BREEDON NORTHERN LIMITED

Transcription

1 Non Technical Summary

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3 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION SITE DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT KEY ISSUES CONSIDERED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT Scoping and Consultation Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment Ecology Soils and Agriculture Water Resources Cultural Heritage Noise Vibration Air Quality Transport CONCLUSION PLATES Plate 1: Location of... 2 Plate 2: Aerial photograph across (September 2013), looking eastwards... 3 Plate 3: Sensitive receptors within the area enclosing the site... 4 Plate 4: Designated areas within the area enclosing the site... 5 Plate 5: Revised phasing of the quarrying... 6 Plate 6: Restoration Plan... 7 Plate 7: Viewpoint Plate 8: Phase 1 Habitat Plan... 11

4 1 INTRODUCTION has extracted mineral from the Durham Magnesian Limestone escarpment since the latter half of the 19 th Century, with subsequent modern permissions first granted in Breedon Northern Limited is the new operator of in County Durham and intends to submit a planning application for an extension of the duration (time period) of the permitted operations at the quarry, to An Environmental Statement (ES) has been prepared to accompany the planning application. The ES provides details of and its surrounding area; the nature of operations being undertaken at the quarry (the proposed development); and the environmental impact of the proposed development through a process known as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which determines if potential impacts have significant effects This (NTS) summarises the findings of the ES in non-technical language and examines issues such as ecology, landscape and visual amenity, water resources, air quality, noise and transport. Additionally, the NTS gives a detailed description of the proposed development and an overview of the Site. 2 SITE DESCRIPTION is sited approximately 10km south-south-east of Durham, in County Durham, close to the villages of Kelloe and Coxhoe, as shown on Plate 1. Page 1

5 Plate 1: Location of The site is situated on the southern and western flanks of Raisby Hill, which forms part of the wider Durham Magnesian Limestone escarpment. The A1(M) is located to the west of the site and access from the site to the A1(M) is via the A177. The permission area of the site is hectares, which includes areas of grassland and woodland, the quarry void (with areas designated for material stockpiles and the working faces), site Page 2

6 offices, welfare facilities and a settlement lagoon. Photograph 1 is an aerial photograph of taken in September 2013 (n.b. showing the Coal Hole, towards the southern edge of the quarry. This has since been filled in). Plate 2: Aerial photograph across (September 2013), looking eastwards Surrounding the site are areas of grassland, woodland, arable farmland and livestock grazed grassland as well as a handful of isolated houses and farms. There are several footpaths and Public Rights of Way surrounding the site, which connect the villages of Coxhoe, Kello and Trimdon Grange. The Raisby Hill Grassland biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), The Trimdon Limestone Quarry biological and geological SSSI and the Raisby Way and Trimdon Grange Quarry Local Nature Reserve (LNR) are located close to the site. The Raisby Hill Quarry geological SSSI lies within the site. Plates 3 and 4 illustrate the sensitive receptors and designated areas around the site. Page 3

7 Plate 3: Sensitive receptors within the area enclosing the site Page 4

8 Plate 4: Designated areas within the area enclosing the site Page 5

9 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT The Proposed Development comprises: an extension of the duration (time period) of permitted operations; it is anticipated that (including restoration), operations at Coxhoe would extend for a further 26 years beyond the currently approved completion date of autumn 2018 (i.e. completion in autumn 2042 and restoration completed in autumn 2044) Although Durham County Council as the Mineral Planning Authority has previously granted permission for the temporary use of the ready-mixed concrete plant, concrete block manufacturing plant and secondary aggregate materials recycling facility, Breedon Northern Ltd does not propose to continue to operate these facilities at. These permissions will therefore be allowed to lapse Plate 5 illustrates the revised working phases for Coxhoe. The working hours of mineral extraction and processing would remain as existing. There would similarly be no change to the haulage, maintenance and blasting hours or operations carried out during weekends. Plate 5: Revised phasing of the quarrying Page 6

