A decision on plans to extend a rural quarry’s footprint has been delayed.
Welton Aggregates Ltd wants to extend Slate House Quarry, located between Hibaldstow and Redbourne, onto land north and east that is currently arable agriculture. Late last year, its proposal for a concrete batching plant at the facility was refused.
It sought an extension of the quarry because it estimates it will run out of limestone material to extract from the quarry’s current limits within four years. Like the concrete batching plant proposal, it faced local opposition due to issues with existing site lorry traffic, with a councillor claiming residents of one road “lived in daily fear”.
North Lincolnshire Council‘s planning committee decided to delay a decision until yet another site visit.
‘I don’t feel safe walking on the pavement’
The main objection by Redbourne and Hibaldstow residents has been concern over site HGV traffic travelling through the villages, via the B1206 / Redbourne Road. The quarry has been in operation for 15 years. It was permitted on appeal by a planning inspector. This included provision for a special haul road, linking it to the top of Mill Road, nearest the A15.
Redbourne resident Penny Stevenson said there were “frequent and lengthy periods of time where I don’t feel safe walking on the pavement”, because of the HGV traffic. It was “impossible to leave windows open at times” due to road dust linked to the HGVs.
She stated the planning inspector’s 2010 decision viewed it as an “unacceptable nuisance” for any more than six lorries a day to go through the village. Ms Stevenson claimed at times there were six to eight lorries an hour.
She had “serious concerns” the HGVs would continue to use Redbourne Road if the application was approved, rather than the haul road. Lynn Wainwright shared Ms Stevenson’s assertion that more than six lorries a day going through Redbourne had been regularly witnessed.
She also recalled the original permission was linked to the extraction of building stone, and suggested the site’s production had differed in practice. “We believe that aggregate is the predominant product being processed, not building stone.” Ms Wainwright added Welton’s were to appeal the concrete batching plant rejection too.
A Welton Aggregates representative said the application was to extract further reserves to secure the site’s future. A planning document estimates there is 300,000 saleable tonnes of stone to be extracted from the existing site, which would run out in four years. The proposal would involve the extraction of up to 75,000 tonnes of limestone a year, and 25,000 tonnes of waste to be processed to produce aggregates, with an end production date of 2039.
(Image: Google Streetview)
It would not increase the amount of tonnage imported or exported, so the same number of vehicles would be needed to visit Slate House Quarry. Welton’s representative said residents had “understandable concerns about traffic”. Currently, there were no restrictions on which roads HGVs could use, though he maintained “the majority” used the specially built haul road.
He argued the application’s granting would change things. Council officers had recommended a condition restricting vehicles to use the haul road only. “So this would have the effect of actually reducing the number of HGVs through the villages,” argued Welton’s representative.
Residents ‘live in daily fear’ of traffic
Cllr Trevor Foster (Ridge Ward) claimed new site signage for drivers to use the haul road was “blatantly ignored”.. Mill Road residents “live in daily fear of their lives due to the impact of the non-usage of the haul road,” and reckless driving, he claimed.
On the committee, Cllr Carol Ross (Broughton and Scawby) recalled the previous site visit for the concrete batching plant “got as far as the car park that day because of atrocious weather”. She felt another visit would be beneficial.
“Oh no,” groaned Cllr Mick Grant (Ashby Central), head dropping down in dismay. “It’s just we’re going around in circles with this,” he later said, adding he did not understand why the haul road was not used.
Cllr Max Bell (Ashby Lakeside) wanted to refuse straightaway, unconvinced any conditions could outweigh “the hell residents are already experiencing”. Cllr Darryl Southern (Frodingham) observed the delay produced “an opportunity for the applicants and the residents to have a conversation about how to enforce these lorries”. A site visit was agreed on a split vote.
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
