S0081.14 Holywell Quarry, Item 168. PDF 916 KB
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Agenda Item 5.5 Regulatory and Other Committee Open Report on behalf of Richard Wills Executive Director for Communities Report to: Planning and Regulation Committee Date: 17 March 2014 Subject: County Matter Application – S16/0081/13 Application to extract limestone (dimension stone) from a northern extension to the Holywell Quarry with the restoration of the proposed extension area, the existing working area and the quarry tips to pasture, woodland and calcareous grassland at land within and adjacent to Holyw ell Quarry in the Parish of Careby, Aunby and Holywell. Summary: Planning permission is sought by the Stamford Stone Co Ltd (Agent: Geoplan Ltd) to extend and consolidate their existing operations relating to the extraction of dimension stone at Holywell Quarry in the Parish of Careby, Aunby and Holywell. In brief, it is proposed to: extract 488,000 tonnes of dimension stone prim arily from an extension to the quarry, but with a very limited amount of material taken from the existing working area; to increase the annual production limit from 1150 cubic metres (about 2750 tonnes) per year to 20,000 tonnes; and to progressively restore the site primarily to a mixture of calcareous grassland and improved pasture. Holywell Quarry is considered to be one of the County's most important dimension stone quarries and has been supplying high quality "Clipsham Stone" (a type of limestone) for the renovation of nationally important historic buildings and for use on local buildings since well before the comprehensive s ystem of planning control commenced in 1948. Permitted reserves at the quarry are currently very limited and are mainly located in an area that would have a significant visual impact. The applicant is therefore seeking to extend the quarry to the north in to an area that contains larger reserves, but is considered to have less impact. It is also proposed to increase the output limit to facilitate the provision of dimension stone for a wider market (including new build) - thereby ensuring the quarry remains economically viable. The main issues that have been raised are: Page 177 the detrimental impact of an existing quarry tip on both visual amenity and the landscape; the suitability and deliverability of the proposed restoration; the impact of the increased vehicular movements to/from the site; whether the stone should be conserved for the renovation of historic buildings; the potential presence of Great Crested Newts; the presence of archaeological remains; and the potential dust levels. Since the application was made, the quarry tip has been re-profiled and it is considered that it now assimilates into the surrounding landscape – resolving one of the main areas of concern. The restoration proposals are considered to provide an appropriate balance between meeting biodiversity action targets, making the most sustainable use of the soil, and assimilating the site into the landscape. Furthermore, it is considered that they can be secured through appropriate conditions. The proposal is relatively small scale and it i s considered that, subject to the mitigation measure s referred to in this report, it should not have any significant environmental effects. It is also considered to accord with the National Planning Policy Framework and the Development Plan. Recommendati on: That on completion of a Planning Obligation to prevent a resumption of working under the existing mineral permissions, that : conditional planning permission be granted; and that this report forms the Council's statement under paragraph 24 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011. Background 1. Holywell Quarry is a small building stone quarry located in the Parish of Careby, Aunby and Holywell. It is accessed via a shared quarry/farm access road that leads to Clipsham Road at a location immediately adjacent to the county boundary with Rutland. It is understood that quarry traffic has always gained access at this point from the west, through Rutland, where the road is known as "Holywell Road". The reason for this is that the road to the east of this access (Clipsham Road) is very narrow and unsuitable for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs). 2. The quarry has been in operation for many years and the existing footprint of the site (the extraction area and an associated area of ancillary mining land used for the storage of quarry waste) was to a large extent established Page 178 before full planning control commenced on 1 July 1948. After that date, with the exception of a very small area of land granted planning permission in 1949, mineral working appears to have continued until 1985 within the pre- 1948 boundaries of the quarry without express planning permission. 3. In 1985 an application was made for a small extension of the quarry into land beyond the northern and eastern boundaries of the area being worked at the time (S16/265/85). The issues that were taken into account in the consideration of that application included: firstly, that the quarry was one of the most important building stone quarries in the County supplying dressed stone for the restoration and maintenance of nationally important buildings such as the Houses of Parliament and the Oxford Colleges, which involved only a small number of HCV movements (about four per week); and secondly, that whilst Clipsham Road to the east of the access was unsuitable for HCVs, Holywell Road to the west also had limitations in terms of its width and construction. 4. Therefore, following consultation with Leicestershire County Council (which at that time incorporated Rutland), planning permission was granted subject to a condition limiting the output to 1,500 cu.yds per year (about 1150 cubic metres or 2750 tonnes per year). 5. The limitations of Clipsham Road were formally recognised in 1998 when the County Council made a traffic regulation order (imposing a 7.5 tonne weight restriction) prohibiting HCVs from that road. Under this order, a traffic sign was erected to the east of the quarry/farm access. Shortly after that, Rutland County Council made a similar order affecting Holywell Road, also erecting their traffic sign immediately to the east of the quarry access on Clipsham Road (in front of Lincolnshire’s sign ). On the face of it, it therefore appeared that the quarry/farm access was within the length of road affected by Rutland’s order, but outside the limits of Lincolnshire’s order. As HCVs are allowed to enter a road affected by a traffic regulation order for access to properties located within the order, it appeared that all quarry traffic could continue to access the quarry through Rutland – as they always had done in the past. 6. Under the provisions of the Environment Act 1995, the quarry was subject to its First Periodic Review in 2002 when the planning conditions were updated (Reference S16/0067/02). At that time, the then operator (Mowlem, Ratee and Kett) advised that a substantial volume of waste had accumulated within the quarry due to the fact that they had been concentrating on producing high quality, large block, dimension stone. As a result, the waste was restricting the working area, the area available for storage of product stone and the area for the turning and loading of vehicles. To address this, whilst the general restriction on output was re-imposed, the restriction was subject to an exemption allowing for an increase in the output to 2750 cubic metres for one continuous period of 15 months. Page 179 7. The present operator, the Stamford Stone Company Ltd, acquired the site shortly after the First Periodic Review and embarked on a programme to update the quarry infrastructure, including the creation of a substantial area of hardstanding to improve the working environment. At that stage a complaint from a member of the public was received regarding the number of vehicle movements from the site. This was investigated but it was found that the increase in vehicle movements was due, at least in part, to the infrastructure works. However, it was established at this time that the operator had inadvertently extended the northern face of the quarry beyond the permitted area of working. 8. During subsequent discussions, the operator advised that the site still contained permitted reserves within the eastern extension, but that working that area could have potentially opened up the quarry to views from Clipsham Road. Therefore, in order to continue working the northern face and to increase the output limitation, the operator made two separate but inter-related applications: the first, principally to extend the quarry into land to the north (S16/1725/04); and the second, to amend two conditions imposed through the First Periodic Review to allow for an increase in production and to revise the restoration requirements (S16/1726/04). 9. The two applications were subject to the normal consultation/publicity requirements and it appears that in response to this, Rutland County Council relocated the traffic sign relating to their traffic regulation order - moving it from its position to the east of the access on Clipsham Road to a new position west of the access and set back about 10m on their side of the county boundary. Further discussions with that Authority and with the County Council ’s Highways Division subsequently brought to light the fact that the traffic signs had not originally been sited in the precise locations covered by the traffic regulation orders. Indeed, in terms of the impact on quarry traffic, the two traffic regulation orders had the opposite effect to what was previously understood: i.e. HCVs could only lawfully access the site from the east (through Lincolnshire), and not through Rutland. This created a problem because the narrow road to the east of the access is unsuitable for HCVs and is flanked by Local Wildlife Sites (protected roadside verges) and an SSSI – meaning that any HCVs travelling in that direction could overrun and damage the protected features (calcareous grassland).