Churchfield Stone Ltd. Establishing a Conservation Stone Quarry

Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement Churchfield Stone Ltd. Establishing a Conservation Stone Quarry Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement November 2012 1 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement QUALITY CONTROL Project Details Site Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Client Churchfield Stone Ltd. Project Establishing a Conservation Stone Quarry Name Position Date Prepared By Hilary Löfmark Consultant 11-10-12 Checked By Del Tester Director 12-10-12 Authorised By Del Tester Director 12-10-12 Status Revision Description Date Draft - 21-06-12 Issue 22-11-12 © DT Transport Planning No part of this document may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the prior permission in writing of DT Transport Planning Limited. DT Transport Planning Limited disclaims any responsibility to the Client or any third party in respect to matters that are outside of the scope of this report. This report has been prepared with reasonable skill, care and diligence within the terms of the contract with the Client and taking account of manpower, resources and testing devoted to it by agreement with the Client. This report is confidential to the Client and DT Transport Planning Limited accepts no responsibility of any nature to third parties to whom this report or any part thereof is made known. Any third party relies on the content of this report at their own risk. 2 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Policy Considerations 3.0 Existing Conditions 4.0 Development Proposals 5.0 Transport Impact 6.0 Summary and Conclusions APPENDICES A Site Location Plan B Bus Route Plan and Timetable C Traffic Count Data and location photograph D Site Layout Plan E Proposed Site Access Junction F Northamptonshire County Council Comments, 1 August 2012 3 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 DT Transport Planning Limited has been appointed by Churchfield Stone Ltd. to prepare a Transport Statement in support of an application to establish a conservation stone quarry to extract Blisworth Limestone, Blockstone and Flagstone products at Stonepits Quarry, Benefield in Northamptonshire. A location plan is included at Appendix A. 1.2 The site is currently in agricultural use, and has an existing unmade access junction from the A427 just north of Lower Benefield. 1.3 This Transport Statement summarises existing activities at the site, considers the transport conditions in the area, the proposed development, trip generation and the transport implications of the scheme. 4 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement 2.0 Policy Considerations National Planning Policy Framework 2.1 The Government has recently published a review of national planning policy, set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The document highlights the importance of the planning system in supporting the delivery of economic growth: ‘To help achieve economic growth, local planning authorities should plan proactively to meet the development needs of business and support an economy fit for the 21st century’ 2.2 The NPPF also emphasises the need for sustainable development: ‘At the heart of the planning system is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan making and decision taking.’ 2.3 A large proportion of the materials from the quarry will be transported to the nearby Harley Way stone processing plant. This will result in a reduction in the number of vehicles travelling to the Harley Way site from the existing quarry at Stamford in Lincolnshire. 2.4 The NPPF recognises that minerals are essential to support economic growth, as they are required to provide the infrastructure, buildings, and goods that the economy requires. Thus it states that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should: • Give great weight to the benefits of mineral extraction, including to the economy. • Ensure…that there are no unacceptable adverse impacts on the natural and historic environment, human health or aviation safety. • Recognise the small-scale nature and impact of building and roofing stone quarries and the need for a flexible approach to the potentially long duration of planning permissions reflecting the intermittent or low rate of working at many sites. 