Posted on October 28, 2024
Plans put forward two-and-a-half years ago for more quarrying from land by Herefordshire’s A49 have finally been approved.
Herefordshire Quarries of Lugg Bridge sought permission extract a million tonnes of sand and gravel at a rate of 100,000 tonnes per year over a 10-year period.
The 70-acre site between Wellington and Marden was to then be turned into a wetland and grassland for wildlife. A bund formed of cleared topsoil would screen the quarry from the adjacent dual carriageway stretch of the A49.
Washed and screened on-site with water from two new lagoons, the sand and gravel would then fill around 20 lorryloads a day when the site is in full operation, when it will employ up to 10 staff.
There were 20 letters of objection from local residents, over issues ranging from the industrialisation of the landscape and associated noise and light pollution and traffic, to the impact on wildlife already present.
But planning officer Rebecca Jenman said the volumes extracted “would extend the county’s permitted reserves and provide a valued contribution to the supply of minerals within the county”.
Local and national highways officers were satisfied the local road network had enough capacity to safety accommodate the extra traffic.
Both the Environment Agency and Herefordshire Council’s drainage engineers were also happy that the proposed drainage arrangements would not add to flood risk in the area.
Ms Jenman noted the quarry scheme would impact visually on the nearby Wellington conservation area and on the nearby grade II listed Bridge House by the A49 – but only during its ten-year working life, “following which the setting would be restored an enhanced”.
Among the 38 conditions with the planning permission was a requirement that the landscape restoration must proceed in tandem with the quarrying, and must still be carried out if quarrying work ceases early.
A liaison group must also be set up between the quarry owners and the local community, as a conduit for their concerns.
The site adjoins the Heywood industrial estate and also the separately owned Tarmac Wellington sand and gravel quarry to the southeast.
The new quarry will be immediately to the east (right of image) of the A49.
