and facilities.

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EXISTING SITE AND SURROUNDING CONTEXT THE SITE The proposed site, 19.04ha in total, comprises the existing Macrete Ireland concrete production facility, associated yard areas for storage, car parking and currently undeveloped land at the rear comprising 4.10ha, which is the proposed location for the extension to the hardstanding yard (as shaded grey on the site plan).

The site is bound by a mix of mature trees and hedgerows and post and wire fencing. The topography of the site falls slightly from east to west Access is granted to the site via an existing gated factory entrance on Creagh Road.

SURROUNDINGS The surrounding lands to the north and east of the site are industrial in nature. The lands to the south and east are rural land predominantly in agricultural use with dispersed dwellings.

Lough Neagh is situated approximately 0.5km south of the site and the Moyola River is located 0.1km west of the site.

Toomebridge is situated 2.5km east of the site with excellent transport links to the M2 Motorway facilitated by the recently completed A6 Randalstown to Castledawson dualling scheme.

Proposed site

Proposed site and existing yard to the east

Proposed site from the north on Airfield Road

Proposed site looking north MACRETE IRELAND LTD - COMMUNITY CONSULTATION |

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Hopper

PROPOSED YARD

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NOTES

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1. © Copyright rests with Vision Design. This drawing may not be reproduced wholely or in part without the express written permission of Vision Design 2. All drawings issued prior to the relevant Planning and Building Regulations have been obtained are to be deemed preliminary. Any works carried out based on preliminary drawings are entirely at the clients risk. Vision Design cannot be held responsible for additional works/expense incurred on this basis.

3. Contractors to carry out their own due diligence and report any errors to this office.

4. All dimensions are in mm unless stated otherwise

LEGEND

Existing area to be changed to storage yard - finish T.B.C.

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT Tramways

The proposal seeks an extension of the existing hardstanding yard at Macrete to provide additional storage space for completed concrete products in response to the increased demand associated with the supply of precast concrete products for HS2, a new high-speed rail network in England and one of the largest infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom.

Conveyor

The proposed development will help to facilitate significant orders forTramway HS2 over a period of 5 to 10 years and will result in exceptional benefits to the sub-regional economy including new employment opportunities with circa 75 new jobs.

The proposal extension will comprise the following development: •

Extension of existing hardstanding yard; The proposed yard, circa 4.10ha in size and extending to the west of the existing concrete production facility, will be utilised for the storage of finished concrete products.

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Landscaping; and The existing trees and hedgerows at the north, south and west boundaries of the site will be retained and augmented where appropriate with new native landscaping to sensitively screen the site from public Draft view and integrate the proposed yard within the surrounding context.

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Comments

Macrete Ireland Ltd

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Ancillary site works

31 Rainey Street Magherafelt N. Ireland BT45 5DA visiondesign.org.uk tel: 028 7930 0866

50 Creagh Road Toomebridge Proposed extension to existing hardstanding yard for storage area Public Consultation

MACRETE IRELAND LTD - COMMUNITY CONSULTATION | Proposed Site Plan 2784 PC03 1:500

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LOCAL PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT

REGIONAL PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT

Section 45 (1) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 requires regard to be had to the Local Development Plan, so far as material to the application and to any other material considerations.

There are a number of Planning Policy Statements and other regional planning policy documents that are relevant to the assessment of the proposed development.

These have all been taken into account in developing the proposed scheme and a supporting statement articulating how these have been compiled with will accompany the planning application.

Section 6 (4) states that where regard is to be had to the Development Plan the determination must be made in accordance with the Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. This is known as the Plan-led system.

The Local Development Plan (LDP), Strategic Planning Policy Statement for Northern Ireland (SPPS) and retained Planning Policy Statements (PPSs), provide the policy context against which this application will be assessed.

Planning Policy Statement 4

‘Planning and Economic Development’

November 2010

The Magherafelt Area Plan 2015 (MAP) is the relevant LDP for the proposed site. The site identified as being within the countryside.

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DRAINAGE AND FLOODING The site is located within a floodplain and is affected by surface water flooding.

A detailed flood risk assessment and drainage assessment is currently being carried out for the site and a detailed report will accompany the planning application.

NOISE A Noise Impact Assessment (NIA) will be carried out to ensure that there is no excessive noise burden on surrounding properties. The NIA will confirm what mitigation measures are required, if any, to ensure that there is no unacceptable adverse impact on the amenity of nearby residential properties and businesses.

ARCHAEOLOGY An Archaeological Assessment is currently being prepared for the site. This report will identify if there are any significant archaeological remains within the site and will determine if the proposed development will have any impact on listed buildings and archaeological features in the local area.

The report will also suggest any mitigatory measures

ECOLOGY

ACCESS

An ecological assessment of the site is currently being prepared to ensure there is no unacceptable adverse impact upon any nature conservation interest or priority habitat / species.

A transport consultant has been appointed to advise on access and traffic matters.

The proposed development is associated with an existing concrete production facility within a predominantly industrial context on Creagh Road therefore any increase in vehicular movements from cars and HGVs will not be out of character with the immediate and wider area and the site designed to facilitate same.

DUST A detailed Dust Impact Assessment is being carried out to assess any potential impact on neighbouring properties and will identify any mitigation measures, if required, to ensure the amenity of neighbours is not negatively impacted by the proposal. A Dust Management Plan will also be prepared to ensure compliance with any proposed mitigation measures.

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SUMMARY Measures will be taken to ensure that: •

There will be no loss of the floodplain at the site nor will the proposal exacerbate flooding elsewhere;

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There will be no demonstrable harm to residential amenity by way of noise;

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The proposal will not pose an unacceptable environmental risk to air quality;

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There will be no unacceptable adverse impact on nature conservation interests;

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There will be no unacceptable adverse impact on built heritage interests;

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The proposed extension will visually integrate with the existing concrete production facility and will not have an unacceptable visual impact;

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There will be no potential adverse impact on water resources that cannot be prevented or controlled by mitigating measures; and

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The access to the site and the nature and frequency of associated traffic movements will not prejudice the safety and convenience of road users or constitute a nuisance to neighbouring residents by virtue of noise, dirt and dust.

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? We thank-you for taking time to review the content of this consultation and would be delighted if you would take the time to share your thoughts on what you have seen, and prospect of the proposed development proceeding through planning.

Following the end of the consultation period (06 May 2022), your feedback will be taken into consideration in finalising the proposed development.

A formal planning application will be submitted to Mid Ulster District Council thereafter, following the end of the 12 week notice period for public consultation.

The application will be accompanied by a Planning Supporting Statement, Technical Reports and a suite of detailed application drawings for consideration by the Council and its statutory consultees.

Once submitted, the opportunity for public engagement in the decision making process will take place in the normal manner through the submission of representations to the Council following the application’s advertisement and neighbour notification procedures.

HOW TO FIND OUT MORE? On our website, www.clydeshanks.com you can leave feedback, raise questions or leave your contact details should you require further assistance.

If you wish to discuss the proposal you can also do so by:

REQUEST PRINTED COPY

If you would like to receive a printed copy of this magazine, we can post this out to you on your request, accompanied with a feedback form.

DEADLINE

Please note all comments should be with Clyde Shanks Ltd no later than Friday 06 May 2022.

Telephone - 028 9043 4393 Email - hayley@clydeshanks.com Post – Clyde Shanks Ltd, 2nd Floor, 7 Exchange Place, Belfast, BT1 2NA

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2nd Floor 7 Exchange Place Belfast BT1 2NA t | 028 9043 4393 clydeshanks.com