5 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement Local Policies 2.5 The Northamptonshire Structure Plan is no longer used as the basis to determine strategic land use planning in the area. This is determined by the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy and the Northamptonshire Minerals and Waste Core Strategy. The Northamptonshire Minerals and Waste Core Strategy is the most relevant to the proposed development. Northamptonshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework Core Strategy 2.6 The Minerals and Waste Development Core Strategy was adopted on 20 May 2010. It sets out the long-term land use planning strategy for minerals and waste development in Northamptonshire to 2026. The document sets out 12 objectives. These include: • Developing sustainable communities through the supply of minerals to the construction industry, ensuring an adequate supply of minerals to build or reshape the county’s communities. • Sustainable minerals and waste development, through optimising the use of resources and using only those that are really needed, using sustainable alternatives where practical. • Safeguarding Northamptonshire’s mineral resources, to ensure they are not sterilised by other forms of development. • Supporting the distinctive local identity through the supply of locally sourced building materials and encouraging their use within the county. • Safe and healthy communities – ensure minerals development does not damage existing or planned amenity or cause health and safety difficulties. 2.7 The proposed development complies with both national and local policies, through the provision of local mineral stone for use in the local area. It will provide economic benefits to the local community through the provision of employment and building materials. 2.8 The proposal is for a small-scale quarry with extraction over a 17-year period. It is shown in this report to have a minimal impact on local highway safety. 6 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement 2.9 The introduction of the quarry will result in a significant reduction in the number of heavy goods vehicles being used to transport stone to the area from the existing quarry in Stamford, Lincolnshire. 7 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement 3.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS 3.1 The site is located on the north western side of Lower Benefield, around 5.5km west of Oundle in Peterborough. There is no formal access to the site at present, but there is an unmade crossover providing access for agricultural vehicles from the A427 just north of Lower Benefield. 3.2 The A427 is a single two-way carriageway road providing a link between Oundle and the A605 to the east, and Corby to the west. It links the villages of Lower and Upper Benefield; there are a series of bends in the road between the two villages. The existing crossover access is located on the apex of a right hand bend on the A427, however visibility is good as a result of the flat topography, road alignment and low hedges. 3.3 The A427 between Lower and Upper Benefield is a rural wide single two-way carriageway road with a 60 mph speed limit, no footways or street lighting. The speed limit reverts to 30mph on the approaches to Upper and Lower Benefield. 3.4 The nearest bus stops to the site are on the A427 in Lower Benefield around 400m south east of the site access junction, there are also bus stops on the A427 in Upper Benefield around 1km to the north of the site. These are served by bus route X4 operating an hourly service between Peterborough, Corby, Kettering and Milton Keynes. Appendix B contains the bus timetable and a bus route plan of Northamptonshire. 3.5 An automatic traffic counter was placed on the A427 just south of the existing agricultural access between 10/06/2010 and 16/06/2010. Appendix C contains the traffic count data and a photo showing the location of the traffic counter on the highway. The Department for Transport publication ‘Guidance on Transport Assessment’ states that traffic counts undertaken within the last three years should be used in a Transport Assessment. The 2010 survey data is therefore appropriate for use in this analysis. Table 1 summarises the recorded weekday traffic flow volumes, while Table 2 summarises the 85th%ile speeds. Eastbound Westbound 2-Way 0800-0900 112 108 220 1700-1800 103 108 111 0700-1900 1004 1020 2024 Table 1: A427 Lower Benefield Average Weekday Traffic Count Data, June 2010 8 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Eastbound 0800-0900 29.1 29.7 29.5 29.2 29.5 1700-1800 30.0 29.9 30.2 29.9 29.7 0700-1900 29.5 29.7 25.9 29.4 29.4 Westbound 0800-0900 30.7 31.6 32.7 33.0 30.5 1700-1800 33.4 34.0 32.7 33.0 32.9 0700-1900 32.4 32.1 32.2 32.0 31.7 Table 2: A427 Lower Benefield 85th 5%ile speeds (mph), June 2010 3.6 Table 2 shows that the eastbound peak hour 85th%ile speeds were around 30mph, whereas westbound speeds were slightly higher between 30 and 34mph. Off-peak speeds were slightly lower than peak hour speeds in both directions. 9 Stonepits Quarry, Benefield Transport Statement 4.0 DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS 4.1 It is proposed to establish a conservation stone quarry to extract Blisworth Limestone, blockstone and flagstone products. Appendix D contains the proposed site layout plan. 4.2 It is estimated that there is around 169,650 tonnes of Blisworth Limestone available at the site. This will be recovered with an approximately 40% efficiency rate resulting in 67,860 tonnes of blockstone and flagstone for sale.

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