Planning permission is being sought for the construction of an agricultural storage building on land North Of Hallworthy Farm, Hallworthy, Camelford, Cornwall PL32 9SH:
New Building at the Dairy Crest Waste Water Treatment Plant!
Dairy Crest have sent Cornwall Council a hybrid planning application comprising full planning permission for proposed upgrades to their existing creamery/factory, together with outline planning permission for proposed new buildings in relation to the waste water treatment plant, with all matters reserved. The address quoted on the application (ref: PA19/01034) is Dairy Crest, Blacka Lane, Davidstow, Camelford PL32 9XW
Given the assorted odours emanating on a regular basis from Dairy Crest’s existing waste water treatment plant I strongly suspect that Davidstow Parish Council and the Davidstow Residents Action Group will want to begin discussions with the Council in the very near future!
Anaerobic Digester North West of Tregeen
Planning permission is being sought for the installation of an anaerobic digestion facility, together with associated works, plant and equipment on land North West Of Lower Tregeen, Davidstow:
Here are some extracts from the proposal’s Planning, Design & Access Statement:
Anaerobic digestion is a natural process which converts organic matter such as digestible waste (e.g. food, garden waste, farm slurry) and energy crops into energy. The main products resulting from anaerobic digestion are biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide), which is very similar to natural gas, and digestate, a bio-fertilizer. The biogas can be used to generate electricity, gas or heat, or compressed for use as a biofuel.
The farm already has permits for 75,000 t/year of feedstock to be brought to the existing structures, from where it is then stored and ultimately deployed via the surrounding farmland. This existing feedstock supply will be used for the AD Plant. The route (A39) and maximum volume of permitted feedstock will not change as a result of this application, so there would be no increase to the existing traffic generation on the surrounding roads. 1.9 The proposed development therefore offers the benefits of harvesting renewable energy and high-quality bio-fertilizer from existing supply material, using existing transport routes with no amenity impacts and predominantly permitted structures.
Lower Tregeen Wind Turbine
A planning application has been made to repower an existing wind turbine at Lower Tregeen, Davidstow Camelford PL32 9XU. The application requests a maximum blade tip height of 77m, together with associated works, to replace a wind turbine permitted and erected under PA13/09438:
The proposed new wind turbine is somewhat larger than the one referred to in the 2013 application. That one was:
20m to hub, maximum 27.1m to tip, 20kW output
Dairy Crest Solar Farm EIA Screening Opinion
As mentioned at the recent meeting of Davidstow Parish Council, Lightsource BP have made a request for a screening opinion pursuant to the Town and Country (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 for a 5MW solar farm at Dairy Crest, Blacka Lane, Davidstow, Camelford PL32 9XW.
The proposed solar farm will occupy two separate fields, both forming part of the Dairy Crest holding and are located in its immediate context.
Davidstow Parish Council September Meeting
I attended the meeting of Davidstow Parish Council in Tremail Methodist Hall yesterday, where much discussion took place regarding the plans by Dairy Crest to invest £85£75 million in their creamery at the top of the hill. The odours apparently still emanating from the Dairy Crest water treatment plant also got a good airing!
The Chairman of the Parish Council mentioned that there had been a meeting of the Davidstow Residents Action Group (DRAG) on August 2nd to discuss that issue:
Scott Mann, the M.P. for North Cornwall, had been in attendance, but the Environment Agency and our local County Councillor Rob Rotchell had not.
A resident of Trewassa reported that due to the easterly winds over the preceding weekend the smell had been “awful” on that side of the plant. The chairman said that Dairy Crest had attempted to implement “6 solutions that haven’t worked” and reported that the Environment Agency had given Dairy Crest 6 weeks to provide an explanation for the latest odious odours.
Getting back to Dairy Crest’s expansion plans, Reuters reported back in May that:
The company said it would expand its cheese production facility at Davidstow, in southwest England to 77,000 tonnes from 54,000 tonnes a year by raising cash through a share placement.
It would place 14.1 million ordinary shares, or about 9.98 percent of current issued shares, at a price of 495 pence per share.
The cost of the expansion is expected to be 85 million pounds and will be carried out over the next four to five years, Dairy Crest said.
