Plans to build a concrete plant in Somerset can forgo an environmental impact assessment, a council has decided.
Hopkins Concrete wants to build a new facility in Wincanton and had sought a screening opinion from South Somerset District Council. In a letter to Bristol-based consultancy Grass Roots Planning, the council confirmed that an EIA was not required because the area to be developed falls within the new higher thresholds set by the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 2015. These came into force on 6 April 2015 and raised the screening thresholds for industrial estate development from 0.5 to 5 hectares.
The letter refers to the new regulations and states: ‘The proposal falls below the applicable thresholds and criteria for the purposes of the definition in “sch2 pt10(a) development”, as the overall area of development does not exceed 5 hectares.’
Hopkins Concrete already operates two concrete plants in the county. If approved, the new plant would produce up to 110,000 tonnes of concrete a year.
