PDE Consulting Limited recently submitted a Non-Material Amendment Application to Cambridgeshire County Council on behalf of Tarmac Limited to enable amendments to the consented working scheme for mineral extraction and restoration at Marsh Lane Quarry, Hemingford Grey.

The application seeks to reverse the consented working scheme in light of proposals for dewatering which have been agreed with the Environment Agency and will take place during the extraction and restoration phases of the development. Should permission be granted it will enable the Site to be worked and restored, providing a valuable source of sand and gravel to the local construction industry, with the final restoration of the Site to wetlands which will be in keeping with the surrounding area.

Land Logical Limited recently applied to Dartford Borough Council for the erection of one and two storey buildings to provide a Neighbourhood Centre comprising of a mix of uses including A1 (retail), A2 (financial and professional), A3 (restaurant/cafe), B1a (office) and D1 (medical centre/non-residential institution) on land at Stone Pit 1, Dartford, Kent. The proposals also included the provision of a Sports Club to comprise of football/sports pitches with clubhouse (use class D2) and associated car park, floodlights, enabling land level changes with retaining walls and security fencing, a new internal access road from London Road as well as the provision of recreational open space.

Stone Pit 1 comprises of a former chalk quarry which was active for a number of years and was subsequently infilled with a mix of inert, semi inert and putrescible waste. Waste disposal operations were followed by progressive restoration which completed in 1993. However, the Site was subsequently left vacant and became subject to unauthorised use by travellers. A further two phases of restoration were consented by Kent County Council on 19 September 2013 and 24 July 2018 in order to correct historical settlement within the site and provide a landform better suited to an after use for local amenity.

Throughout the application process PDE Consulting Limited provided support to Land Logical Limited in respect of the proposed development, liaising with environmental specialists covering issues of surface water management, foundation design, earthworks, ground contamination and gas.

Planning permission was granted by Dartford Borough Council on 14 September 2020, subject to conditions. The grant of planning permission is great news as the development, once constructed, will provide a long-term sustainable after use for the Site which will contribute to the health and wellbeing of residents within the local area.

On behalf of Brett Aggregates Limited, PDE Consulting Limited have submitted an environmental permit application to the Environment Agency (EA) for a new waste operation to be located at Barham Quarry, Sandy Lane, Suffolk (the ‘Site’).

The application is for a new bespoke permit for inert landfill.

Following extraction of sand and gravel, the Site will be restored via the importation and deposit of inert waste. The approximate void space for inert landfill is 940,000 m³. Annual throughputs for inert wastes will be a maximum of 250,000 tonnes.

The application was submitted in June and duly made in September. Due to the effects of Covid 19 and large backlogs at permitting support, the EA are currently prioritising the duly making of applications. Once duly made, applications are returned to the queue to be allocated to a determining officer.

PDE Consulting Limited have just submitted a planning application to Suffolk County Council on behalf of Aggmax Transport Limited. The application seeks to enable the installation and use of a washing plant for the recycling of inert waste together with associated access onto the highway on land at Lawn Farm Quarry, Wetherden, Stowmarket, Suffolk. The application was submitted to Suffolk County Council on 28 September 2020.

The application was submitted alongside a Section 73 application which proposes a minor alteration to the inert recycling area in order to accommodate the proposed washing plant.

Should planning permission be granted, the washing plant will complement Aggmax’s existing operations at Lawn Farm Quarry. Imported inert waste will be processed through the washing plant generating recycled aggregates which will be sold on with the remaining silts being used within the restoration of the wider quarry.

PDE Consulting Limited recently submitted a planning application to Essex County Council on behalf of Sewells Reservoir Construction Limited (SRC) for a western extension to Martells Quarry. The application seeks to enable the extraction, processing, sale and distribution of silica sand and gravel, subsequent restoration using inert materials along with the creation of new access.

The planning application was validated on 11 September 2020 alongside four Section 73 applications which seek the continuance of permitted developments in line with the proposals for the western extension.

Martells Quarry is an allocated site for silica sand and gravel extraction within the adopted Essex County Council Minerals Local Plan and should planning permission be granted, it will enable SRC to continue to supply aggregates to the local construction industry for a number of years to come.

The Environment Agency has duly made a permit variation application for a western extension to the permitted landfilling operations at Martells Quarry located off Slough Lane in Ardleigh, Essex. The variation application was made on behalf of Sewells Reservoir Construction Limited.

