Quarry expansion plan next to homes in West Yorkshire town
Quarry could be extended next to homes
A mineral extraction company has applied to extend its quarry into fields next to houses in a West Yorkshire town.
Around 1.3 million tonnes of limestone could be removed from the site next to homes on the Warwick Estate in Knottingley.
The project could take up to eight years to complete if the scheme is given the go-ahead by Wakefield Council.
Operator Darrington Quarries Ltd (DQL) has requested permission to carry out the work at an eight-hectare greenbelt site currently used as farmland.
The land is bordered by homes on Windermere Drive, the M62, Ferrybridge Motorway Services, and properties being built as part of the Rainsborough Park residential development.
DQL is owned by FCC Environment, one of the UK’s leading waste and resource management companies.
A planning statement submitted to the council said DQL quarried other areas nearby which straddled the border between Wakefield Council and North Yorkshire Council.
The document said reserves at the other sites were expected to be exhausted by 2030 but the proposals would extend the life of the quarry for a further four years, until 2034, if approved.
Much of the extracted material would be used for concrete production and road building in West Yorkshire.
The site is within an area earmarked for a wider redevelopment masterplan aimed at regenerating Knottingley over the next 20 years.
The report said: “The granting of planning permission would ensure that safeguarded mineral resource is worked in a timely and appropriate manner.
“It is highly likely that if this opportunity is not taken, then the ability to extract the mineral will be lost forever.
“The granting of planning permission would also ensure that existing direct full-time equivalent jobs at the site, and the indirect jobs that in part are reliant upon the site, would be retained for an additional four years.
“The extended life of the quarry would inject revenue into both the national and local economy.”
The proposals include transporting material from the site on lorries via an access road to DQL’s processing plant at Cridling Stubbs, on the North Yorkshire side of the border.
Overhead power lines and underground pipes belonging to Yorkshire Water would need to be be relocated in order to fully complete the work.
The scheme also includes diverting a public right of way which crosses the land.
The report said “National planning policy states that minerals are essential to support sustainable economic growth and our quality of life.
“It is therefore important that there is a sufficient and continuous supply of minerals to provide the infrastructure, buildings, energy and goods that our country needs.”
The applicant plans to restore the site to a ‘bowl shape’ for agricultural use once extraction has been completed.
A further statement accompanying the application said the scheme “would not give rise to significant environmental effects.”
The report added: “In light of. . .the absence of any adverse environmental impacts, in combination with the need and benefits of the proposal, which would assist in meeting the objectives of several strategic documents, the planning application should be approved, without delay.”
The application was submitted on Monday (May 11) and has yet to be determined by council officers.