Planning Services COMMITTEE REPORT APPLICATION DETAILS 1. MRA/4/1(1)), 2. CMA/4/47, 3. CMA/4/48, 4. CMA/4/49 APPLICATION NO: i) EF : MRA/4/1(1)) 1. Review of old mining permissions application for the determination of new planning conditions for working and restoration. 2. Extension to Cold Knuckle Quarry adjacent to Old Quarrington Quarry. 3. Variation of Condition 7 of Planning Permission No. FULL APPLICATION DESCRIPTION : 4/86/456CM to extend the period of mineral extraction until 3 July 2025. 4. Proposed re-establishment of secondary aggregate recycling facility, receiving suitable construction and demolition wastes for processing into secondary (recycled) aggregate. NAME OF APPLICANT : Hepplewhite Quarries & Plant Hire Ltd. (for application 1) and Tarmac Ltd. (for applications 2, 3 and 4) Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckle Quarry, near ADDRESS: Bowburn, DH6 5NN ELECTORAL DIVISION : Coxhoe Claire Teasdale Principal Planning Officer Strategic Team CASE OFFICER: Tel. 0191 383 4101 [email protected] DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND PROPOSALS Introduction 1 Old Quarrington Quarry near Bowburn is an active magnesian limestone and Permian sand quarry operated by Hepplewhite Quarries and Plant Hire Ltd, a joint venture company of Tarmac Ltd. and Lafarge. The quarry is located on the magensian limestone escarpment 1km to the east of Bowburn between the hamlet of Old Quarrington and Quarrington Hill. Cold Knuckles Quarry lies immediately to the south of Old Quarrington Quarry. It connects to Old Quarrington Quarry at its western end and occupies a prominent position on the escarpment. No working has taken place in Cold Knuckles Quarry for many years although adjacent land (the proposed extension) has been disturbed in recent years by a previous landowner. Through the current proposals the two quarries would be worked as one. Bridleway No. 34 Coxhoe Parish/35 Cassop Cum Quarrington Parish runs between the Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles planning permission areas with an unregistered route below the Cold Knuckles permission area (referred to as the bottom route). There are a number of residential properties in the vicinity of the site, the closest being the Heather Lad Inn some 20m to the west of the permission boundary. The southern part of the planning permission area lies partly within Quarrington Hill and Coxhoe Bank Plantation Local Wildlife Site while the northern part includes part of the Cassop Vale Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) containing ancient woodland. 2 Quarrying operations were first granted planning permission in 1952, and permissions granted since have allowed for Permian sand and magnesian limestone to be extracted in combination, although sand extraction is not permitted in the northern part of the larger permission area. A permission granted in 1987 provided for subsequent restoration of the excavation created in the southern part of Old Quarrington Quarry by backfilling with construction waste materials. The permitted area for mineral extraction at Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries is some 81 hectares (200.15 acres) in total. 3 Magnesian Limestone (between 20 – 25m thick) overlies coarse grained basal ‘Yellow Sands’ sandstone of various depths below which are the middle coal measures. The quarrying consents are not yet worked to their full extent. Mineral extraction to date has taken place in the western and central parts of the consented areas, and backfilling with construction and demolition wastes as landfilling in the west of the quarry void. Extraction takes place in an easterly direction with the resultant void being restored through backfilling with inert waste materials, the western part of the disturbed quarry has been partially restored. Future areas of working within the Old Quarrington Quarry permission area have been partly stripped of soils and the soils stored in mounds to screen quarry operations. The limestone and sand are marketed as aggregates. The rate at which the quarry is worked is influenced by market levels and has historically been in the region of 370,000 tonnes per annum. 4 Four applications have been submitted relating to Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries. These being: a new scheme of working and restoration conditions for Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries, arising from the requirements for the review of old mineral planning permissions under the provisions of the Environment Act 1995; variation of condition of the 1987 planning permission to extend the period for mineral extraction; an 4.76 ha extension to Cold knuckles Quarry, and the re- establishment of a secondary aggregate recycling facility for construction and demolition wastes in part of the quarry. These are dealt with sequentially in this report. 