Re: Sand & Gravel Provision Site MP2s Mill Hill nr Barton-in-Fabis

OBJECTION

I am writing to confirm that I wish to OBJECT to the above site on the grounds that the application will have a severe detriment on the area including public health, environmental impact and the ruin of historic sites. In addition as stated below there is no current requirement for additional quarry sites of this proposal.

I cannot therefore understand why this application is being pushed through.

The County Council

The County Council's own 'Sustainability Assessment' shows that this site is the most damaging of all sites I the operational phase and the 3rd most damaging in the long term.

The Draft Minerals Local Plan is 'unsound' in that the council has sought to justify the inclusion of the site on the basis of 'maintaining a geographical spread' and therefore over-riding the adverse impact on sustainability. However, the Council has stated that 'there is no published data relating to. Geographical Spread'.

There have been no projections for sand and gravel demand in the different submarket areas. The county Council's statement that the Shelford or Coddington sites are too big cannot be justified against the weight of evidence to use these ties as opposed to the area above.

The council has failed to follow it's own policy aim to 'prioritise sites with potential for transporting sand and gravel by river barge' by not allocating any sites which use this mode of transport.

The site would impact on two SSSIs (Site of Special Scientific Interest)- Attenborough nature Reserve and Holme Pity- which are both close to the site, and on five LWSs (Local Wildlife Sites) one of which will be destroyed altogether.

The County Council has stated that the current 'landbank' for sand and gravel exceeds government targets.

Building projects claimed to justify this application are either not due to start for several years or are better supplied by existing or potential quarries nearer to those sites.

The County Council is preparing a new Minerals Local Plan which will involved recalculating future demand and independently comparing all potential sites together. This application seeds to get around this process,

The County Council's own assessment of the sustainability and environmental impact on this sites resulted in it's rejection and exclusion from the previous draft Mineral Local Plan.

The Environment

Natural England, RSPB, CPRE, Ramblers Association and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust have already objected to a planning application for this site.

The site is in the Green Belt, and Brandshill and Clifton Woods, Adjacent to the site, have been designated as Ancient Woodland which have special protection under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The Council has failed to justify any 'wholly exceptional reasons' required by the NPPF.

As stated above- The site would result in a major impact on two SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest)Attenborough Nature Reserve and Holme Pit - which are close to the site, and on five LWS's (Local Wildlife Sites) one of which will be destroyed altogether.

The site is close to areas which are protected by the Wildlife Trust which is protecting rare butterflies and other fauna and flora in the area. All of which would be severely damaged, if not destroyed, by the impact of this applicaition.

There is evidence that this site is rich in birdlife and other species of which 24 are classed as Red and 22 Amber- all of which use the area for feeding and breeding including Corn Buntings, Barn Owls, grass snakes, harvest mice to mention a few.

Local Population

The site is close to heavily populated areas which would be impacted by noise and dust. I find this threat is already having an impact on my health with breathing problems and also the continuous noise from the site site and increased traffic on the nearby roads. This will affect a far wider community due to the positioning of the site.

There would be a major impact on the quality of life and visual amenity of local people, as well as the loss of peace and tranquillity in an area used extensively by a wider community for walking, fishing, horse riding, bird watching and other leisure pursuits, including an adverse impact on grazing land and especially to the respiratory health of horses. The loss of a significant area of countryside on the edge of a large city such as Nottingham damages the recreational opportunities that are increasingly important for the health and well-being of city dwellers.

There are few such areas which can provide recreation and a feeling of countryside nearby. My husband and I are nature lovers and walk every day in the locality looking at bird life, butterflies and your proposal would destroy this at one stroke.

I believe that the loss of a significant area f countryside on the edge of a large city such as Nottingham damages the recreational opportunities that are increasingly important for the health and well-being of city dwellers.

Historical damage

This area is full of history and archaeological interest areas. Indeed parts of the area are from the Roman Period and in addition Iron and Bronze age have been documented in this area. Ridge and Furrow Field patterns from the middle-ages are also documented in the area.

Clifton Villages was featured in the Doomsday Book. The application will have a total adverse impact on Clifton Village- which is a conservation area- and, I believe, Nottingham City's only village.

Agriculture and Flood Risk

The loss of agricultural land cannot be forgotten in this application. This will impact on the mileage if bringing in food to the area- a particular concern- and with the added impact of climate change- we should be encouraging more, not less, agricultural land.

The proposal is to restore the land to standing water- mainly marshland- which does not help agriculture and the proposal is to restore the site.... in 25 years time!! During the time in the area, of course the whole site will be difficult to police and the plant and machinery plus deep water ponds etc could be a risk to children.

There is already a flood risk in the area and the Council's own Sustainability Appraisal report has identified the flood risk in the area as 'very negative'. Houses already find it difficult to get insurance house prices will fall. I believe the impact of the application will greatly affect this.