LOCATION:  

PROJECT TYPE:   Environmental Impact Assessment

VALUE:   £300K

BACKGROUND

The vacant British Sugar Factory to the south of King’s Lynn was selected by the Palm Group to construct a new paper recycling facility in the UK. The development is a major project adjacent to the Nar-Ouse Redevelopment Area (NORA). Inward investment is estimated at £340M – one of the largest private investments in Norfolk in the last 20 years.

SCOPE OF WORK

Due to the sensitive nature of the project, a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the area was needed and Harrison Environmental Consulting was employed as the lead consultant for the EIA, and ecological services provider. This involved:

• Technical oversight
• Co-ordination of the work done by other consultants
• Habitat survey and desk study to identify potential ecological receptors
• Initial ecological impact assessment for the scoping report
• Surveys for the following protected species group; great crested newts, reptiles, bats, water voles and breeding birds
• Ecological supervision of site investigation works
• Mitigation planning to address a number of issues including the loss of reedbed habitat and potential disturbance to nesting marsh harriers
• Habitat enhancement to benefit grass snakes and common lizards
• Translocation of reptiles and amphibians
• Consultation with statutory authorities and local conservation groups including Natural England, the Environment Agency and Norfolk Wildlife Trust throughout the course of the project
• Assessment of impacts on ecological receptors for the Environmental Impact Assessment accompanying the planning application

OUTCOME

We received positive feedback to our mitigation proposals from Natural England and Norfolk Wildlife Trust and no objections were raised to the planning application on ecological grounds. This culminated in the production of the Environmental Statement, which was submitted to the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk along with the planning application.

Our work was successful and planning permission for the project was granted.