Ball clay and sand quarry at Povington Ball Clay Pit, Wareham

What was proposed

The application sought continued and extended extraction of ball clay and sand, with phased restoration and 30-year aftercare.

“Description of development 5.1 The application forms two parts; 1) retrospective permission for continued extraction of ball clay at the existing quarry along with a proposed extension to the existing extraction in a north-easterly direction to extract Ball Clay and sand, and on and offsite ecological and landscape interventions, and, 2) a new overall comprehensive restoration plan to cover both the current site and the new extension area, and 30-year management measures…”

“Ball Clay and sand would both be extracted using a hydraulic extractor and be loaded into HGVs for transport to the market via the road network. In total there would be no more than 66 HGV movements per day (33in, 33out); 26 would be lorries taking Ball Clay to Furzebrook and 40 would take sand to the wider market north along Grange Road. As well as this extraction, the application also seeks permission for a new restoration programme for the whole site (i.e.”

Officer report

Earlier permission and retrospective work

An earlier permission had lapsed, and the application partly sought to regularise extraction that continued after its expiry.

“Restoration of the site would create a varied suite of habitats including mires, ephemeral wetland, standing water, woodland and watercourses. These are proposed be managed for 30 years as part of a management agreement through a S106 agreement. The phased nature of the proposed works means much of the restoration can occur concurrently with extraction. The Haul Road would be retained post-restoration to facilitate access for monitoring, agricultural and MoD needs.”

“Figure 3: The red line boundary shows the application area. The black line shows the extent of the proposed extraction for this application. The salmon area is the proposed extraction area which lies within both this application and the now out-of-date 6/2011/0523 permission (shown by the green line). Extraction has been happening in parts of the salmon area, especially in the south and west of this salmon area, for around 18 months.”

Officer report

Why officers recommended approval

Officers considered the unique mineral supply, employment and restoration benefits outweighed landscape, heritage, ecological and transport harms, subject to mitigation.

“These have been fully designed into the application and will create a much improved, on-going, functioning ecological resource for a range of important species with a minimum of 30 years ecological management from Imerys. For the veteran trees, a highly valued, unique feature, harm cannot be mitigated. However, there is an exceptional element to the application (the need for the Ball Clay) and a suitable compensation package which means they may progress.”

“The Landscape Enhancement Fund delivered via the s106 acts as the required compensatory enhancement and makes the application acceptable from a landscape perspective. Imerys have agreed to an upfront payment of 46% (£96,959.46) to allow for spending on major capital projects to be followed by a 3 year ‘payment holiday’ and then annual payments of around £11,400. Additional payments will be made if restoration takes longer than planned.”

Officer report

Who spoke

A supporter described the mineral’s national importance, economic value, employment benefits and contribution to sustainable infrastructure.

The committee vote

A motion to approve the officer recommendation was proposed and seconded, subject to conditions and delegated minor amendments.

“Having had the opportunity to discuss the merits of the application and an understanding of all this entailed; having considered the officer’s report and presentation; the written representatives; and what they had heard at the meeting, a motion to APPROVE the officer’s recommendation to GRANT as recommended, was proposed by Cllr David Tooke, and seconded by Cllr David Taylor, subject to conditions set out in the officer report, update sheet with delegated authority to…”

Minutes

The decision

Planning permission was granted for the reasons in the officer report, subject to the updated conditions and delegated minor amendments.

“Decision: That planning permission be granted for the reasons set out in Section 19 of the Officer’s Report, subject to the conditions detailed in the Update Sheet, with delegated authority to officers to make minor amendments to the conditions where necessary.”

Minutes