Protecting the Environment and Local Communities

13.10 The Council will consider proposals for mineral and other ancillary workings, including whether the mineral is needed to ensure that Calderdale maintains its contribution to minerals supply, with an assessment of the social and environmental effects of any proposals upon local inhabitants, the landscape and the environment of the area. The Council will take into account the potentially damaging effects which mineral proposals may have upon local communities and the transport network, and the impact of mineral working on the environment and local communities will be assessed against the criteria set out in Policy M 1 ‘Criteria for Assessing All Mineral Working Proposals.’ above. In addition, the Council will ensure that any impact is minimised by releasing reserves steadily through the establishment of agreed schemes of working. In addition, the capital investment in plant and machinery within the quarry sites can be considerable, and as such it is preferable to confine workings to the extension of existing sites rather than permit new operations. It is important that the same standards and controls apply to all mineral sites in the district, whether existing, extensions or new, to ensure that areas do not become blighted by extensive workings and where reserves are known, that these are safeguarded for the future. It is established Government policy contained in MPG7 ‘The Reclamation of Mineral Workings’ (1996) that restoration and aftercare will be required to make mineral workings fit for beneficial after-use. Therefore surface mineral working proposals will need to include details of restoration and aftercare. The following Policies will apply:-

Policy M 2

Details Required with any Minerals Planning Application

Proposals for mineral workings will be required to provide the following details:-
  1. evidence of a viable deposit of the mineral;
  2. detailed time-scale of all operations;
  3. access, in principle and in detail, mode of transport, off-site traffic routeing and vehicle cleansing;
  4. layout of operational areas including siting of buildings and ancillary facilities (including offices, car parks, plant, product storage etc);
  5. protection or diversion and reinstatement as appropriate of all public rights of way;
  6. retention, maintenance or replacement of all boundary features;
  7. preservation, replacement or diversion of existing site features and services including safeguarding of conservation interests;
  8. measures to preserve, protect, mitigate and enhance nature conservation interests;
  9. protection or realignment of watercourses and provision of any necessary after-drainage;
  10. details of plant and machinery;
  11. hours of operation;
  12. method and hours of blasting;
  13. control of noise and dust;
  14. detailed scheme of working, incorporating site preparation, soil stripping, soil and spoil storage and methods of screening;
  15. provision of a detailed progressive and phased scheme of restoration that maximises opportunities for biodiversity enhancement;
  16. detailed scheme of landscaping;
  17. detailed scheme of after-care and management.

in addition, for underground extraction,a detailed scheme of working will be required which incorporates the following :-

  1. methods of removal, backfilling;
  2. means of ventilation;
  3. surface storage;
  4. measures to minimise damage from mining subsidence;
  5. disposal of waste material;
  6. treatment of minewater both during and after completion of operations; and
  7. a detailed scheme of restoration, after-care and management of surface materials appropriate to the intended after-use of the site.

Policy M 3

Extensions to Existing Workings

Extensions to existing mineral workings will be preferred to the opening of new workings, but the same amenity and environmental considerations that are applied to new sites shall also apply to extension sites.

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