Letter July 2011.4Docx
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BEETLEY PARISH COUNCIL Dawn Meadow Fakenham Road East Bilney Dereham NR20 4HT 01362 861112 Dear Parishioner PROPOSED MINERAL EXTRACTION AND WASTE DISPOSAL SITES IN BEETLEY, EAST BILNEY, OLD BEETLEY AND GRESSENHALL – THE LATEST NEW PLANS You may remember being contacted by a Committee of the Parish Council during 2008-09 regarding plans by Norfolk County Council to site a number of mineral extraction and waste disposal pits between the villages within the Parish of Beetley. A public meeting and several leaflet distributions were organised to discuss the plans. Due to changes in local government policy, and the timing of the 2010 General Election, the proposals were delayed and temporarily put on hold. Norfolk County Council has recently reopened the consultation process, and there are now advanced proposals to locate two new sand and gravel extraction pits and two new waste disposal sites in the area between the four villages of Beetley, East Bilney, Gressenhall and Old Beetley. Please note that the sites include some new areas not previously identified for potential development. The deadline for local villagers to raise objections to the plans is 15th August 2011, so it is important that you make your views known to Norfolk County Council as soon as possible. The four sites now under consideration: • MIN 10a – Mineral extraction is proposed on a large area of land bordering the B1146, between Beetley and East Bilney, on the Old Beetley side of the main Dereham - Fakenham Road. (In the original proposals MIN 10a was listed as three separate sites: MIN 10, MIN 11 and MIN 12, with revised boundaries.) It is proposed that minerals are extracted from this site and transported under School Lane, via an extension to the existing conveyor belt, to the current quarry at East Bilney. Plans suggest screening the site from the main road; obviously this would also mean that the wider countryside landscape would also be completely obscured from view. Local villagers could anticipate a substantial increase in noise and pollution, and a significant impact on the local ecology. • MIN 51 / WAS 87 – This quarry and a subsequent waste processing site would be situated to the west of Bilney Road, on the approach to Gressenhall. As the site would be unable to use the processing plant at East Bilney, extracted and processed materials would need to be transported by HGV lorries on local roads, to facilities in Beeston or further afield. Bilney Road, and the road junction with the B1146 and Rawhall Lane would need to be widened and altered to accommodate the increased lorry movements. In addition to the raised traffic levels, there would be a significant increase in noise and pollution, and an impact on the local countryside and wildlife, in what is currently a completely rural area. Similarly the subsequent usage of the site for industrial waste processing would be completely inappropriate, and create noise, dust and vibration. Bilney Road is also part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 13, and is adjacent to several country footpaths, all attracting cyclists and walkers to the local area. • WAS 01 – This waste processing area is proposed on the site of the current mineral extraction works, to the west of the B1146, on the approach into East Bilney. Located on the top of a hill, the proposed industrial processes would require tall chimney stacks and create an increase in large vehicles and HGV traffic. Local villagers could anticipate a substantial increase in noise and pollution, and a significant impact on local ecology. Many of the proposed processes also have the potential to cause pollution to the nearby River Blackwater, which feeds into the River Wensum. The site is also adjacent to the National Cycle Route 13. Future developments: The proposal of WAS 01 on the site of existing mineral extraction works is also a typical indication of what further developments might be anticipated in the local area, where the siting of a pit for one purpose leads to continued industrial usage for a different purpose. If successful, many of these plans might also give greater opportunity for further extraction sites to be sited locally in the future; linking together existing processing sites – in an essentially rural area, and one which is currently recognised by the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) as being ‘tranquil’. How to tell Norfolk County Council what you think of the current plans: A map showing the proposed sites is included with this letter, together with a FREEPOST envelope, and a series of response (‘tick box’) sheets which have more comprehensive information on each individual site. You are strongly requested to review the proposals, and if you wish to comment in any way, and/or feel that some or all of the plans should not go ahead, please complete the tick box sheets and send them in the ready-addressed envelope provided as soon as you can. You do not need to put a stamp on the envelope before posting. The Parish Council Minerals and Waste Committee also recommends that views and objections should be made regarding those sites which are currently unallocated. For this reason, a response sheet is also included to conFirm the recommendations to drop from proposals the other mineral and waste sites suggested in early consultations. Alternatively, you can email idf@norfolk.gov.uk, or contact Norfolk County Council (tel: 01603 223219 or fax: 01603 223219 – marked FAO ‘Planning Services’) or write to Planning Services, Norfolk County Council, Planning and Transportation Department, FREEPOST NC22093/8, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 2BR Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. If you have an opinion on any of these proposals it is vital that you make your views known NOW. .