Martells Quarry is currently being quarried for sand and gravel from the Kesgrave Thames Deposits (sand and gravel). Upon completion of quarrying the site will be restored through the importation of inert waste and selected non-hazardous wastes.

The variation application proposes to extend the inert landfilling activity onto land to the west and increase the annual waste throughputs from 100,000 tonnes to 175,000 tonnes per annum. Upon completion of landfilling, the site will be restored for agricultural use.

PDE Consulting Limited recently prepared a planning application on behalf of Allen Newport Limited for a minor western extension to Cavenham Quarry for the extraction, processing, sale and distribution of sand and gravel and subsequent restoration using inert materials together with the establishment of a replacement recycling facility with the continued use of the existing processing plant, ancillary infrastructure and access. The application also seeks to allow for an alternative restoration scheme for the existing quarry using inert materials.

The application was submitted to Suffolk County Council and subsequently validated on 27 August 2020. Should planning permission be granted, the application will enable Allen Newport Limited to continue supplying mineral to the local construction market as well as enabling the existing quarry to be restored for ecological gain that will complement the surrounding landscape.

The Environment Agency has issued an environmental permit for a new inert waste landfill and inert and excavation waste treatment facility to be located at Dollymans Farm in Rawreth, Essex.

The bespoke waste operation permit was granted to Sewells Reservoir Construction Limited (SRC) on 17 August 2020.

The permit will allow an old borrow pit, located in London Clay, to be restored and re-instated to agricultural use.

The total volume of waste to be imported to site will be around 140,000 tonnes per annum. Of the total amount imported, around 42,000 tonnes per annum shall be recycled and sold back into the market as a variety of products and the remaining materials shall be finally disposed of at the site in the course of its restoration.

Suffolk County Council recently announced the adoption of a new Minerals and Waste Local Plan. The Suffolk Minerals and Waste Local Plan (SMWLP), adopted on 09 July 2020, sets out the framework for the determination of planning applications for minerals and waste development in Suffolk up to 2036.

The new SMWLP identifies a requirement for 9.300Mt of sand and gravel to be supplied over the plan period to the end of 2036 and has allocated nine sites with sufficient reserves to meet this demand.

In preparing the SMWLP Suffolk County Council sought representations for potential minerals and waste developments to meet the anticipated demand for minerals and waste management capacity over the plan period to 2036. As part of this process, PDE prepared representations on behalf of Aggmax Transport Limited, Allen Newport Limited, and Shotley Holdings Limited.

The representations submitted by PDE and incorporated within the SMWLP include:

• A northern extension to Lawn Farm Quarry, Wetherden, submitted on behalf of Aggmax Transport Limited, comprising an estimated reserve of 750,000t of sand and gravel.
• A western extension to Cavenham Quarry, Cavenham, submitted on behalf of Allen Newport Limited, comprising an estimated reserve of 3,545,000t of sand and gravel, together with an alternative restoration scheme for the existing Quarry to reinstate the land back to heathland following the completion of mineral extraction. And;
• An eastern extension to Folly Farm, Tattingstone, submitted on behalf of Shotley Holdings Limited, comprising an estimated reserve of 756,000t of sand and gravel.

The representations submitted by PDE and adopted by Suffolk County Council within the SMWLP account for 5.051Mt of the total 9.300Mt of sand and gravel demand identified by Suffolk County Council for the plan period!

The adoption of representations submitted by PDE within the SMWLP will enable Aggmax Transport Limited, Allen Newport Limited and Shotley Holdings Limited to play a major role in the support of the local construction industry and remain at the forefront of minerals and waste development in Suffolk well into the future.

PDE Consulting Limited recently submitted two Section 73 applications to Essex County Council (ECC) on behalf of Sewells Reservoir Construction Limited to enable the variation of conditions attached to two planning consents at Highwood Quarry. The applications sought to enable the continuation of HGV movements off Site from Highwood Quarry between 06:00 and 07:00.

The two applications were put before ECC’s Development and Regulation Committee on 26 June 2020 where committee members voted unanimously in favour of the proposals.

The grant of planning permission will enable SRC to continue meeting the needs of their existing customer base within London through the delivery of goods for the start of morning construction shifts for the remaining duration of operations at Highwood Quarry. The continuation of early morning deliveries will also allow HGVs to avoid peak commuter traffic, reducing idle time, thus increasing the efficiency of operations and reducing emissions.