EIA Supplementary Information

Environmental Impact Assessment – Supplementary Information

Assessment of Potential Site Locations: -

The Council’s existing arrangement for bulking up recycled material is at Unit 41A, Snugborough Estate, which is a facility owned by Braddan Commissioners and leased to the Council for a commercial rent. However, the site is now running at close to its capacity and would almost certainly preclude any future expansion of the service. In addition, not all the collected materials are handled at Snugborough, due to the site’s spatial limitations and the lack of an adequate covered area for paper stockpiling, paper is currently delivered to SITA, which is an additional journey incurring increased fuel usage and carbon miles. Access to the site is via a narrow but well trafficked private road, the volume of traffic and the types of activities in the area can occasionally lead to delays and/ or disruption with other neighbouring users.

In order to determine the most suitable solution to the limitations described above, the Council determined that the options available were as follows: -

I. Remain at Unit 41A, Snugborough – Not recommended due the spatial and logistical limitations described above. II. Relocate to commercial/ industrial site on a leasehold basis III. Relocate to a commercial/ industrial site on a freehold basis – Not considered financially viable. IV. Outsource bulking up operations to a waste transfer stations in the private sector V. Utilise existing Council land and facilities

Considering the viable optionS:

Option II. – Relocation to a commercial site on a leasehold basis

This option whilst favourable was entirely dependent on available premises at the time. In early spring the Council visited a number of sites to assess their suitability. The site brief comprised the following minimum criterion:

• £2,000 – sq ft covered area
• £1,000 – sq ft external apron (storage area)
• Accommodation – steel portal frame with brick/block with external cladding. Full height roller shutter door/ pedestrian entrance. Also to include Welfare facilities and office.
• 3 year lease with option to extend.
• Annual rent - £30,000 (4500 sq ft @ £6.75 per sq/ft)
• Eastern area (Braddan, Douglas or Onchan).
• Has an existing waste license or can be reasonably expected to attain a license.

Most of the units visited met the above criterion, however a typical problem encountered was the length of tenure, whereby by most units were offered on a 10 year lease. As the arisings from kerbside collection are wholly dependent on other authorities participating in the service, a 3 year lease was considered to be a reasonable, low risk period. Indeed, under the Local Government Act, the Council are not permitted to enter into leases in excess of 7 years without special leave from Government.

Sites Visited

Site	Address	Size (sq ft)	Cost p.a.	Comment
Kirby	Braddan	4750	Approx. £32k	Favoured site, but 10 year lease.
Spring Valley	Braddan	2600	Approx. 18k	Too small
Hills Meadow	Douglas	3200+	Approx. 22k	Conflict with neighbouring uses, expensive
Middle River	Douglas	3000+	Approx. 21k	Too small, access issues
Summerhill	Douglas	-	-	Narrow access, too large for sole user

The sites that were deemed too small would not have significantly improved the existing arrangement. The two sites that were deemed acceptable in term of size were both found to be unsuitable in terms of their leasehold arrangements.

Option IV. – Outsource bulking up operations to a waste transfer station in the private sector

This arrangement would require the collection vehicles to unload at either one or more waste transfer stations, for others to handle the material. Multiple drop offs was not considered to be a viable option in terms of carbon miles. A single drop off station would provide a viable alternative but the options in this regard are fairly limited and may not provide the best value due to the lack of competition. Notwithstanding this, it is accepted that delivery of paper to SITA may remain the best option.

Option V. – Utilise existing Council land and facilities

The decision to consider the Council’s Operational Service Centre as an option arose after unsuccessful attempts to find suitable alternatives to Snugborough.

The Service Centre met the key criterion identified in the initial site brief.

• Internal Area – estimated 2900 sq ft.
• External Area – estimated 3500 sq.ft
• Accommodation – large covered area, with welfare facilities also including parking, garage facilities, wash down, fuel filling point.
• No lease required, albeit the service will incur a small cost for the site.
• Location as specified

After reorganisation of the existing set up, it is estimated that there would be some 3500 sq ft of external area and nearly 3000 sq ft of covered area meaning that all operations could be carried out in a single location which is the most desirable outcome in terms of the carbon footprint. The available space would also facilitate any expansion to the service such as other local authorities joining the kerbside collection scheme.

Other significant advantages of utilising the Service Centre are the ability to use existing labour resources for bulking up activities and the scope to use the council’s waste management expertise given that the Service Centre is where the Waste Management Team is currently based. We feel that bulking operations will complement our existing activities at the site, and will enable the Council to minimise costs through operating synergies and economies of scale as well as the overall reduction of fuel usage and carbon miles. These cost savings will in turn be passed on to the other local authorities participating in the scheme.