Grain driers, noise and planning permission

If you have tried to build a new grain store in recent years you will know of the passion and zeal that local planning authorities jump on proposed grain store construction. The assumption appears to be, grain storage and drying capacity means increased HGV activity and increased noise nuisance, although in many situations the opposite is in fact the case.

Many new grain stores are designed to minimise HGV trips. Reduced transport costs are often a driver for investing in such facilities. Furthermore, investment in new drying equipment with electric drive and centrifugal impeller fans significantly reduce noise nuisance. Finally, if incorporated into a new grain store the noise nuisance can be confined to one site and managed through the design process and noise mitigation measures if required. 

At this time of year we are working with many farmers across the UK who are planning semi-permanent installations incorporating automatic mobile grain driers. Using mobile driers at the heart of the drying system in new grain stores is continuing to rise in popularity. It is minimising the capital investment required and the mobile grain drier retains an excellent resale value, creating a compelling economic case.

Planning construction of a grain store can be troublesome. Local residents can object, as Robert Neill discussed recently in Farmers Weekly, or local authorities can intervene and significantly slow down the process. Avoiding unhappy locals and planning authorities derailing the planning and construction process is key to gaining the maximum benefit from investing in grain drying and storage.

As it is such a minefield when it comes to planning grain store construction I would like to share a couple of good sources of information.

Firstly, another article from Farmers Weekly, discusses the importance of budgeting. The article is a little bit dated now, if anything the economic case for investment in grain storage has significantly improved, but the principles of embarking on such a project have not changed.

The second source of information is the very informative government website Business Link, it offers best practise guidance relating to siting and operation of grain driers. It is advice that if ignored will cost the farm money.

The full article can be read here, but here is a quick overview of the key points:

• If grain drying is causing a nuisance, your local authority can stop you from working, or can set limits on your work. They can restrict
  • the type of equipment you use
  • the hours of operation
  • the noise levels permissible from the premises
• Fines will be imposed for breaching any restriction.
• Advice for avoiding noise or dust nuisance:
  • use buildings, trees or hedges to shield neighbours from dust and noise
  • keep windows and doors shut
  • do not carry out noisy operations at night
  • maintain equipment to prevent it becoming excessively noisy
  • use sound-proofing measures to reduce noise levels
• For more advice about legal responsibilities towards noise pollution read the guide on dealing with noise pollution

If you are in the middle of working on new grain storage facilities or looking at improvement in the near future hopefully you will find this information of use. While it all seems quite obvious, thorough consideration of these points at the design stage can avoid significant problems later.

Please feel free to share your experiences of the planning system and any advice in the comments section below.

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