Quarry applicant agrees to move soil heap away from resident’s home

Darrington Quarries Ltd has applied to North Yorkshire Council to extract sand and gravel from land near the village of Hensall.

The plan would see 90,000 tonnes extracted from the 20-hectare site every year for 14 years.

The site would then be turned back into use for agricultural and nature conservation.

The planning application was deferred by the council’s strategic planning committee at a meeting in December.

The decision was taken after hearing from local resident Richard Kendall, whose home lies next to the proposed quarry site.

He told the committee he did not oppose the application but asked for a number of measures to ensure the development did not affect his quality of life.

The pensioner asked for the proposed location of soil heaps to be moved away from the border with his property to reduce dust.

The resident also said he was worried the heap would block out sunlight.

The application will be considered again by the committee next week, when it is again recommended for approval.

A report for the meeting states that a five-metre-high mound of topsoil would be moved around 20 metres further into the site and away from Mr Kendall’s property.

The resident also asked the quarry owners for help to create a new access from his property onto the A645 by creating a dropped kerb.

But the council said this was not a material planning consideration and should not be given weight in the consideration of the application.

Although the quarry is a standalone site, council officers say it is effectively a continuation of the quarrying operations that are currently being restored at the nearby Hensall Quarry.