Plans for a quarry in Barnham, near Thetford, has gained reluctant approval
A proposal for a quarry to extract 400,000 tonnes of sand and gravel has won reluctant support from councillors.
Worries the quarry in Barnham’s North Farm in Barnham, near Thetford, might not be deliverable because of an unsigned agreement caused three votes to be lost before a motion was passed at Suffolk County Council’s development committee yesterday.
The agreement not yet signed was the section 106, a planning obligation between a landowner and council that is needed to grant planning permission.
The legal services manager explained the landowner is on board but the issue came with the tenant farmer, who isn’t.
Councillors were worried about a suggestion made by an objector that specific areas of the site require permission from the farmer. It was accepted this was not needed for the large part.
However, the legal services manager said: “This is a landlord and tenant issue. As long as we have the landlord signed up to the section 106, it is not material to this application.”
Many councillors remained unconvinced and the initial recommendation to support the application was voted down – as were two further votes for an amended motion and for refusal.
While the final vote granted permission, the power for an officer to refuse it if the section 106 isn’t signed within an agreed timescale was written into it.
According to the officers’ report, the farmer and Natural England had previously expressed concerns about the impact of the quarry access on the irrigation system. Applicants Mick George Ltd altered the access as a result.
A decision on the application had been deferred earlier this year due to uncertainty around the section 106, the potential impact on birds and HGV traffic.
The site is in Breckland’s special protection area, which is designated to safeguard habitats and species. The area is particularly important for stone curlew birds.
The new proposed access in the application is onto the Elveden Road, which has a one-way weight limit so HGVs leaving the quarry would only travel east along the Elveden Road towards the crossroad with the A134. This is part of Suffolk’s lorry route network.
A representative for the applicant said: “The impact on the stone curlew is fully addressed after a formal assessment undertaken by your own county ecologist and endorsed by Natural England.
“This sets out restrictions on when operations can start so as not to disturb stone curlew within or near the site.
“The eastbound route along the Elveden Road is recognised as a strategic lorry route network.
“The additional four HGVs per hour created by the quarry is relatively low and is well within the typical daily variations in movements.
“The county highways authority has raised no objections to using this route.”
The proposal includes restoring the area to its original ground level and establishing a heathland after quarrying is complete.
Natural England does not oppose the application but Suffolk and Norfolk Wildlife Trusts are against it due to the impact of vehicle emissions on sensitive habitats.
Officers agreed with the applicant’s belief the HGVs won’t cause a significant change to traffic. The report states: “The impact upon the local highway network and the amenity of those who live along that route is incremental only as those routes are already heavily used by HGVs.”
A quarry on the same site was granted planning permission in 2012 to supply the construction of the A11 Elveden bypass but other sources ended up being used.
Planning permission was also granted in 2015 to allow the use of aggregates from North Farm at Lignacite’s factory in Brandon, although the contract for this was never drawn up.
