Decision deferred for quarry plans near village

If approved, the plans would also involve building a conveyor belt along the B3390 towards Station Road

A decision on proposals to extract 11.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel near a Dorset village has been deferred.

The quarry plans for two adjacent sites at Hurst Farm and Station Road, near Moreton, had been due to be decided by councillors on Monday.

Dozens of people had written to object, citing the potential negative impact on the landscape and village, as well as the loss of good quality farmland.

Dorset Council officers recommended the application from Raymond Brown Quarry Products for approval. A new date is yet to be decided.

A council spokesperson said the decision, by the Strategic and Technical Planning Committee, had been "deferred due to unforeseen circumstances affecting the availability of the case officer".

"There was insufficient time to arrange cover for the meeting and so the item will be considered at the next available date."

Extraction is being proposed at the rate of 600,000 tonnes a year, over the course of 20 years. There would then be a further five years of restoration.

Each site would take 10 years and the plans state Hurst Farm would be worked on first.

At its peak, the plans said work would generate 200 HGV movements every working day.

Planning officers say the need for building materials in the county outweighs the negative impacts of the scheme, and the proposal would "in the long term create a significant biodiversity gain".