The County Council is the Minerals Planning Authority for Nottinghamshire and will therefore determine planning applications for the development of mineral resources in the district.  However, the District Council is consulted on such applications and has an opportunity to comment on proposals. This Chapter sets out the background to the consideration of such proposals.

There are a number of minerals present in the district, including coal, sand and gravel, gypsum, clay and oil.  The nature and extent of these minerals are briefly outlined below.

Coal

The coal industry has played a fundamental role in the social and economic development of Nottinghamshire. Many settlements, including a number in the western part of the District, grew up, principally, to serve a particular colliery or collieries.  The future of the industry will therefore have important implications for the social and economic well-being of the entire area.

In the recent past, the County has been severely hit as a result of colliery closures and job losses. These have had a significant impact on the western part of the District.  In 1984, the area's six collieries employed some 7,900 people. There are currently only two operational collieries within the area: Thoresby and Clipstone. Despite substantial remaining reserves, the continuing rationalisation of the industry and an anticipated reduction in demand for coal from power generators could result in further colliery closures in the County.

The main planning problems linked with coal mining revolve around the social, economic and environmental effects of colliery closures, and the need to improve and protect the local environment.  The Newark and Sherwood Local Plan is aimed at addressing these problems and, in particular, the need to provide alternative employment opportunities.

A major issue is the disposal of colliery spoil.  All the collieries in the western part of the District currently tip spoil near the pithead. Very little colliery spoil has been put to a positive use because of high transport costs, the distance between collieries and mineral voids, and the limited potential for its use as an aggregate. Nevertheless, the District Council welcomes proposals, in respect of the reclamation/after-use of tips, and the policy, in respect of the reworking of tips, which are contained in the adopted Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan.

Sand and Gravel (including Sherwood Sandstone)

Sand and gravel in Newark and Sherwood District are won from two geologically distinct resources: the alluvial (river terrace) sand and gravels of the Trent Valley and the sand deposits of the Sherwood Sandstone.

Nottinghamshire produced 4.1 million tones of sand and gravel in 1991, more than any other County in the East Midlands. Just over 3 million tones of that total was alluvial sand and gravel, produced from 12 quarries, 5 of which are in the District: Hoveringham; Langford Low fields; Cromwell; Besthorpe; and Girton. Sherwood Sandstone is extracted at one site, in the western part of the district adjacent to Rufford Colliery.  Just over 80% of Nottingham shire's alluvial sand and gravel resource lies within the Trent Valley, where deposits are also the richest.

The extraction of alluvial sand and gravel consumes more land than any other extractive industry in the County.  The main planning issues concerning the working of alluvial sand and gravel relate to the amount of land to be released for future working, environmental impact and the standard and type of reclamation and after-use to be achieved.

The District Council notes that Policy M6.2 of the adopted Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan should result in the maintenance of a minimum 7-year land bank of permitted reserves of sand and gravel, and adequate production capacity in the County. TheDistrictCouncil will not therefore normally support extensions of working, beyond those areas allocated in the Plan, which could adversely affect the setting and amenities, particularly of Collingham, Gibsmere, Bleasby, Goverton, Thurgarton or Hoveringham.

The Council accepts the likelihood that the availability of acceptable "fill" will be restricted in future. The Council will not therefore automatically seek reclamation to agricultural use but will seek a high standard of reclamation where non-agricultural after-uses are proposed and would be appropriate in principle.

Deposits of Sherwood Sandstone underlie much of thewestern part of the District. Permission for the extraction of sand adjacent to Rufford Colliery, in association with the tipping of waste from the colliery, expired in June 1998. 

Gypsum

Nottinghamshire is the largest producer of natural gypsum in the United Kingdom and may well account for nearly half national production. One of the two main areas of gypsum production in the County lies to the south of Balderton.  In that area, the mineral is worked by opencast methods. British Gypsum has concentrated its Products Division at the Jericho Works, Balderton.  

Activities are now concentrated at Bantycock Quarry, Balderton and Kilvington Quarry. Bantycock Quarry is currently inactive and reserves could last well beyond the turn of the Century. An area for future mineral extraction to the south of Bantycock Quarry is allocated in the adopted Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan.

