A planning application by Hanson to extend working at Town Farm Quarry, near Burlescombe, of the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds – the same sand and gravel resource that underlies Straitgate Farm – has been validated by Devon County Council this week. Application DCC/4326/2022 is for:
Variation of condition 2 of permission number DCC/2770/2009 for the extension of time for a period of 10 years to allow for the completion of approved mineral extraction and restoration
Hanson’s Non-Technical Summary says:
1.2 Planning permission was originally granted by Devon County Council (Devon), the mineral planning authority, in 2010 for the development of a lateral extension to the original Town Farm Quarry. The sand and gravel in the extension area was due to be worked out and the land restored by 14 November 2022. However, output from the quarry has been less than expected and there remains a substantial volume of sand and gravel that will not be extracted by the current end date.13.3 Mineral extraction and restoration is expected to take a further 10 years and it is proposed to extend the end date by 10 years from 14 November 2022 to 14 November 2032. The proposed variation to condition 2 is set out below. Proposed Variation of Condition 2 The winning and working of sand and gravel at the site shall cease and the site be restored in accord with the approved Restoration Masterplan by 14 November 2032.14.2 There remains approximately 1 million tonnes of sand and gravel reserves yet to be worked and this material cannot be extracted, nor the Site restored by 14 November 2022. A time extension of 10 years is sought to allow all the remaining mineral to be extracted and the restoration to be completed. There are no other alterations to the approved development.
Devon County Council’s most recent Local Aggregates Assessment says:
2.5.8 Town Farm forms part of Hanson’s Whiteball operation, for which the processing plant lies in Somerset adjacent to its border with Devon. In recent years, extraction of sand and gravel for Whiteball has taken place within Devon at Town Farm; however, an application was submitted to Somerset County Council in March 2017 for the extraction of 400,000 tonnes of sand and gravel at Whiteball within Somerset, and this is awaiting determination.2.5.9 Following completion of extraction at Town Farm, it is anticipated that the Whiteball processing plant will be supplied from materials extracted in Somerset, for which Somerset County Council’s Minerals Plan identifies a Preferred Area and an Area of Search. This suggests that, during the latter part of the period to 2033 covered by the Devon Minerals Plan, some of the sand and gravel supply previously delivered from Devon will be met from Somerset through continued working at Whiteball.
