Controversial Lincolnshire quarry plans given green light
That's despite road safety concerns
Controversial plans to develop a quarry have been given the green light – despite road safety concerns.
Members of Lincolnshire County Council’s planning and regulation committee approved an application for a quarry to be developed at Thetford House Farm in Baston, near the A15.
Under the plans, more than two million tonnes of sand and gravel will be extracted from the site over a 10-year period.
The applicant Cemex UK Operations Ltd said the new quarry will replace its existing facility at King Street in West Deeping, which is ‘nearing exhaustion’.
The application was previously considered at a meeting on Monday February 9 – but was deferred to allow councillors time to undertake a site visit.
Emma Pearman, development planner for Cemex, said that the need for sand and gravel in Lincolnshire was “critical” and that the county’s “landbank” of these is currently below the recommended seven-year supply – at 6.8 years.
Under the plans, up to 53 HGVs (Heavy Goods Vehicles) will be coming and going from the site each day and will access the quarry from the A15.
Councillors heard that about 400 objections were submitted against the application – and members were concerned about the number of additional HGVs which would be using the A15.
At a meeting on Monday, March 9, chairman of Baston Parish Council, Adrian Clarke, said: “Councillors, firstly can I thank you for your visit to the proposed quarry site.
“However, we are disappointed at the timing of your visit and the fact that you will not have witnessed the A15 at its busiest and most congested.
“That said, we hope you now appreciate how dangerous this entrance and exit will be onto a 60 mile an hour road – and it is unsuitable and will be an accident waiting to happen.”
Coun Ashley Baxter (Independent – Deeping West and Rural) was also against the application – describing it as a ‘quarry too far’ and ‘in the wrong place’.
He added: “The quarry will be noisy, dirty, ugly. There will be traffic congestion – as has been mentioned – and it will be dangerous, not just in terms of traffic, but in terms of air quality.
“It will destroy good English Lincolnshire farmland forever, regardless of people saying it’s sustainable, regardless of people saying it will be restored to agricultural use. That’s not the reality.”
But Coun Kenneth Redfern (Reform UK – Bourne South and Thurlby) told the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the meeting that he was reassured that the site would be safe enough.
He added: “My biggest concern was safety but having listened to what was said about the highways, and having visited the site, that for me was crucial.
“When I stood at the point where the exit is proposed to be, it seemed so big, so wide.”
Coun Redfern explained that he had originally been against the application but felt that the applicant had listened to the concerns raised at the previous meeting.
He added: “I know it is a busy road. Being a representative of that area, I do see that it is a busy road but at the time I was there (the site visit), it was not that busy.
“I know it can get busier than it was but I do travel on that road often and if people are patient, you do have time to get out.
“I’m happy with the restrictions for the lorries not turning right. That makes it a lot safer for those certain busy periods.”
The application has been approved, subject to conditions.