In recent years, British Gypsum has been rationalising and refurbishing the Jericho Works. That process has enabled the closure of the Cafferata site, at Beacon Hill, Newark and the Hawton Mineral Mill. The appearance of the Jericho Works has also been improved, with the addition of well-designed buildings and associated landscaping.  It is also proposed to build a new canteen/sports pavilion and to provide a new sports field. 

Clay

Nottinghamshire supports a locally important brick manufacturing industry. Existing permitted clay reserves are expected to meet demand extending well beyond the Plan period.  Clay is currently extracted from one site in the western part of the District, at the Butterley Brick Works, to the east of Kirton.  This is the largest clay pit in the County - with a permitted area of nearly 80 hectares. The brickworks has recently been up-graded, in order to increase output.

In March 1992, the County Council granted permission, subject to a Section 106 Agreement, to Salvesen Brick, for the extraction of approximately 4.4 million tonnes of clay adjacent to Belle Eau Park, Bilsthorpe.  Reserves here are expected to be worked over a 30-33 year period and to supply a new brickworks, to be constructed at the site.  After extraction, it is proposed that the land be restored to agricultural use.  Development at this site has not yet commenced

Oil

Prior to major discoveries in Dorset in the late 1970s, Nottinghamshire was the United Kingdom's most important source of on-shore oil. Although the 1970s oil crisis prompted a national resurgence in on-shore oil exploration, no major new fields have yet been found in the County.  Current production    levels have not given rise to any major environmental problems.

Central Government Guidance

Regional Planning Guidance for the East Midlands

The Regional Planning Guidance outlines the importance of minerals to the economy of the area and the importance of maintaining an adequate supply of minerals. However, the Guidance recognises the impact extraction can have and the need to protect the environment.  It advises that the sterilisation of significant mineral resources should be avoided, and goes on to outline the nature and extent of policies which should be included in Minerals Local Plans. This Guidance has been taken into account by the District Council.

Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review 

The County Council's declared objectives in controlling the development of mineral resources are:

• to meet local and national needs for minerals within the reasonable limits imposed by environmental considerations;
• to safeguard the character and quality of the environment from the effects of mineral extraction; and
• where appropriate, to safeguard mineral reserves from development which would cause their sterilisation. 

The adopted Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review sets out strategic policies for minerals development within the County.  These are concerned with:

• mineral exploration;
• the protection of mineral resources;
• minerals and environmental impact;
• use of waste materials in reclaiming mineral workings;
• proposals involving deep-mined coal;
• proposals for the tipping of colliery spoil;
• proposals for open casting of coal; and
• sand and gravel landbanks.

Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan

The Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan was adopted in November 1997. The Plan includes chapters on the protection of mineral resources, environmental protection, reclamation, sand and gravel, Sherwood Sandstone, gypsum, clay, deep-mined coal and oil. The policy scope of the document is comprehensive. The Plan covers the period up to 31st December 2001.

The Minerals Local Plan allocates the following sites for sand and gravel extraction within Newark and Sherwood District: Gunthorpe (extension); Hoveringham (extension); Cromwell (extension) and Girton (extension).  The Plan also allocates land for the extraction of gypsum - to the south of Bantycock Quarry, Balderton (extension).

The aims of the Local Plan will be achieved through the implementation of the following objectives:

• to establish a broadly-based planning policy perspective for the consideration of proposals involving minerals, against the background of the adopted Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan;
• to seek to safeguard the local environment and areas of countryside from the potentially adverse effects of mineral working;
• to seek to safeguard the setting and amenities of settlements in the Trent Valley from the potentially adverse effects of sand and gravel working; and
• to seek to ensure satisfactory reclamation and after-use of areas of former mineral working.

