CHETWYND ASTON AND WOODCOTE PARISH COUNCIL

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1 CHETWYND ASTON AND WOODCOTE PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE ON THE PROPOSED QUARRY PLANNING APPLICATION Drop in Session at the Wheatsheaf Inn Thank you to all who attended the drop in session at the Wheatsheaf Inn on the 17 th June to discuss the proposed planning application. We had over 110 people attend which is a fantastic and an unexpected turnout for our small parish. The Shropshire Star & Newport Advertiser also attended and spoke to councillors and residents regarding their concerns on the application. It was great to meet everyone to discuss your concerns on the Quarry. Signs Since the meeting we have produced and distributed signs in Chetwynd Aston and Woodcote. The signs have also reached Newport. Hopefully these signs will raise awareness to people who commute along the A41 and Pave Lane. We are currently designing new signs to be distributed. These signs will be smaller (approximately the same size as an estate agent sign). If you would like either size sign to be placed outside your property please let us know and we can organise delivery. Parish Council Objection The Parish Council have put uploaded their objection to the Telford and Wrekin Website. Please find below a copy of this. Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote Parish Council (CAWPC) is strongly opposed to this planning proposal (TWC/2016/0437) on the following grounds; 1. The application stated that direct access is already available onto a major highway network without the need for any work or highway improvement to the A41. In fact the site does not have direct access onto the A41. The proposal intends to use Pave Lane to access the site,

2 which is not a classified road and therefore cannot be classed as a major highway. The stretch of the A41 where this proposal intends to connect into the road network is exceptionally busy with traffic and has, unfortunately, encountered several fatal accidents. The Pave Lane/A41 junction is locally known as an unsafe and dangerous junction due to the volume and speed of traffic travelling along the A41. Indeed this stretch of the A41 is renowned for dangerous overtaking as the road becomes wider, and has been an ongoing concern for parishioners for many years. In fact local residents travelling along the A41 from Newport will not turn right onto Pave Lane due to the speed of overtaking traffic travelling northbound. The additional 240 daily HGV vehicle movements created by this proposal will only exacerbate the already unsafe issues with this road and junction. The extra traffic will also increase congestion for vehicles on Pave Lane waiting to access the A41. Furthermore as the heavily laden HGV s pull out onto the fast flowing A41 their slow speed could also result in serious collisions. It is proposed that Mick George will restrict HGV movement to specific routes and can be monitored by trackers. This does not include contractors or other vehicles which will be using the quarry, hence quarry traffic will also use Pave Lane as an alternative route. Pave Lane passes through a predominantly residential area and is already a busy road, with traffic using it to access Newport, The National Sports Centre, The Fox, The Norwood, and Wheatsheaf pubs. 2. The operational hours are proposed as 7am-6pm Monday to Friday and 7am-1pm on Saturday. The application also stated that HGV movement will begin one hour earlier and finish one hour later than the above times. These are very long operational hours which would have a negative impact on local residents with the associated noise and traffic movements that will be created. 3. The noise, dust, debris and light will have a considerable impact on local residents, the environment, and local businesses, which are located extremely close to the proposed site. The quarry will create a large amount of noise, dust, and debris which will prevent residents from enjoying their homes as they currently do in this peaceful hamlet. Recently one local resident went to the Crooked House Pub at Himley, which has a Quarry/landfill site situated next door. The resident commented that it was not possible to sit outside or use the children s play area due to severity of the dust being produced from the nearby quarry. CAWPC is concerned that this situation will be replicated in Chetwynd Aston. Currently, the only lighting in Chetwynd Aston is from residential dwellings. The quarry will have security flood lights and additional vehicle lights especially during the winter. This will be visible to residents and cause light pollution. There is also an elderly nursing home situated on the boundary of the proposal. The quarry will certainly have a detrimental impact on the health and well-being of the elderly residents and will pose a negative impact to this rural business and local employer.

