Cautious welcome for minerals draft plan

Proposals for the future of minerals extraction in Nottinghamshire up to 2036 include extensions to seven quarries — two in the Advertiser area.

However, none of the three new quarries proposed by the county council are in the Advertiser area.

Potential sites had been suggested at Coddington, Aver-ham, and Shelford.

Mr Robert Campbell, of the campaign group Coddington Against Gravel Extraction (CAGE) gave a caution welcome to the plan.

“We welcome the fact that currently Coddington is not included in the draft plan,” he said.

“We will watch its progress to see if any of the developments proposed affect Coddington, either directly or indirectly, and the outcome of the council meeting where it is proposed for adoption.”

The draft plan, due to be published this month, recommends extending Bantycock Quarry, Newark (gypsum) and Langford Lowfields Quarry, near Collingham (sand and gravel) as well as quarries at Scrooby, East Leake, and Bestwood.

Three new quarries would be created at Botany Bay, near Barnby Moor (sand and gravel) Mill Hill, near Barton in Fabis (sand and gravel) and Woodborough Lane, Gedling, (clay).

The draft also sets out the policies against which any planning applications for minerals extraction, will be assessed and determined by the council.

The draft plan has taken account of minerals sales data covering the latest ten-year period as a basis for future provision.

For sand and gravel this means providing for 1.7m tonnes per annum compared with 2.6m tonnes when older sales data was used.

As a result, fewer sand and gravel quarries are being proposed.

A small number of sites for extraction of Sherwood Sandstone, brick clay and gypsum are also proposed.

The council’s communities and place committee vice-chairman Mr Phil Rostance said: “We have listened carefully to the needs of industry and the concerns of residents to help us create a Minerals Plan document to guide the future development of mineral planning in our county.

“We will now share our proposals with communities and the quarry industry to gather feedback, which will help shape the final Minerals Plan document.”

Further consultation and an independent examination will follow.

“Any site allocations identified in the Minerals Local Plan would still require a detailed planning application to be submitted and approved before any work could commence,” Mr Rostance said.

“Our aim is to make sure that our county can provide a steady and adequate supply of minerals over the plan period to 2036 by allocating the right number of quarries in the correct locations to meet established local demand for materials.”

The Minerals Local Plan is a statutory document, which all minerals planning authorities, like the county council, are legally required to produce.

Tarmac has permission to mine more than three million tonnes of gravel from Langford Quarry, on Newark Road, near Collingham, in an extension to operations that could last up to eight years.

St Gobain Formula is preparing a planning application to extend the area it mines for gypsum at Bantycock Quarry towards Fernwood.