Latest update – May 2025
The latest public consultation has closed.
Thank you for bearing with us over this quieter period. We have managed to get an update and there is good and bad news.
On the plus side, there have been 1,162 objections so far. This includes important objections from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Holme Pit Action Group, the Council’s own Landscape Officer, East Midlands Airport and Cadent (who manage the gas main at the site).
To further bolster these objections, Rushcliffe Borough Council Planning Committee voted unanimously to object to the quarry application. They are not the decision making Council (that is Nottinghamshire County Council) but their objection is important and weighty. Their objection identifies the application as an inappropriate use of green belt land and that it has not adequately demonstrated the development would not have significant adverse impacts on the area. This decision notice can be read here.
However, we’re disappointed to learn the County Council has issued a second Regulation 25 Request for Information (RFI), you can view this here. This letter shows there are still many elements of the application submitted that are not adequate.
We’re disappointed because the Council had indicated after the previous withdrawn application, which was subject to three Regulation 25 RFIs, that they would not go down the route of multiple RFIs and opportunities for the applicant to attempt to correct deficiencies.
This is only conjecture but there are a few things that could be considered for what this means:
The Council do have pressure to support applications. Rejected applications are often subject to appeals so it’s important that the Council have given chances to rectify.
There are clearly still some very grey/inadequate areas in the application, hopefully this could eventually render the application not valid.
The longer the application takes, the closer we get to the Minerals Plan being reviewed, and many people (in positions of authority on this) believe this site should not be on it, so it may be removed at the next review – especially given that we have a lot more sand and gravel in reserves than needed.
The really frustrating part of this news is it will require a further round of consultation with all the consultees including ourselves once the further information from the applicant is received. So we’re afraid to say, we will be campaigning again for people to place their objections. The slight plus to this is more time to campaign and the opportunity to generate yet more objections on the vast number already received.
To further complicate things, the result of the County Council elections will mean that there will be an entirely new set of councillors, so we will wait until they are officially in place and then contact them.
So to sum up – it’s not the end of the fight, but also, there are still clear and strong facts in our favour that suggest this site is not at all appropriate for a quarry - so we fight on! We will communicate at the time to let people know when the public consultation is open and be asking for everyone to object again.
Many thanks from all of us for your support in this campaign. And if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us through our Facebook page.
Why was there a second period of public consultation?
The County Council met with the Applicant to give them a chance to revise their application in the light of comments and questions raised by the various consultees. This is known as a 'Supplementary Information Request under Regulation 25'. The areas where more information is required are numerous and indicate that the information provided was not adequate or robust enough - a letter from the Council outlining these issues can be found on the More information page.
The Applicant had until November 30th to respond to the Information Request. The further information was submitted and can be found with the rest of the original application at the planning website - see below for link at the Notts County Council website.
That meant there was a further period of formal consultation. This has closed now and we know from the Council that there were a huge number of objections - so many that they’re still being processed so we don’t know how many yet.
We also don’t know exactly what will happen next and when - and we’ll confirm here and on our Facebook page as soon as we hear.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and to stay in touch. We’re bolstered by all the support.
Please note: button takes you to a disclaimer first
Why are we opposed to the quarry?
Ever since it was first proposed in 2014, the local communities have opposed the development of a quarry which would cover all the land between Barton in Fabis alongside the Trent as far as Clifton Woods.
This site would have an estimated life of 12 years and an output of 200,000 tonnes every year and would not be restored and established for up to 25 years.
We managed to delay an initial planning application in 2017 and a revised planning application in 2021 was withdrawn in 2022 after another successful campaign.
How the area looks now:
What it could look like if the quarry goes ahead, this is the applicant’s other quarry:
The effect on people and communities
26,000 people live within 1.5km of the site.
This site will create a lot of dust! It will have a worrying impact on air quality in a populated area.
No consideration has been given to the residents of Lark Hill Retirement Village, which the site will overlook - 40% of residents have breathing difficulties. The residents have had the threat of this quarry hang over them for 10 years of their retirement now!
Gravel extraction will involve huge, heavy and noisy machinery operating on the site 6 days a week and 11 hours a day. Dewatering pumps will at times run day and night.
The site will require a giant processing site at Mill Hill with 29,000 lorry movements each year and will significantly add to already problematic traffic levels.
Attenborough nature reserve is 70m from the edge of the site, which attracts more than 600,000 visitors annually.
The footpath between Clifton and Barton is heavily used by walkers, cyclists, runners and horse riders and no alternative is possible.
We have the support of all our local County, Borough and City Councillors and our MPs Lilian Greenwood and Ruth Edwards. But we really need your support too!
The effect on the environment
This proposal would devastate 79 hectares (200 acres) of prime wildlife habitat and feeding grounds for birds using Attenborough Nature Reserve.
The whole valley area between the river and Clifton Woods would be destroyed for at least 12 years and even then, would never be the same.
The peace and quiet of this countryside that many enjoy would be permanently damaged – remember how many people valued that during lockdown and continue to do so!
There are many red list (critically endangered) and even more amber list species potentially impacted by the development of the site.
The quarry will have a huge impact on Two Sites of Special Scientific Interest - SSSIs (Attenborough Nature Reserve and Holme Pit) and 7 Local Wildlife Sites are directly or indirectly impacted by the proposed development.
The surrounding woodlands are officially designated as ‘Ancient Woodlands’ and would be impacted by habitat loss, noise, light and dust.
There is extensive ancient ‘ridge and furrow’ land adjacent to the proposed site that will be affected.
The development would result in substantial harm during the operational phase to the setting of the Grade 1 listed Clifton Hall.
It doesn’t make sense!
Nottingham County Council’s own analysis showed that this site is the least sustainable of all the potential sites considered in the county both during the operational phase and in the long term.
There is no significant advantage to this site over other potential sites in the South of the County and neighbouring counties in terms of the market for aggregates.
Nottinghamshire already has enough supplies of sand and gravel to last 15 years (over twice the government target of 7 years) and demand is falling.
AND
It will not stop there, if planning permission is granted then in future years the County Council is likely to approve extensions which would further affect surrounding areas such as Barton in Fabis, Thrumpton and towards Nottingham city.