West Deeping residents threaten legal action against council over preferred site for sand and gravel quarry

West Deeping residents are threatening legal action against Lincolnshire County Council over a location that has been shortlisted as a “preferred site” for a sand and gravel quarry.

As part of an update to the council’s Lincolnshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan, several locations have been shortlisted as “preferred sites” for mining sand, gravel, and limestone.

However, one location, known as SG17, situated on land to the south of the A1175 in West Deeping, has caused a stir among locals due to concerns about the quarry’s proximity and its potential impact on the Grade II listed Molecey Mill.

This new quarry is believed to be managed by Breedon and would replace their existing operation in West Deeping, incorporating a new plant site and new access.

During an Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, Glenn Fuller, Chairman of West Deeping Parish Council, explained that local residents are considering pursuing a judicial review if the quarry development goes ahead.

“West Deeping has had a quarrying on its doorstep for over 70 years and this will add another 40 years to that,” he remarked.

“Our biggest concern here is they are not following due process. [LCC] have a series of level one criteria that are exclusionary and if any of those sites fall into those criteria they shouldn’t be carried forward.

“It was very telling in that meeting when the officers were asked about those criteria, they both didn’t answer because they know the site falls into those criteria.”

The parish councillor later highlighted that Historic England had already warned that the quarry development would lead to severe and substantial damage to the listed building. Yet, he claims that LCC has ignored this advice and opted to go with comments from their own Historic Places team.

“The very water in the mill stream is threatened and the reason for the listing of the mill is threatened,” continued Councillor Fuller.

“We’ll see how this process progresses, but because of the incorrect procedures that have been followed here, we’ve had advice that there are very good grounds for a judicial review against Lincolnshire County Council if they put SG17 forward for allocation.”

During the meeting, South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter (Independent) said that half of his Deepings West and Rural division is “under threat” by the Mallard Pass Solar Farm proposal, with a decision expected on June 13 from the Planning Inspectorate, while the other half is under threat of being mined for minerals and waste.

Following the proceedings, he explained that the development would involve mining gravel and minerals from the whole of the southern side of Stamford Road between West Deeping and Molecey Mill, which he believed would be “devastating” for the landscape.

“People are making a lot of fuss in Lincolnshire and across the country about the loss of high-grade agricultural land to solar panels, and so the same argument is equally true for minerals and waste extraction,” he said.

“Molecey Mill is a listed building and West Deeping has got a large conservation area. When we mine minerals, we have to be aware of the context and this is the wrong thing in the wrong place.

“We shouldn’t need to be digging up such historic parts of the countryside, especially in the context of listed buildings.”

Deepings East Councillor Phil Dilks (Independent) shared his concerns, adding: “If this were a housing estate, it would have already been turned down simply on the heritage value of Molecey Mill.

“But this is much worse than a housing estate. This will blight the whole area for at least 40 years, with dust and noise from workings almost in people’s back gardens. It’s just a betrayal, quite frankly.”

In response to the prospect of a judicial review against the council, Andy Gutherson, Director of Place, stated: “In updating the Minerals and Waste Local Plan, we are following a very well-established process as set out in legislation.

“We are still at the early stages of updating the plan, and – subject to approval by the council’s executive – the next round of public consultation will start over the coming months.

“If concerns are raised about the process of updating the plan, we will address them.”

The council’s executive is set to make a decision on whether to roll the new plan period forward on Tuesday June 4, with a consultation on new quarry sites to begin in early July.

However, members of the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee criticised the process, noting they were being asked to make a recommendation without having all the necessary information, specifically documents regarding what other locations were considered.

Neil McBride, Head of Planning at LCC, noted that some of the reports had yet to be completed but would be available for the consultation. He stated that they wanted to prevent any further delays in the plan.

Nevertheless, the committee voted to recommend the Executive defer the item until all relevant documents were available.