Decision details

A report was presented on an application for a variation of condition 1 of Planning Permission LCC/2022/0057, to allow mineral working to continue until 1 July 2026 and final restoration to be completed by 1 July 2027 at Waddington Fell Quarry, Slaidburn Road, Waddington.

The report included the views of Ribble Valley Borough Council, Newton-In-Bowland Parish Council, Waddington Parish Council, the Environment Agency and LCC Highways Development Control. Two representations objecting to the application had been received.

The Principal Planner presented a Powerpoint presentation showing a site location plan, aerial views of the site, the current approved final restoration and remaining mineral reserves. Also shown were photographs of the site, the remaining reserve area, site entrance, Slaidburn Road heading down to Waddington, Waddington village, Slaidburn Road at the top of Waddington Fell, Slaidburn Road heading towards Newton and Hallgate Hill rising up from Newton.

Mr Chris Sullivan, local resident, addressed the Committee. Mr Sullivan made it clear that his observations had been made prior to becoming a Parish Councillor and that his views were not being presented on behalf of the Parish Council. Mr Sullivan said the following:

''I live on Clitheroe Road which is the main route for vehicles in and out of the quarry. I was rather hoping by the end of 2022 that vehicles would have stopped. Clearly that extension was granted for a year. Because of the link between the quarry and the arisings from the HARP (Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme) project, we've rather got a Hobson's choice in Waddington, which is without the quarry as a receptacle for all the arisings, we would have a village through which large numbers of vehicles would have to pass.

The thing that I want to discuss today are the absolute fine detail of the timings of HARP. Sadly, over the last few years I've become a little bit of an anorak as far as the traffic management plan is concerned with HARP. And just to let everybody know that during the first 12 to 18 months of HARP, there will be vehicles using both Clitheroe Road and West Bradford Road to construct the river crossings over the River Ribble and over the Hodder at Newton. This will not involve vehicles with any arisings, because that can't take place until the construction camps are in place and those crossings are in place across the Ribble.

This proposal proposes that there will be vehicles leaving the quarry with minerals heading for Hanson Cement, and the shortest route to Hanson Cement is via West Bradford Road, which goes past the school with all its complications around traffic, and what I am proposing is that any link to the HARP scheme will be linked to the commencement of HARP, not to the commencement of the arisings from the tunnelling - and that's for a good reason. The traffic management plan, which has been proposed but not as yet accepted by highways, assumed there will be no outflow of minerals from the quarry, so what it could do is render that traffic management plan inaccurate.

So my request today is that what you do is link the planning permission to the start of the HARP programme, not the period from which they start taking arisings because there will be 18 months of large vehicles with machinery to affect those river crossings at Newton and at Waddington.'

It was reported that United Utilities had suggested the HARP scheme would not commence until late 2025 or early 2026. On that basis, Committee were informed they may consider it reasonable to amend condition 1 and, instead of tying it to the first deposit of aqueduct arisings, make this prior to the commencement of the HARP scheme. Committee noted that the latest end date for quarry operations was 1^st July 2026, which could be brought forward with this condition, if required. It was considered that this amendment would give residents more assurance that quarrying activities would stop prior to construction vehicles activity.

The officer answered questions from Committee.

After a discussion it was Proposed and Seconded:

'That the application be approved, subject to condition 1 being amended to reflect that the mining operations cease prior to the commencement of development of works associated with the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme.'

Resolved: That planning permission be granted, subject to the following amendment to condition 1:

1.  The mining operations authorised by this permission shall cease not later than 1^st July 2026 or prior to the commencement of development of works associated with the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (authorised under planning permissions 3/2021/0660 or 3/2021/0661) whichever is the earlier.

The site shall be progressively restored in accordance with the conditions of this permission with restoration being completed in its entirety by 1^st July 2027.

Reason : Imposed pursuant to schedule 5 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and to conform with Policy DM2 of the Joint Lancashire Minerals and Waste Local Plan and Policy DMG1 of the Ribble Valley Core Strategy 2008 – 2028.