The creation of a concrete batching plant in North Lincolnshire about five miles south of Brigg will only be decided by councillors after a site visit.
Welton Aggregates Ltd already run a quarry between Hibaldstow and Redbourne that produces limestone products, including building stones. It applied last year to erect a concrete batching plant at the site.
Hibaldstow and Redbourne Parish Councils have objected, as have more than a dozen residents. Traffic and environmental concerns have featured, along with feedback about a lack of submitted information.
The concrete batching plant would produce ready mix concrete for the construction industry, with an eye for North Lincolnshire and West Lindsey customers. Welton already produces such concrete for customers elsewhere in Lincolnshire through facilities at Louth and Welton le Marsh.
Permission was given to reopen the Slate House Quarry site where the concrete batching plant would be in 2009. The proposed concrete batching plant would produce an average of 250 tonnes of ready-mix concrete per day. This would work out to an estimated 15 lorry movements linked to the site. The application form indicates 15 full-time jobs at the concrete batching plant site, if built.
The application has been recommended for approval by council planning. But highways have insisted on a condition that all HGVs access the site via an already-built haul road. One Hibaldstow resident called for a 7.5-tonne limit on Mill Road “as the only sensible solution” to stop lorries using Hibaldstow and Redbourne “as a rat run”.
Her objection was not limited to traffic management. She had environmental concerns, including noise pollution, and criticised a lack of submitted information in the planning portal about the effect of the plant. Redbourne Parish Council and CPRE North Lincolnshire have both submitted comments on the application also critical of limited information supplied.
CPRE North Lincolnshire have requested refusal, or a cumulative assessment of effects such as light, odour and noise pollution of the existing quarry site and the proposed concrete batching plant. Ridge Ward Cllrs Trevor Foster and David Garritt called the application in, too.
Cllr Garritt told the planning committee he welcomed the HGV condition, though wanted it extended to cover all vehicles that access the site. He requested a site visit and a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) be submitted by the applicant.
North Lincolnshire Council‘s planning committee agreed to a site visit. They were advised by a planning officer, however, they did not have the power to require an EIA.
Welton have separately filed another application this summer to extend the quarry by almost four hectares into adjacent agricultural land. This would enable it to produce up to 75,000 tonnes of limestone product each year from the site.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