5 The applications are accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES) that considers all four proposals. This report has taken into account the information contained in the ES and amended details and that arising from statutory consultations and other responses. These planning applications are being reported to the County Planning Committee because they involve major minerals and waste development. The proposals Review under the Environment Act 1995 6 The Environment Act 1995 introduced significant new requirements for an initial review and updating of mineral planning permissions granted between 1948 and 1982, and the periodic review of all extant mineral permissions at 15 year intervals. The review process, which is similar to that previously adopted for older Interim Development Order (IDO) permissions, takes the form of a submission for consideration by the mineral planning authority of a new and updated scheme of conditions, usually incorporating a reviewed scheme of working, restoration, and aftercare, as appropriate. The determination will have the effect of imposing new conditions for the future working of an existing minerals development for which planning permission has already been granted. 7 Under the requirements of the Act, land at Quarrington comprising the Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries permission areas, is classed as an Active Phase 1 site. A new scheme of conditions for working and restoration was required and submitted to the County Council in 1998, but assessment was deferred in the light of legal developments pending the preparation of an accompanying Environmental Statement (ES). The site operator subsequently submitted a detailed ES, incorporating an updated intended schedule of planning conditions, which has now been assessed. 8 There are four existing consents for working magnesian limestone, Permian sand and coal granted between 1952 and 1987. Although the overall permission area for Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries is 81 ha (77.8 ha Old Quarrington Quarry, 3.2 ha Cold Knuckles Quarry), the ‘Review’ submission covers a 15 year period (working and restoration period) and area of 50.8 ha. A periodic review will take place in 15 years time and will address working in the remainder of the permitted site that only has permission for the extraction of limestone. The proposed scheme would have the effect of consolidating the planning permissions relating to the whole permitted area of Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries granted between 1952 and 1958, which have the benefit of planning permission until 2042. 9 Each permission has conditions providing disparate controls and differing standards of environmental protection in different parts of the quarry. The review is a useful opportunity to up-date and consolidate these controls, rationalising operational practices and environmental standards over the whole quarry. The proposed conditions address, amongst other matters, the following: working method, access, traffic and protection of the public highway, environmental protection (noise, dust and blasting), hours of operation and a restoration strategy. The submitted suggested draft schedule of conditions has been amended in consultation with the applicant. Variation of condition 7 of Planning Permission No. 4/86/456CM 10 The 1987 planning permission requires cessation of mineral extraction within 25 years of the date of commencement with restoration to topsoil within 12 months of the cessation of tipping. The operator has proposed the date of issue of the planning permission as the date of commencement, this being 3 July 1987 this would require the cessation of mineral extraction by 3 July 2012. However, in conjunction with the review of existing permissions the site operator seeks to extend the period of mineral extraction until 3 July 2025. This would also extend the period for restoration through infilling with quarry waste and imported inert waste until 3 July 2026. The extension of time is requested in order to tie in with the proposed 15 year working scheme. There would be a greater emphasis on nature conservation afteruses but still with some grazing. Proposed extension 11 The applicant is also seeking permission to extract 415,800 tonnes of Permian sand from an easterly extension to Cold Knuckles Quarry (4.76 ha extension, 3.18 ha excavation area). Planning permission for mineral extraction does not exist for a strip of land between Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles Quarries. Quarrying of permitted reserves would result in an unstable ridge between the two areas raising health and safety issues for the use of Bridleway No. 34/35 as well as having implications for the restored landform. In addition there have been health and safety issues raised by the County Council over the continued use of Bridleway No. 34/35. The proposed extension therefore comprises the area of land between the Old Quarrington and Cold Knuckles permission areas along the route of Bridleway 34/35, an area to the east of Cold Knuckles Quarry that has previously been worked by another operator and provide for its restoration, and a small area where the permission boundary does not appear to follow the fence line on the south west boundary of Cold Knuckles Quarry. Working within the proposed extension area would take place in accordance with the new comprehensive conditions contained in the review schedule as approved.