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Planning and Building Standards Committee Item No. 9(a) SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL PLANNING AND BUILDING STANDARDS COMMITTEE 13TH SEPTEMBER 2010 APPLICATION FOR PLANNING CONSENT FOR THE WINNING AND WORKING OF MINERALS ITEM: REFERENCE NUMBER: 10/00469/MIN OFFICER: Stuart Herkes WARD: Mid Berwickshire PROPOSAL: Extraction of sand and gravel SITE: Land Northwest of Rumbletonlaw Farmhouse APPLICANT: Alex Brewster & Sons Partnership AGENT: AMS Associates SITE DESCRIPTION The application site is situated approximately 3.5km northeast of Gordon and 4km to the west of Greenlaw, and lies to the immediate south of the A697, on open agricultural land within the holding of Rumbletonlaw Farm. The nearest dwellings are at Hexpath Farm, the closest of which are within 250m of the site boundary, and around 500m of the proposed extraction area. Rumbletonrigg Farm is roughly 650m from the site; and Rumbletonlaw Farm and Farm Cottages, are within roughly 1.1km. The surrounding area is a gently undulating landscape of open fields, with occasional shelter belts and farm buildings. The bank of the Eden Water forms part of the western boundary. The site occupies an area of 49ha, and is currently in use as three fields in grazing, the most northerly of which is directly accessible from the A697 between Hexpath (west) and Rumbletonrigg (east). Within the site, the land generally slopes downwards from the A697 to the Eden Water, that is, in a northeastern to southwestern direction. Although there are mature shelter belts to the immediate southeast and southwest, the site is otherwise open, and because of the topography of the surrounding area, various sections of it are highly visible, albeit at a little distance (roughly 400m) from the public road (A697) to the north and west. There are no specific protective landscape designations at the site or in its immediate vicinity, and the land is not prime quality agricultural land. There are no operational quarries within 5km. The closest operational quarry, is the hard stone and rock quarry at Blinkbonny Farm, more than 7km to the south. The latter is also the only operational quarry within 10km of the site. PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT The applicant seeks planning consent to extract sand and gravel from a 15ha area of the site, which would be worked over a 15 year period. During this time the site would be subject to soil stripping, sand and gravel extraction, and reinstatement. Beyond this period, an additional 18 months would be allowed for final restoration Planning and Building Standards Committee 1 and aftercare. It is advised that up to 100,000 tonnes of material would be extracted per annum during the 15 years that the quarry would be in operation. The total potential tonnage is expected to be in the order of 840,000 tonnes (allowing for a washout percentage of 20%). It is proposed that the site should be accessed from the A697 and that it would be served by a compound area, to be located in the southeast corner of the extraction site. Extraction Area The 15ha extraction area would be located roughly 250m to the south of the A697. At its highest point, the land within this area is slightly over 190m, which falls away towards the west, to slightly over 166m. Much of this area, particularly towards the west would inevitably be visible from the public realm, most noticeably from the A697 and the vicinity of Hexpath Farm. From here it is viewed as a grass topped area forming part of a wider amorphous landscape of gently undulating farmland. Extraction would take place in 10 phases between Year 1 and Year 14, while restoration works would be completed in Years 14 to 15. There would be no buildings within the proposed extraction area. Two settlement lagoons (each 35 by 25m) would be located to the immediate south of the extraction area. After the conclusion of extraction operations, it is proposed that these are retained as wetland habitat. Compound Area The compound area would be located within the southeast corner of the extraction site, and would accommodate: x a site office (7.5 by 4m; 2.8m high); x concrete batching plant (maximum height, 6m) x horizontal silo (4.2m high); x weighbridge (15 by 3m; 1m high); x storage container (4 by 3m; 3m high); x ponds x parking area and x floodlighting. It is advised that the highest structure located within the compound area would be the batching plant at no more than 6m high. Access Road The quarry would be directly accessible off the A697 from a new internal access road, the first 15m of which, would be surfaced. While the access road would be 7.3m immediately behind the junction, it would narrow to 5m for the remainder of its route into the compound area. However, in response to concerns about the need to ensure that two lorries could pass on the access road, the applicant is agreeable to the access road being widened to 7m. Planning and Building Standards Committee 2 Enclosure The quarry area and access route would be fully enclosed with fencing, while appropriate warning signs would be displayed. The quarry entrance would be gated. Material from that section of the existing stone wall adjacent to the A697 which would be removed in order to accommodate the site access, would be retained and reused within the new quarry entrance. Along the northern boundary, temporary soil bunds would be created. These would have a multi-purpose role in that they would store topsoil, provide a degree of visual screening and act as barriers for noise attenuation. It is advised that these would be about 3 to 4m high. Along the eastern boundary of the site, a permanent amenity bank would be created to screen views and attenuate noise from the compound area and access road. Operations The development would comprise surface removal of sand and gravel to an average depth of 3.5m with minor extraction to 5m. No underground workings (mining) would take place. Excavation would be conducted by front end loading shovel or tracked excavator operating on the quarry floor. These would load dump trucks that would transport the material to the on-site plant area for processing. Although the extraction site would be 15ha in extent, only 2 to 3ha would be worked at any one time. Overburden would be re-used to fill the worked out quarry. From Year 2 onwards, a programme of restoration would be operated in conjunction with extraction work. Top soil and sub soil would be transported out with the extraction area and stored separately from one another to prevent intermixing. These would then be used in the restoration works. The applicant has supplied details and supporting drawings of a detailed phasing of operations on the site, indicating the progress of both extraction and restoration operations. Sand and gravel extraction would occur within Phases 1 to 5. The processing plant would comprise mobile screening and wash plant located at the quarry compound area with dust suppression arrangements fitted. Conveyor discharges and other relevant areas would be fitted with suitable belt scrapers designed in such a manner that all material recovered would be returned to the process flow. It is anticipated that the quarry would be operated for 50 weeks annually. Proposed hours of operation would be 07:00 to 19:00 from Monday to Friday; and 08:00 to 16:00 hours on Saturday, with no operations on Sundays. In terms of traffic impact, it is estimated that there would be no more than 20 HGV movements in and out of the site per day. It is anticipated that the majority of vehicles would be 20 tonne trucks, with more limited use of larger artic lorries. Employment It is advised that the proposal would provide direct employment for 8 people, with indirect employment within the region for a further 15 people, mainly within the haulage sector. Planning and Building Standards Committee 3 Water Environment Lagoons constructed within the operational area would serve as water balancing ponds to control flow and quantity into the adjoining watercourse running along the southern boundary of the site. The plant would operate on a closed cycle system, with clarified water being returned from the silt settlement lagoons to the plant. Lighting Lighting would only be operated during hours of darkness and would be contained within the compound area. It would be fitted with shields filled to direct the light downwards and restrict the spread of light. The alumina would be examined to control the intensity of light. Within the extraction area, the only lighting would be at the working face, the operating machines having their own lights. All lighting would comply with the Quarry Regulations 1999 Health and Safety at Quarries Approved Code of Practice. Restoration Throughout the operation of the proposed development, no previous restored area would be traversed after final reinstatement works have been carried out. After 15 years, the soils from the baffle embankments would be spread over the final areas to be reinstated (compound and infrastructure areas); all site plant removed; and the site settlement lagoons would be formed into wetland features. It is advised that a detailed restoration plan would be prepared for the quarry in consultation with the site owner and Planning Authority. However, indicative restoration proposals are provided in the Environmental Statement. This shows that restoration of the site would include a new layout, with the land being profiled more simply. The land would be graded to tie with the surrounding land at the site boundary and graded to allow run-off and to alleviate ponding. The applicant has provided a photo montage to indicate this appearance.
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