3 4. CAWPC is deeply concerned about the proposal to have a facility to produce ready mix concrete on site. The area proposed to produce this material is currently a Greenfield site and would in essence turn it into an industrial site. CAWPC is also concerned on how much more noise & dust this process will create and what will be its operating hours? 5. The proposal states that following removal of the sand and gravel the land would be infilled using imported inert material. CAWPC would like clarification on what is classed as inert material? Is there enough inert material in the area to do this? Where will it come from? The importation of inert material will create more HGV movements to the site. The proposal states that some of the imported material (e.g. hard core and concrete) maybe recycled to create secondary aggregate. Where will this material be stored before and after crushing? The process of crushing will also add further to the amount of dust and noise created by the quarry. It also needs to be considered that if not enough inert material can be found locally to reinstate the site what other material will be used? CAWPC is deeply concerned that the hole could be potentially be used for landfill. 6. Woodcote Wood has already been granted planning permission for sand and gravel extraction and is on the Local Plan reserve list. Hence there is no need for the proposed Pave Lane quarry. 7. There is well in excess of 20 year s supply of sand and gravel from the existing quarries in Shropshire. The Telford & Wrekin Local Plan states in 2014 there were 11 permitted sites for sand and gravel working in Shropshire, 6 of which were operational. The plan also states that there is no need for the plan to identify additional sites since Shropshire Council has indicated that supply can be met up to 2031 (Local plan ). In addition Shropshire Council has recently recommended a 7 year extension to an existing quarry based in Ellesmere which has immediately created an additional 0.6 million tonnes of sand and gravel locally. 8. The Telford and Wrekin Council Local Plan also states the following points with regard to the proposed quarry site at Pave Lane - That existing and future mineral extraction is restricted to locations that are environmentally acceptable and not adversely affect the quality of life of the borough s communities (Local Plan Section ). As highlighted above the Pave Lane proposal would have a detrimental impact on the environment and the quality of life of residents and people using local business. - The Pave Lane site was classed as least preferred and should only be considered if one or more of the unworked sites fail to come forward. The site has a significant serious environmental constraints which include Woodcote Hall, the site will be visible from Staffordshire and access onto A41 (Local Plan section ) 9. CAWPC is also concerned about soil erosion. Currently during rainfall, water, soil, and stone runs off the proposed site and causes flooding on Pave Lane opposite the proposed entrance

4 to the site (see below), and on Pitchcroft Lane. This will only be exacerbated by the proposed quarry, due to the exposed land and HGV access road. 10. The proposed site also has significant historical interest. It is well documented that Henry VII marched from Wales via Muster Hill (the centre of the proposed quarry) to the Battle of Bosworth in This means that the site could contain significant historical artefacts. In addition, the proposal has the following buildings on its boundary that are Listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and are Grade II listed; - Woodcote Hall - Woodcote Church - Kitchen garden walls south west of Woodcote Hall - Churchyard Boundary Wall - Stable and Coach House Range immediately west north of Woodcote Hall Furthermore the historic Woodcote Church that situated on the boundary of the proposed site is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book. Immediately adjacent to the proposed site The Croft Pave Lane there is an enclosed Iron Age Farmstead which is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act A limited excavation has found significant buried deposits. It can be expected that preserved organic remains are present which will provide an insight into how a farming community lived in the Iron Age in this area (Historic England). 11. The land situated within/adjacent the proposal boundary is a diverse habitat and is home for a large amount of wildlife including great crested newts, bats, badgers, songbirds and birds of prey. The quarry will destroy and remove this habitat completely which will have a detrimental effect on the local environment. There is no indication from the proposal that a Great Crested Newt Survey has been completed by the applicant, even though there are watercourses in close proximity. Furthermore, Greens Wood which is immediately adjacent to the proposal boundary is classified as ancient woodland and would certainly be affected by this massive proposal. 12. The application states there will be planting of new broadleaf woodland areas to provide a visual screen and the proposed operations are generally remote and well screened from residential dwellings. Unfortunately the trees have yet to be planted and will not have time to mature in order to create a visual screen to the application. Therefore this will have no

5 benefit to the area and will remain an eyesore. Also the residents living in Child Pitt will be overlooking the proposed site despite the proposed screening due to land elevation. 13. The land included in the proposal is high quality agricultural land which used to grow a wide range of cereal and root crops would removed from use for a minimum period of 20 years during the excavation and reinstatement period. This is a considerable length of time that crops could not be grown on the land. Indeed when the land is reinstated it would be many more years before the land could even be capable of growing arable crops again. 14. As stated above the proposed Pave Lane quarry will dramatically affect the quality of life of the residents of Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote. Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote is a small rural hamlet, and quarry and landfill site would have a detrimental impact on the structure and dynamic of this village and surrounding areas. Spread the Word Thank you to all who have already uploaded an objection on to the Telford and Wrekin website. If you are against this proposal and have not objected please upload your objections onto the following website Telford and Wrekin have confirmed that they will accept any comments on this application until they make a decision, which is expected to be around November/December. There are currently 115 objections on the Telford and Wrekin site. We have been advised that we need 200+ objections to put serious weight behind the application being refused. You are welcome to take ideas and comments from the Parish Council objection. Please spread the word and ask family, friends and colleagues to visit the application online and add their comment. Volunteers and Ideas We are open to any ideas to fight this application. If you have any suggestion or you are able to help with any campaign please let the Parish Council know via Rhian Hardy (Parish Clerk on the address below. Thank you again to all who attended the drop in session and have voiced their objection. We will continue to fight this application and keep you updated. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Parish Council via Rhian Hardy (Parish Clerk) on chetwyndastonandwoodcotepc@hotmail.com