Dairy Crest have employed the services of St. Austell based consultancy Situ8 to handle the planning issues associated with the expansion. Situ8’s Angela Warwick was at the meeting, and she explained that whilst plans for upgrades to the creamery itself were well advanced nothing could be implemented until the waste water treatment plant was upgraded and the current issues solved. Plans for that are less advanced it seems.
In addition there are also plans to construct a solar photovoltaic “farm” near the “cheese factory” as it is frequently referred to locally. There will be a consultation with Dairy Crest in Camelford on September 21st to discuss all this in greater detail.
Watch this space for more news as and when we receive it!
I received the following letter in today’s post. It seems Reuters neglected to mention that “£75 million of which will be spent in Davidstow” regarding the planned investment by Dairy Crest.
Dear Mr Hunt,
I am writing with reference to two matters – firstly to update you on works to alleviate the odour emissions and secondly with regard to our planned investment at Davidstow.
As you know, permanent covers were fitted to two of the tanks at the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) at the beginning of this year. The initial results following the installation were good, indicating a substantial reduction in odours, as we had expected. Since then, we have had some further challenges due to the build-up of sludge in one of the covered tanks. lt has taken some time to safely remove this accumulation but the works have now been completed. Additional work is now being undertaken with an external consultant to check what further improvements can be made.
I am also writing to you about our recent announcement to undertake an £85 million investment to increase our cheese production capacity and improve our environmental credentials, £75 million of which will be spent in Davidstow.
This is a long term project which is expected to take place over the course of the next four to five years and will involve a small amount of additional construction on the site. A major part of this project is to make further investment in the WWTP to improve its efficacy and minimise the potential for it to impact on you, our neighbours. We will be installing new equipment, inside a process building, which will reduce the load on the current plant and thereby the potential for odour issues to occur. We also intend to develop a solar installation to generate electricity for our own consumption, thereby reducing the load on the local grid as well as reducing the site’s carbon footprint.
This investment is also good news for our 330 supplying dairy farmers, all of whom are in Devon and Comwall, and our 200 employees at Davidstow. Our existing farmers will be able to invest in their businesses and it will secure jobs at the creamery, thereby having a positive impact on economic activity in the region.
Please find enclosed an invitation to a public consultation regarding our intention to submit an application for planning permission for these projects. This will take place on Friday, 21 September from 4pm to 7.30pm at Camelford Hall, Clease Road, Camelford PL32 9QX.
We would encourage you to come to this event so that you can learn more about the proposals directly from us and so that we can answer any questions you may have. All the feedback we gather will be used to inform the planning proposals.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Evans
Site Director, Davidstow Creamery
Amended scheme for the Change of Use of two barns to a dwelling
On one of my regular cycling routes through Trevivian I spotted this notice:
which mentions that:
The development, in the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, is likely to affect the setting, character or appearance of a Listed Building.
The associated planning application refers to an:
Amended scheme to that approved under PA12/00921 for the Change of Use of two barns to a dwelling, following demolition of existing agricultural buildings, together with the creation of an access at Middle Trevivian, St Clether, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 8PS.
Cornwall Council planning department would seem to be concerned about the proposal adversely affecting the setting of Trevivian Farmhouse, listed in Historic England as follows:
Farmhouse. Circa early C19. Stone rubble, slate hung on front elevation. Slate roof with gable ends, range on left reslated in circa 1980s and lower range on right with rag slate roof. Brick end stacks.
Change of use to Holiday Accommodation
Planning permission is being sought for the change of use from a Former Laundry Room to Holiday Accommodation including a single storey extension and an increase in height of the roof at Vicarage Hill, Davidstow, Camelford, Cornwall:
Outline planning for single residential dwelling
Outline planning permission with all matters reserved has been granted with conditions for a single residential dwelling at Myrica, Tremail, Davidstow, Camelford, Cornwall PL32 9YQ:
New Detached Dwelling with Garage Block
Planning permission has been granted with conditions for a “New detached dwelling with garage block on Land North Of The Cottage, Davidstow, Camelford, Cornwall PL32 9YQ”:
