Introduction This Non-Technical Summary (NTS) is based on an Environmental Statement (ES) that has been prepared by Heaton Planning Ltd and its consultants and accompanies a Planning Application to extend Newbold Quarry to extract 13.5 Million tonnes of sand and gravel with restoration to agriculture, woodland and water based recreation and nature conservation. In preparing the NTS regard has been taken of the contents of Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011. Consequently, the NTS looks at the main elements of the proposals that have the potential to impact positively and/or negatively on the environment and local residents. These main topic areas were established through consultation with County Council.

Site and its Surroundings The Application Area is located to the south west of the existing Newbold Quarry. Newbold Quarry is an established sand and gravel quarry, with ready mixed concrete and precast concrete production undertaken on site.

The existing quarry lies approximately 4 kilometres to the south west of and 1.5 kilometres to the north east of Barton under Needwood.

The site lies within the River Trent valley which is characterised by arable and livestock farming and built development along the A38(T) corridor. To the south of the quarry lie arable fields and the Barton Turn Marina beyond the B5016. To the east lies the Trent and Mersey Canal and the A38(T) along which there are industrial and residential properties. To the north of the quarry is the village of Tatenhill and to the west the land rises off the river valley beyond Dunstall Road onto rolling hills.

Background to the Development Planning Permission for the winning and working of sand and gravel was first granted at Newbold Quarry in 1960. Mineral extraction is now taking place under Planning Permission ref. ES.26777/01 granted on 1st April 2004. The planning permission expires on the 31st December 2015 with final restoration to be completed by the 31st December 2017.

Description of the Proposed Quarry Development A 160 hectare south western extension to the quarry has been identified that could yield an additional 13.5 million tonnes of saleable sand and gravel, which together with the permitted reserves at Tucklesholme would extend the life of the quarry through to 2028. The proposed extension is to be worked over five phases with progressive restoration following on from the extraction of sand and gravel. Operations will commence in the south west corner of the site closest to Barton under Needwood and progressively move away.

The operating hours of the proposed development will continue to be the same as those permitted for the existing quarrying operations. 0700 to 1900 Monday to Friday; and 0700 to 1300 Saturdays. There may be exceptional circumstances, including emergencies, when operations will have to be undertaken outside these hours. However, the planning authority will be informed of such occasions.

The site will be restored to agriculture, woodland and wetland. The proposals will see the site’s south-eastern corner restored to semi-improved grassland and arable land. Within this area existing field hedgerow will be restored and extended. Five new lakes will be created for amenity, recreation and nature conservation uses. New woodland will be located between Small Meadows Lane and Newbold Manor Farm, East of Newbold Manor Farm and adjacent to Dunstall Road. Woodland will also be planted to extend and link existing areas of woodland. The proposals will provide a visual and physical connection to the landscape immediately surrounding the site.

Assessment of Potentially Significant Environmental Effects The following summarises the main topic areas that have been assessed in the preparation of the ES. The assessment of the topic areas has been undertaken by employing a wide range of independent specialist consultants. Full technical reports relating to the evaluation of the potential impacts have been prepared and form part of the ES.

Landscape and Visual Considerations There are no landscape features within the local landscape of high sensitivity or national importance. However, the proposed extension will have a temporary impact upon the local landscape. The removal of hedgerows and trees which contribute to the containment of the site will have an adverse impact. Views into the site will be afforded from certain properties lying on the northern boundary of Barton-under-Needwood. There will also be direct impact upon a number of footpaths that cross the proposed extension area. None of the impacts upon visual amenity are assessed as being significant.

The strategic location of soil bunds, advance peripheral tree and hedgerow planting, direction of working, progressive restoration and the use of conveyor have been developed into the proposed method of working to minimise the impact upon the landscape and visual amenity to nearby properties and users of the land. The impact upon views will be temporary. The restored scheme will replace large areas of arable land with woodland and wetland features and enhance recreational routes and opportunities through the site. These restoration measures offer long term benefits to the landscape and visual amenity across the site.

Nature Conservation and Ecology The intensive agricultural use across the site and the poor quality of hedgerows results in a poor ecological quality across the site. Consequently, the proposed extension area does not contain any nationally or locally designated sites of ecological interest. A number of hedgerows will be removed but these are assessed as species poor. The proposed extension does have ground nesting birds habitats that will be lost or altered as a result of the proposals. There will be a loss of bat roosts at Small Meadows Farm but no other bat roosts will be affected.

Hedgerows will not be replanted but replaced through broad leaved woodland creation that will retain the edge habitat and linear routes used by bats and invertebrates. Full bat activity surveys will be required prior to demolition of roosts. It is proposed to install bat boxes in surrounding retained habitat before extraction commences and these will be monitored for use. Displaced birds should be able to relocate to the existing quarry site during extraction phase. Habitat on the existing quarry will be managed for ground nesting birds, in accordance with a management plan. Monitoring of populations will be undertaken on an annual basis.

The proposed landscaping of lakes, woodland, grassland (wet and dry), arable and hedgerows should in the long term increase the nature conservation value of this area. The lakes will attract additional bird and invertebrate species as well as providing additional foraging habitat for bats. The proposals will increase woodland within this area of Staffordshire and also provide habitat for tree nesting birds, bats, invertebrates and fungi.

Noise and Dust Noise and dust are the two factors most likely to have a direct impact upon residents in proximity to the proposals. Noise and dust impacts can arise from operations being located too close to sensitive receptors or not being undertaken in accordance with recognised good practice and being a cause for nuisance.

Assessments for both noise and dust have been undertaken. The assessments conclude that given the distance from the operational area and the implementation of appropriate mitigation including screening bunds and good operational practices, as currently undertaken, noise and dust levels can be kept to within recognised acceptable levels and not be a cause for nuisance or health risk to nearby residents.

Soils, Land Quality and Agriculture The proposed extension will lead to the temporary loss of agricultural land, 25% of this represents ‘best and most versatile’ agricultural land. The available soil resources have been identified and they will be stripped and stored in accordance with best practice and used in the restoration of the site so that the soil resource is not lost from the site.

Archaeology and Cultural Heritage There are no identified significant effects on the archaeological and heritage resource as a result of the proposed quarry extension. The extension is not located within the primary setting of any surrounding Listed Buildings or Conservation Areas. Two Listed Buildings, Newbold Manor Farm and Lower Farm fall within the application boundary. There will be changes to long distance and obscured views in some circumstances, but none of these changes are relevant to planned views or vistas from Listed Buildings or Conservation Areas and those changes do not compromise the understanding or historic importance of any feature.

A programme of archaeological investigation will be implemented during operations to properly record the archaeological interest of the site. Screening bunds will be placed around the perimeters of Newbold Manor Farm and Lower Farm during operations to screen views of the mineral working from these Listed Buildings.

Following site restoration, any temporary minor effect to the setting of the Conservation Areas or Grade II Listed Buildings will be mitigated by approved restoration. A programme of archaeological works will preserve the archaeological interest of the site by ‘record’.

Impact on Water Resources and Flood Risk There will be no significant impact on water resources from the proposed development except for a possible lowering of water levels in nearby lakes and in the Dunstall Brook. Monitoring is proposed so that if this occurs measures will be undertaken to restore water levels. Precautionary construction techniques, monitoring, good practice and management will ensure that the construction and operation of the facility does not release potential contaminants to the water environment.

The restoration proposals are supportive of the policy aims of suitable restoration of mineral workings along the Trent Valley and complements other water restoration schemes in close proximity. The majority of the proposed extension area is located in Flood Zone 1 (low risk) and is not considered a significant flood risk. The remainder of the site falls within areas of medium to high risk. However, sand and gravel workings in flood zones are considered to be water compatible. The only built structures within the site will be temporary screening bunds. These will be staggered to allow flood flow without compromising their visual and acoustic screening and constructed to direct flood waters into adjacent mineral working area(s).

Upon restoration it is suggested that some of the lakes be considered for permanent flood storage. This will alleviate downstream flooding and significantly reduce the risk of flooding at the Lower Farm buildings

Transportation and Traffic The site benefits from direct access onto the A38(T) concentrating road freight onto the strategic network, avoiding residential and environmentally sensitive areas, minimising the transport impact on the local area. The site is not currently limited by its planning permission in terms of a production ceiling. HGV movements will not increase as a result of the proposals and following the closure of the satellite Tuckleshome Quarry are expected to decrease.

Alternatives to road based transport include using the Trent & Mersey Canal or the Birmingham-Derby railway line. However, due to the material won at Newbold Quarry serving the local region and a variety of end users the practical ability of using the canal or rail is limited.

The proposal will not cause demonstrable harm to the function of the highways network. The existing site access and nearby Barton Turn roundabouts will continue to operate satisfactorily. The continuation of the routeing agreement will ensure that HGVs travel to and from the quarry along the A38(T), not through nearby villages, in the interest of highway safety and local amenity.

Rights of Way A number of Public Rights of Way cross the site. Footpath 17 crosses the site from the site’s south-western corner to Footpath 1 (which passes through the existing quarry); Footpath 16 crosses the south-western tip of the site; Bridleway 19 follows Mill Meadows Lane between Dunstall Road and Footpath 17; and Footpaths 14 and 15 cross the site between Station Road and Newbold Manor Farm. These are all affected to either a moderate or minor impact. However, all impacts are transient and will be for a temporary period during a particular phase of the quarry working. The proposed extension area is to be progressively restored and will link into the restoration of the existing quarry area to the north. New footpaths will be constructed at the earliest opportunity.

The principal new route through the site will be FP1 which will be improved and link into the diverted FP17 to provide a cycle link through the site that will also link to the National Cycle Route 54 on Dunstall Lane. A number of additional permissive paths are proposed throughout the site to provide enhanced circulation on the restored areas. The routes provide linkages and paths through restored areas of woodland and access to the amenity and nature conservation lakes. There is also a circular bridleway route proposed around the perimeter of the site.

Carbon Management Considerable effort has been made in modelling the quarry design and layout to minimise energy consumption. Internally to the site, all product extracted from the main extension site would be transported to the main processing area by means of a conveyor. The use of differing grades/blends of bio-diesel would be reviewed, in line with the plant manufacturer and warranty recommendations. The potential for conversion of mobile plant to operate on `Liquefied Natural Gas` and/or `Compressed Natural Gas`, as opposed to gas oil is currently being investigated.

The implementation of these measures would offer the potential for significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the proposed Quarry extension by some 40% below its current level to 2.17kgCO2/T. The Newbold Quarry facility would then become the lowest CO2 emitter for sand and gravel extraction and processing in the AI group

Need for the Development An assessment has looked at the need for the proposed development taking into account National Planning Policies, the local development plan and potential alternative sources. Given the current reserve position it is clear that there is a strong need to maintain continuity of supply of sand and gravel from Newbold Quarry and a need to maintain its strategic role in the supply of ready mixed concrete and precast concrete products.

The socio-economic needs of the proposal are to conserve and safeguard minerals reserves and avoid sterilisation; to secure sand and gravel supplies; to minimise waste and seek efficient use of materials; to aim for productivity, growth and economic performance; to contribute to local economy and retain employment.

There are a total of 90 persons employed at Newbold Quarry of which nearly two thirds live within 10 miles of the site. The quarry also provides indirect employment in related haulage, maintenance, and other service industries. Without an extension to the site the existing planning permission will expire in 2015 with the loss of all the direct posts and a proportion of the indirect posts.

The environmental needs of the proposal are to avoid adverse impact on areas of landscape and national conservation; to protect local amenity from the impacts of mineral working; the protection of the environment; to secure restoration and after use; to provide the comprehensive completion of the site within appropriate timescales.

Main Alternatives to the Proposed Development The alternatives section has assessed doing nothing; alternatives to primary aggregates; alternative sources of primary aggregates within the area; alternative methods of working; and alternative means of transport.

To ‘do nothing’ is not an economically viable option for the Company and would result in the loss of at least 90 jobs.

The use of recycled and secondary aggregates is widely supported. However, they will never be able to wholly replace primary aggregates as there can never be a guarantee of supply of material of an appropriate quality to meet a specific demand.

The alternative sources to primary aggregates assessed new greenfield sites; extensions to Tucklesholme Quarry; and extensions to Newbold Quarry. At this time there are no alternative greenfield sites available to AI. There are no extensions available at Tucklesholme. There is the potential to extend Newbold Quarry to the north east. For the north eastern extension to be worked would require some changes to the quarry infrastructure that would then have to be put back to facilitate the south western extension. This double handling of equipment is an unnecessary additional cost.

The current extraction method is to extract the sand and gravel in dry form by excavator, with mineral then transported to the processing plant by conveyor. Alternative options to this include hauling the mineral to the processing plant by dump truck and to work the sand and gravel wet by dredging. Neither of these alternative options are as environmentally favourable or efficient as the existing working methods.

The design of the working scheme has been an iterative process that has taken on board the findings of the EIA. The original scheme was for the workings to commence in the north and work towards the village. This was considered to have a greater impact upon the residents of Barton under Needwood and not accepted.

A revised scheme was then prepared that saw the workings commence in the south east corner of the extension and work round in a clockwise direction. This scheme was considered to have less impact upon amenity but has been revised so that the first phase of working starts nearest Barton under Needwood and then moves away. This ensures that any disturbance to local amenity is carried out early in the extraction process and the land restored as soon as possible.

It is accepted that there are environmental and economic advantages to be able to haul large volumes of material by sustainable means of transport such as water and rail. However, whereas higher priced mineral commodities (such as coal or crushed rock) can bear longer transport distances sand and gravel is much more widely available throughout the UK. Consequently, the supply of sand and gravel is different to that for higher priced minerals, generally within a 30 mile radius from source. The supply of sand and gravel to construction markets requires flexibility as the settlements and projects demanding these materials are dispersed. The Rail/Canal network do not lend themselves to meeting such dispersed markets without the need for a depot for onward transportation to market by HGV. The transport option of maintaining supply of sand and gravel, and concrete products, from Newbold Quarry by road borne means is the most practicable and sustainable alternative (when considered against the most relevant available alternatives). This option complies with strategic level policies as it involves the supply of locally won sand and gravel to local markets, and in doing so makes best use of the strategic highway network (A38), leading to efficiency of export to market and resultant positive contributions to the local economy as well as the wider economy.

Conclusions This leaflet summarises the findings of the full ES, and it considers the potential for impacts associated with a wide range of identified topic areas. Consideration of the issues within a planning context, the severity of the degree of any potential impact and the potential use of recognised mitigation measures has been undertaken.

No significant impacts have been identified in relation to residential amenity, air quality, designated archaeology, designated nature conservation sites, the water environment, landscape character, or the highway network.

The mitigation of potential impacts through the imposition of planning conditions and appropriate planning agreements is in accordance with development plan policy and national planning advice contained in guidance. The level of potential impact likely to arise from the proposed development is low and capable of being controlled to recognised, acceptable levels. The proposed development provides significant benefits. It provides comprehensive restoration; secures local employment; and secures the supply of regionally important sand and gravel.

The full Environmental Statement is available for viewing at Staffordshire County Council offices during normal office hours. If you wish to purchase a copy of the Environmental Statement they are available from Aggregate Industries at the address given below, for a cost of £150 inc vat (paper copy). CD copies are available free of charge.

Tim Claxton, Senior Estates Surveyor, Aggregate Industries UK Limited, Greystones, Croft, Leicestershire, LE9 3GT

T: 01455 285200 E: [email protected]

north

Key Plan Phase One Phase Two 2-3 years 2-3 years

FP11 FP11 FP11

PHASE FIVE

PHASE FOUR

Conveyor Conveyor

PHASE THREE FP15 (temporary diversion)

FP12 FP12 FP12 FP17 FP17 FP17 FP14 (Diverted) FP14 (Diverted)

PHASE ONE Restoration

3m bund FP15 (temporary diversion)

FP15 Extraction FP15 PHASE TWO FP14

Extraction 3m bund

5m bund

Phase Three Phase Four Phase Five 2-3 years 2-3 years 3 years

5m bund

FP11 FP11 FP11

Extraction

3m bund

3m bund

3m bund

Extraction 3m bund Restoration

Conveyor Conveyor Conveyor

3m bund Extraction

Restoration

FP17 (Diverted) 5m bund FP17 (Diverted) FP17 (Diverted) FP12 FP12 FP12 FP14 (Diverted) FP14 (Diverted) FP14 (Diverted)

FP15 FP15 FP15 Restoration

Consultant Landscape Architects KEYNewbold Quarry CLIENT: Aggregate Industries Extraction Phase Public Rights of Way PROJECT: Landscape restoration and habitat enhancementNewbold Quarry Direction of Extraction TITLE: WORKING PLAN SCALE AT A3: DATE: Direction of Restoration NTS November 2011 Bund (to remain in place for the duration of the extraction phase) 477.6 / 08B HDA 8