Quarry plans approved despite local objection

Plans for a quarry have been given the go-ahead despite local objection.

Northumberland County Council approved a proposal to excavate dolerite from a 70.9 acre site near Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland, which will see almost three million tonnes of material extracted over 20 years.

The local authority received 175 letters of objection, with Kirkwhelpington-born actor Greg Wise also throwing his weight behind the campaign to block the decision.

However, council planners recommended the plans be approved, as harm done by the quarry was classed as "minimal" and was outweighed by the benefits around jobs and the economy.

Dolerite is used in the production of concrete, and those behind the quarry said it would create 20 long-term jobs.

Speaking at the Conservative-led council's strategic planning committee on Tuesday, objector Philip Lawless said locals were concerned about the noise and dust as well as the "waste material used for backfill".

"This will be the destruction of our environment, which will never be repaired by an uneconomic development," he said.

Officers said the site was "relatively isolated" from nearby properties, with the nearest home 617ft (188m) away, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The meeting heard initial proposals were for the extraction of four million tonnes of material over 25 years, marking a "significant reduction".

Issues were raised with the impact of more HGVs on the highways network, but Labour councillor Alex Wallace said he was "not convinced with the severity of the number".

The plans were approved by eight votes to two, with one abstention.

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