A similar application was refused in September 2007 because of concern that the water table on adjoining land was not adequately protected and that the development could harm the stability of neighbouring land and property. An appeal against the refusal was dismissed in September 2008 because the scheme would pose an unacceptable risk to the local hydrology and adjoining property.
The current proposal included detailed ground investigations, in situ testing and groundwater drawdown modelling to establish what implications the proposal would have on hydrology and land stability. The application had been amended to increase the amount of unworked land for mitigation and proposed three phases of working over a period of 22 years.
The council recognised that policy in MPG13 allowed for a continued and yet sustainable supply of peat to local and national markets. Several representations raised the issue of need and in particular the campaign for the amateur growing media and soil conditioner market to be peat free by 2020. However, the council noted that this was an aspiration of the minister in the former government and DEFRA had assured the Somerset Peat Producers Association that any new target for peat reduction would be the subject of a full consultation programme.
The council accepted that the boundary protection measures consisting of a buffer of unworked land, clay bunds and phased working would isolate the site, effectively making it a separate hydrological unit. The robust methodology, field testing and assessment carried out by the applicant to inform the Groundwater Drawdown Assessment report had shown, the council considered, that the risk of drawdown induced settlement caused by the drying out of the peat was very low.
Proposal: Peat extraction
Site: Land at Sharpham Drove and Back River Drove, Glastonbury
Authority: Somerset
Applicant: Durston Garden Products Ltd and Eclipse Property Investments
Ltd
Decision: Approved 2 September 2010
Reference: 076719/011
