Proposed sand and gravel quarry site MP2s
I writing to confirm that I wish to object to the above site.
The County Councils own 'Sustainability Assessment' shows that this site is the most damaging of all sites in the operational phase and the 3rd most damaging in the long term.
The proposed site will have an impact on the local sites that are designated SSSIs, Attenborough Nature Reserve and Holme Pit, these SSSI sites will be impacted by the noise and dust, there is also a high risk that the water quality of Holme Pit would be affected by operations of the quarry.
The proposed site would impact on five LWS's one of those sites would be lost and destroyed altogether.
There is evidence that this site and surrounding areas are rich in bird life and other species, there are 24 red and 22 amber listed bird species using the area for feeding and breeding.
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.
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.
We as a family use the area for walking, cycling and running, the area is an area of outstanding beauty and it is peaceful considering its locality to the A453. We make regular visits with our grandchildren to look at the varying types of birds.
The restoration plans are not to restore the land to its current state, but to marshland and standing water. Even this is likely to take 10 years to establish, meaning that the area will be unusable for upto 25 years.
There is a need to reduce the level of extraction in future by making better use of mineral resources and developing alternatives. Quarrying can have a devastating impact on the countryside. Noise, dust and heavy lorry traffic are characteristic during mining operations and too often landscapes are left scarred by extraction. Even when restoration is mandatory and then undertaken, it is seldom - if ever - able to recreate the character of the countryside which was developed over centuries.