Topley Pike Quarry Countryside Access & Recreation Impact Assessment Planning Application for Revised Working and Restoration Proposals, Including a Reduction to the End Date for Mineral Operations, Restoration of the Deep Dale Tip Area and Retention of the Asphalt Plant Topley Pike Quarry, King Sterndale, Buxton, Derbyshire Countryside Access and Recreation Impact Assessment Contents 1. Introduction 2 1.1. Reasons for the Impact Assessment 2 2. Topley Pike Quarry 4 2.1. Quarry Location and Surrounds 4 2.2. Proposed Development and Restoration 4 3. Identification of Key Recreational Amenities 6 3.1. General 6 3.2. Monsal Trail 6 3.3. Other Footpaths and Bridleways 7 3.4. Open Countryside 8 4. Impact of Development on Access and Recreation 10 4.1. Current and Proposed Footpath Diversions 10 4.2. Impact of Temporary Stopping Up and Diversion 10 4.3. Visual Impact 12 4.4. Noise & Dust Impact 12 4.5. Blast Vibration 13 5. Planning Context 14 5.1. Peak District National Park Policy 14 5.2. Derbyshire Rights of Way Improvement Plan 14 6. Proposed Mitigation 16 6.1. Impact Mitigation 16 6.2. Fencing and Safety Measures 17 6.3. Beneficial Impacts 17 Plans Drawing No.CARIA/01 – Topley Pike Quarry and Surrounding Public Rights of Way Drawing No.TPCSV2/04 – Current Situation A/4048/CARIA/Final/Dec 2013 (Rev) 1 Topley Pike Quarry Countryside Access & Recreation Impact Assessment 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Reasons for the Impact Assessment 1.1.1. A request for a Scoping Opinion for the proposed Consolidating Application was made to the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) in February 2013. Consequently, the Authority provided a formal Scoping Opinion on 10th May 2013. A copy of this Opinion is contained within Appendix ESI of the Environmental Statement. 1.1.2. The Scoping Opinion stated that a Countryside Access and Recreation Impact Assessment report should be provided in the Environmental Statement. The Opinion asked for consideration of the following topics: • Recreational significance: of the countryside around the site • Definitive public rights of way: location/correct routeing (on a map) • Current and any proposed footpath diversion(s)or closures • Recreational amenity: location of key areas within the locality • Impacts on recreational use and visitor enjoyment of the footpaths and locality • Impact mitigation • Fencing and safety measures • Benefits associated with the restoration relative to public access and recreational enjoyment of the countryside 1.1.3. Additional Guidance on the information to be included in the Environmental Statement was provided with the Scoping Opinion. The additional guidance refined the topics set out above and stated that, in respect of the Countryside Access and Recreation Impact Assessment, the report should include: • Recognition of the recreational significance of the countryside around the site • The location/correct routeing (on a map) of definitive public rights of way within the locality • The location/correct routeing (on a map) of current and any proposed footpath diversions or closures • The location of key areas of recreational amenity within the locality • The assessment of impacts on recreational use and visitor enjoyment of the footpaths and locality • Impact mitigation to ensure continued enjoyment of the surrounding countryside for informal countryside recreation • Fencing and safety measures to protect users of the rights of way adjacent to the site until the site has been restored and to ensure those routes remain unobstructed at all times A/4048/CARIA/Final/Dec 2013 (Rev) 2 Topley Pike Quarry Countryside Access & Recreation Impact Assessment • Identification of any benefits associated with the proposed development relative to the recreational enjoyment of the countryside, including any proposals in line with the adopted Derbyshire Rights of Way Improvement Plan for improvements to existing rights of way (eg. improved surfacing, gradients etc) and the creation of: - Additional rights of way - Access linkages within the site and surrounding countryside - A new formalised car park off the A6 to the east and adjacent to the site access road for use as a Wyedale overspill car park for recreational users of the Monsal Trail and Deep Dale - A safe crossing between the Wyedale car park and Deep Dale entrance in discussion with the Highway Authority - A footpath link to facilitate an extension f the Monsal Trail into Buxton 1.1.4. This Countryside Access and Recreation Impact Assessment (CARIA) Report forms Chapter 8 of the Environmental Statement and addresses the issues raised in the Scoping Opinion. The CARIA Report has been prepared on behalf of the Applicant by Sloane Mead, a specialist firm of minerals development consultants. A/4048/CARIA/Final/Dec 2013 (Rev) 3 Topley Pike Quarry Countryside Access & Recreation Impact Assessment 2. TOPLEY PIKE QUARRY 2.1. Quarry Location and Surrounds 2.1.1. Topley Pike Quarry is located 4 kilometres east of Buxton, immediately south of the A6. It lies within the Peak District National Park, the boundary of which runs along the River Wye just to the north of the Quarry. The Mineral Planning Authority is the PDNPA and the local authority is the High Peak Borough Council. 