10 Plate 6: Restoration Plan Page 7

11 3.1.4 The restoration proposals, as shown on Plate 6, have been revised in agreement with the Mineral Planning Authority to take into consideration County Durham Biodiversity Action Plan s priority habitat, magnesian limestone grassland. As a result, the amount of tree planting proposed at the quarry has been reduced in order that more grassland can be created. 4 NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT The majority of the workforce at lives locally in the nearby villages and continuation of extraction beyond 2018 will secure the ongoing employment of 15 persons at the quarry The proposed restoration scheme would provide environmental, amenity and socioeconomic benefits to the local area. The areas of magnesian limestone grassland will contribute to the wider enhancement of the Durham magnesian limestone escarpment, in line with County Durham s Biodiversity Action Plan. The exposed rock cliffs would provide suitable habitat for Peregrine whilst safely exposing the unique geology of the Raisby Hill Quarry geological SSSI. The proposed lake and wetland areas will provide diverse ecological habitats for wading bird species The Mineral Planning Authority and national planning policy acknowledge that minerals are vital to the economy and an adequate supply of minerals, including crushed rock and sand and gravel, is required. 5 KEY ISSUES CONSIDERED IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT 5.1 Scoping and Consultation On 4 th April 2014, a written Scoping Report providing details of the proposed development was submitted to the Mineral Planning Authority; however, a revised Scoping Report was submitted in August 2015 to reflect that there would be one planning application rather than a Review of Old Mineral Permissions (ROMP) and variation of conditions applications. The ES provides a summary of the scoping and consultation responses received in response to both Scoping reports. The issues raised that remain relevant to this planning application are discussed in the relevant chapters of the ES On the 12 th and 13 th of September 2014, public consultations were held at Coxhoe Village Hall. No issues or concerns were raised in relation to the proposed planning application. In addition, a presentation was made to Trimdon Parish Council on 9 th Page 8

12 December 2015; the issue of dust was raised and has been addressed in the ES. On 3 rd September 2014, a presentation was made to Coxhoe Parish Council to provide an update on the planning application As this is an existing site, no alternative sites were considered. There are no suggestions to alter the existing access into the site and the do nothing option is similarly not a relevant consideration, given the requirement for the mineral to be extracted and the site to ultimately be restored. 5.2 Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment The local landscape value is considered to be low to medium, although the landscape is in good condition (recognised by the presence of locally designated sites) although heavily influenced by quarrying. Views of the quarry and the quarry floor are not visible from the majority of locations within the local area; however, the northern and eastern quarry faces are visible from the south and west, as shown on Viewpoint 4 on Plate 7. As the quarry progresses eastwards, views of the quarry from the west are likely to change. Plate 7: Viewpoint The proposed restoration scheme meets the East Durham Limestone Plateau landscape character and the local landscape character objectives, with limited changes to the local landscape character, and would have a beneficial effect. Residential areas that currently do not have views of the quarry are unlikely to have views as the extraction progresses. Any changes to existing views from residential areas would, in the short-term, not be significant and, once the site is restored, the views would either be neutral or slight beneficial. During mineral extraction, the visual impact on users of roads, Public Rights of Way and recreational and open space areas would not be significant adverse, while the long-term impact, once restoration is complete, would be neutral. Page 9

13 5.3 Ecology Habitat and protected species surveys were carried out in 2014, with a further walkover to confirm that there had been no significant changes to the site, in Plate 8 shows the Phase 1 habitat plan. The surveys found that the local habitats potentially support foraging and rooting bats; great crested newts; foraging badger; breeding birds; butterflies and moths; reptiles; brown hare; hedgehog; and invasive, non-native crayfish. The assessment concluded that in the short-term, there would be a loss of habitats of low value within the site and some protected species may be disrupted; however, in the long-term there would be neutral effects on protected species and the restored site would provide positive effects on the biodiversity of the local area. Page 10