Mineral Proposals

When making comments on mineral proposals, the District Council will seek to minimise the adverse environmental impact normally associated therewith. In general, large-scale mineral extraction proposals will require an Environmental Assessment.  When commenting on all planning applications for mineral extraction, the Council will pay particular regard to the relevant economic, environmental and transportation issues set out below:

• the need for the minerals;
• the creation of employment;
• road, rail and waterway links and access;
• the visual and physical impact of buildings, plant and extraction operations on the landscape, agriculture, wildlife and environment in general;
• the time-scale and phasing of the extraction and proposals for restoration;
• the effect upon existing communities and details of the means of minimising environmental disturbance during and after operations; and
• requirements for, and effects of, waste disposal.

Surface Tipping of Mineral Waste

The District Council considers that mineral waste should normally be used to help restore sand and gravel or other mineral workings.  The Council will therefore object to proposals for the surface tipping of waste, except in the case of colliery spoil, where acceptable proposals for surface tipping (which may be the most appropriate form of disposal) will be required to:

• show that the submitted proposal is the best option for the disposal of the spoil; and
• be located and designed so as to minimise pollution, visual intrusion, impact on areas of nature conservation importance and other adverse environmental effects, and enable the satisfactory restoration of the land.

Reclamation After Mineral Working

When commenting on proposals for the reclamation of land after mineral working, the District Council will take into account paragraph 15.11 of the Local Plan and the following criteria in considering whether the land should be returned to agricultural use:  

• whether the site is, or could potentially be,           of particular nature conservation value;
• whether the site has recreational or tourist value, which could be developed without conflicting with other planning policies or causing damage to the environment;
• the potential of the site to make a significant contribution to the enhancement of the landscape, either through commercial timber production or amenity woodland;
• the possible requirement for any void space created to be used for the purposes of receiving waste materials, provided there are no unacceptable environmental effects;
• the feasibility of restoring the area to good quality agricultural land; and
• the likely traffic problems.

Where proposals involve the taking of the best and most versatile agricultural land, the Council considers that restoration should be to agricultural use.

Waste Management

Nottinghamshire County Council is the Waste Planning Authority and is responsible for preparing the Nottinghamshire Waste Local Plan and determining planning applications for the disposal, treatment and storage of waste.  The Waste Local Plan will form the primary guidance against which all waste management planning applications will be determined.

The Deposit Draft of the Nottinghamshire Waste Local Plan was formally placed on deposit in January 1998.  The Plan has been produced within the strategic context of the Nottinghamshire Structure Plan Review and provides the first comprehensive policy framework for dealing with waste planning issues in the County.  One of the most important objectives of the Plan is declared to be the promotion of a strategy which will help to reduce dependency on disposal as a waste management option.  The Plan recognizes that such a strategy is unlikely to secure fundamental changes in the short to medium term, and that large quantities of waste will still need to be disposed of.  A parallel objective of the Plan is therefore to ensure that a reasonable balance is struck between meeting the demand for new waste management sites against the need to protect and enhance the environment.

The Plan notes that a number of existing and potential future voids exist within the District, but none are specifically promoted as being suitable for waste disposal.  They include two sites at Gunthorpe, and Rufford Colliery, and clay and gypsum workings in the Newark area.

The Plan identifies small "areas of search" throughout the County, which comprise selected employment areas considered suitable for a number of other forms of waste management.  These areas include:      

• Boughton Industrial Estate (North): where proposals for a permanent aggregate recycling centre, a new scrapyard, a composting scheme and a waste transfer station will be considered;
• Brailwood Road, Bilsthorpe: where proposals for a permanent aggregate recycling centre, a composting scheme and a waste transfer station will be considered; and
• The Former Belvoir Ironworks, Balderton: where proposals for a permanent aggregate recycling centre and waste transfer station will be considered.

In general terms, the District Council welcomes the Deposit Draft Plan as an important step in the continuing debate about measures to be pursued in dealing with waste planning issues in Nottinghamshire. The Council particularly welcomes the sustainable strategy expressed in the Policy outlining the preferred hierarchy of waste management options. However, the Council intends to strongly object to the provisions of the Plan affecting the former Belvoir Ironworks, Balderton, made independently of a financial commitment on the part of the County Council towards the construction of a Newark Southern Relief Road.  The District Council also intends to object on the grounds that clearer guidance should be included in the Plan to limit the scale and location of waste management facilities in the Brailwood Road area, Bilsthorpe.