2.1.2. The Quarry is located between Wye Dale, to the north, and Deep Dale which runs around the Quarry’s southern and eastern boundaries. The hamlet of King Sterndale lies around 100 metres to the west of the western Quarry boundary. The location of Topley Pike Quarry and the National Park boundary are shown on Drawing No. TPCSV2/01, which is provided at the front of the Environmental Statement. 2.1.3. The boundary of the Peak District Dales Special Area of Conservation (SAC), which includes the Topley Pike and Deep Dale Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is coincident with much of the north western, eastern and southern Quarry boundary. A small part of the SSSI/SAC, on the western edge of the Deep Dale Tip Area, lies within the Quarry boundary. The location of the SSSI/SAC boundary in relation to the Quarry is shown on Drawing No. CARIA/01. 2.1.4. Both the Deep Dale and Topley Pike SSSI and the nearby Wye Valley SSSI are notified due to the importance of the White Peak Dales, which cut through the limestone plateau to expose areas of high geological and geomorphological interest and support a range of important semi-natural woodland, scrub, grassland and stream habitats. Further details of the SSSIs and the SAC, along with details of local sites of wildlife interest, can be found in the Ecological Impact Assessment which forms Chapter 15 of the Environmental Statement. 2.1.5. The Quarry’s location within the National Park means that there is a focus in the surrounding area on recreation and access. There are a number of public footpaths and bridleways within the vicinity of the Quarry and these are shown on Drawing No. CARIA/01 and in more detail on Drawing No. TPCSV2/04. 2.2. Proposed Development and Restoration 2.2.1. The Proposed Development is described in detail in the Application Supporting Statement and within Chapter 4 of the Environmental Statement. A/4048/CARIA/Final/Dec 2013 (Rev) 4 Topley Pike Quarry Countryside Access & Recreation Impact Assessment 2.2.2. Key features of the Working Scheme are: • No new mineral development will take place outside the current footprint of the Quarry. • Mineral extraction will extend slightly further to the north east, beneath the Plant Site, than currently permitted and will extend up to 15 metres deeper in the eastern part of the Quarry than currently permitted. • In the western part of the Quarry, the depth of extraction will be reduced by 15 metres compared with what is currently permitted. • There will be no additional limestone reserves released as a result of the Scheme. • The Scheme proposes that all mineral operations will cease by the end of 2025. • The existing mobile processing plant and the existing asphalt plant will continue to be used for processing limestone from the Quarry. The buildings and associated structures within the Plant Site area will continue to be used until the final phase of extraction when some will be removed. • Removal of material from the Deep Dale Tip area will take up to eight years to complete. 2.2.3. Key features of the Restoration Scheme are: • The tipped material in the Deep Dale Tip area will be removed and placed within the Quarry void. This part of Deep Dale will be restored to its original valley landform. • The culverted part of Deep Dale stream will be restored to a natural stream in the base of the restored Deep Dale valley. Footpath No.37 will be reinstated along the restored valley floor. • A revised landform will be created in the West of the Quarry void, to accommodate the material from Deep Dale. • The base of the Quarry will be restored to a water area with a large area of shallows in the south western part of the Quarry void. A/4048/CARIA/Final/Dec 2013 (Rev) 5 Topley Pike Quarry Countryside Access & Recreation Impact Assessment 3. IDENTIFICATION OF KEY RECREATIONAL AMENITIES 3.1. General 3.1.1. The Peak District National Park has the highest status of national protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty. It was the first National Park to be designated in the British Isles. The Park is an area of great diversity, which is conventionally split into the northern Dark Peak, where most of the moorland is found and whose geology is primarily gritstone, and the southern White Peak, where most of the population lives and where the geology is primarily limestone. Proximity to the major cities of Manchester and Sheffield and the counties of Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire and South and West Yorkshire, coupled with easy access by road and rail, have contributed to its popularity.