14 Plate 8: Phase 1 Habitat Plan Page 11

15 5.4 Soils and Agriculture Before mineral extraction can take place, soils from areas currently used for agriculture are stripped and stored on site. These soils are then used in the restoration of the quarry. The impact assessment found that, with mitigation measures such as seeding the stored soil, and only handling soils when they are dry, there would be no significant adverse impacts on the soil resource of the site. 5.5 Water Resources There are no rivers or streams within the site but there is a settlement lagoon in the east of the site and two small ponds within the western part of the site, close to the access road. The nearest watercourse is the Coxhoe Beck, also known as the Kelloe Beck. The working area of the site is not at risk of flooding but a short section of the site access track is shown on the Environment Agency s flood maps to be at risk of flooding from Coxhoe Beck. However, the access track is elevated above the floodplain of the river and there have been no reports of the Coxhoe Beck flooding and affecting the access to the site The quarry is now dry-worked and has been designed so that extraction levels will remain above the groundwater levels within the local area The impact assessment has determined that with mitigation in place, such as the implementation of pollution prevention measures, there would be no impact on water resources that would have a significant adverse effect. 5.6 Cultural Heritage There are no designated heritage assets within the site boundary; there are however two non-designated heritage features within the site: a disused railway to the south of the quarry floor; and a possible Iron Age or Roman enclosure to the north of the site. In addition, within the east of the quarry there may be post-medieval ridge and furrow Archaeological investigations in the 1990s and in 2006 of the eastern future extraction area found no significant archaeological remains and concluded that further potential for archaeological remains was low. Therefore, the potential for proposed development to have a physical impact on unknown archaeological features is low. In addition, the impact of the proposed development on the setting of Listed Buildings and Scheduled Monuments would not be significant adverse. Page 12

16 5.7 Noise The predicted noise levels are below the national policy noise limit guidelines for temporary operations. The predicted noise levels of the long-term operation of the quarry fall below the proposed noise limit for receptors during both the day and night time periods. 5.8 Vibration There are no vibration impacts identified as a result of blasting (which is required to extract mineral from within the quarry) on the residential receptors of Low Raisby Farm, Garmondsway Village and Greenside Farm that would have a significant adverse effect. 5.9 Air Quality The assessment concluded that, as the closest properties in Trimdon Grange village are approximately 1.45km to the east of the working area, the nuisance dust reported at the Parish Council meeting on 9 th December 2014 is unlikely to come from the quarry. The assessment also found that the predicted impacts of dust on ecological areas, on the countryside and recreational users and on residential properties would similarly not result in significant adverse effects Transport Extending the time period for extraction of mineral would not result in any significant changes to the numbers of vehicles that currently transport mineral from the quarry, to local markets. Any increase could be up to 14% above existing levels but would remain within the existing limit of 500 laden vehicles per day, leaving the quarry. Quarry HGV movements typically reduce towards the later period of the day and would not therefore clash with evening peak periods The quarry has good access to the local and regional road network, using roads that are suitable for HGVs, have little pedestrian activity, and operate within capacity. A review of the accident data for the period from October 2013 to November 2016 demonstrated that there were very few incidents involving HGVs within the study area road network The predicted addition of 3 additional vehicle movements during the morning peak hour and 1 additional vehicle movement during the evening peak hour would be insignificant in terms of traffic capacity and would not result in any additional adverse Page 13

17 effects on aspects such as congestion and driver delay, accidents and safety, or pedestrian amenity, fear and intimidation It is proposed to retain the current limit on the export rate, of 500 laden vehicles per day, as this allows for occasional unpredictable peaks in demand for mineral Recreation and Amenity Recreational uses in the vicinity of the Coxhoe site mainly comprise general countryside pursuits such as walking, cycling and horse riding, utilising the local footpaths, cycle and bridleway networks. There are various Local Nature Reserves in close proximity to the site that also provide local attractions for informal recreation. The nearby Coxhoe village contains areas of amenity open space Users of the rights of way in the areas closest to the quarry have the potential to experience combined effects of noise and air quality, in addition to the potential for conflict with quarry vehicles for those routes that coincide with parts of the quarry access road. Effects would not be significant adverse and would in any case be transient, occurring over a short time span, only Restoration of the quarry once extraction is completed will include the creation of a new footpath, linking the site access track with the existing path to the east of the quarry (FP11). This will provide a long term beneficial impact on the recreation and amenity interests of the area Cumulative Effects The Environmental Statement (ES chapter 17) has considered the potential for cumulative effects to occur, both in relation to the combined presence of Coxhoe Quarry with other existing magnesian limestone quarries present in the local area, and also from the combination of effects on the natural heritage environment, and on the people and property of the local area No significant cumulative effects have been identified. 6 CONCLUSION The potential environmental impact of the proposed development has been assessed in the Environmental Statement. Overall, it can be concluded the proposed development, the ongoing extraction of mineral from, would not result in any significant adverse impact on the local environment or on the amenity of local residents and on that of nearby road and recreational users. Page 14

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