Quarry decision delayed due to conservation status

A decision on plans for a new quarry near Ipswich have been deferred again

A final decision for a new quarry has been delayed again after a council designated part of the planned site as a conservation area.

Suffolk County Council was due to vote on Thursday on a bid to build a 36-hectare (89 acres) quarry on land at Brockley Wood, just off the A12 near Belstead.

However, the decision was delayed after Babergh District Council decided to designate a new 558-hectare (1,378.85 acres) conservation area in Bentley, part of which was included in the quarry's proposal.

It came after previous plans, submitted by Brockley Wood Ventures Ltd, were delayed last month for further consultation.

This meant the current application must now be reassessed, as designated conservation areas warrant extra planning considerations and mitigations from developers, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Babergh's decision to designate the new conservation area also means residents and businesses would need permission from the district council before making alterations such as cladding, inserting windows, installing satellite dishes and solar panels.

Babergh District Council's lead for heritage, planning and infrastructure, Salie Davies, said the decision was reached after careful consideration and consultation.

"Brockley Wood is an allocated site for sand and gravel extraction in the Suffolk minerals and waste local plan and this conservation area status does not change that," she told the meeting.

"However, we do believe that the special interest of this area needs to be a consideration in this and any future planning decisions."

If approved the quarry would be on a site east of the A12

The decision has amounted to yet another delay to the plans, initially submitted in 2022.

The county council approved the proposals in March last year before they were subject to a successful legal challenge in August.

The High Court overturned the county council's approval because the site is considered a valued landscape.

Several objectors speaking during last month's council meeting warned a second legal challenge could be launched if the quarry was backed by councillors again.

Some councillors expressed environmental concerns over the plans, but Neil Ward, of NWA Planning, argued the plans had managed to "minimise any adverse impacts to within acceptable limits".

The application was initially recommended for approval by planning officers, subject to a list of 59 conditions.