Justification for land improvement policy

The disposal of inert waste by its deposition on farmland and elsewhere has in the past often been inappropriate in terms of sustainable development in that the waste involved was capable of being moved up the waste hierarchy and recycled or reused. Furthermore, the purpose behind such development has, on many occasions, been to dispose of waste in the cheapest way possible and avoid payment of landfill tax, rather than to improve agricultural land quality or facilitate other necessary development. Nevertheless, the deposition of inert waste on agricultural or other land can result in an improvement in land quality, for example where steep gradients are reduced and the land re-graded with an adequate surface layer of topsoil. On occasion, deposition of inert waste can facilitate land reclamation for necessary development. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) recognises, however, that care needs to be taken to ensure that such schemes do not adversely affect nature conservation and heritage interests nor have an unacceptable impact on the landscape (see policy W1). Vacant land or land of low agricultural value often provides important habitats for flora and fauna. Where it is demonstrated that there is a local need for the deposition of inert waste it will also be necessary to consider the environmental impacts for such a proposal (see policy W1). Planning permission will be refused where a proposal would have an unacceptable impact on the environment. Where appropriate, conditions will be attached to planning permissions to minimise or compensate for their impact on wildlife or physical features. In some cases it will be necessary to add informatives to an approval informing the applicant of their obligations under the wildlife order.