Quarry plan could risk lives, campaigners fear

Campaigners have criticised plans for a quarry in the Suffolk countryside

Campaigners have condemned plans for a new quarry, saying it will damage the environment and put lives at risk.

TRU7 Group wants to extract 1.7m tonnes of sand and gravel over 16 years from farmland off the B1077 north of Westerfield, near Ipswich.

It says the quarry would generate up to nine full-time jobs on site and up to 86 lorry movements a day on the road, supplying its aggregates and concrete operations in nearby Kesgrave.

But campaign group Stop the Quarry says 400 to 500 lorry movements a week will add to congestion, posing a risk to pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and children walking to school.

The quarry could be built on farmland just south of the Fynn Valley Golf Club

The firm, based in Kesgrave, says the quarry, just south of Fynn Valley Golf Club, would extract aggregates from 13 hectares (32 acres).

A further 5.6 hectares (14 acres) would be used to create a new biodiversity area.

It says it will backfill the quarry with soil and clay, reinstating it to farmland and woodland after 16 years.

The company currently buys aggregates from Essex and says the new quarry would help to cut carbon emissions by reducing lorry journeys.

Opponents, however, argue Suffolk already has a strategy to meet its sand and gravel needs until 2036.

Malcolm MacDonald, from Stop The Quarry, is strongly opposed to the building of a quarry on farmland north of Westerfield

Malcolm MacDonald of Stop The Quarry told the BBC: "This land has been like this for thousands of years, so it just feels completely out of place and unnecessary."

Mr MacDonald also fears lorries would be forced to mount the pavement due to the road being "very narrow".

"We have a disabled care home, whose residents use the pavements. They do not want to be competing with HGVs," he added.

"We also see a lot of cyclists going through the area and, similarly, HGVs and cyclists do not mix very well."

A spokesperson for TRU7 Group said it acknowledged "local feeling" around the proposals but "strongly" disputed the sentiment that the work could put local people at risk.

"Our proposals for the quarry include significant biodiversity enhancements from the outset to enhance the local environment, as well as significant off-site improvements of benefit to road users and pedestrians," they added.

"The impact on the local landscape is far from permanent - once the site has been quarried and infilled, it will be returned to its original landform with enhanced biodiversity."

The planning application will be decided by Suffolk County Council, which last year approved controversial plans for another quarry near Bentley, south of Ipswich.

A public consultation into the quarry plan ends on 12 September.