Northumberland Quarry

 

 

 

ELF had a victory in Northumberland, where an application was made for a 28-hectare aggregate quarry which proposed to extract 2.8 million tonnes of dolerite on a site of high ecological importance. The proposal site has a complex mosaic of habitats comprised of purple moor grass and rush pasture and lowland acid grassland, which are habitats of principal importance under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. It is also home to grassland fungi including waxcaps, which are globally endangered and particularly vulnerable to physical disturbance at the surface. White-clawed crayfish, which are a species of principal importance and are also globally endangered, are present in the nearby River Wansbeck to which the Site drains. The Wansbeck is one of their last strongholds, containing a population of international importance.

Plantlife and Buglife, two highly respected national conservation charities, submitted objections to the development. When assessing the development, Plantlife cited research estimating that acid grassland can hold 90 tonnes of soil carbon per hectare, which is sensitive to land use change. This carbon had the potential to be released into the atmosphere during the course of development from soil disturbance, and that these carbon emissions had not been assessed in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Despite these major environmental impacts, Northumberland County Council formally granted permission to the development at the beginning of February. With the help of Jessica Allen of No.5 Chambers, ELF sent a Pre-Action Protocol letter to Northumberland County Council which, in particular, pointed out that the failure to assess the climate effects of the development was an error in law. This is a point that has been made particularly salient following the landmark case of Finch last year. The Council conceded that they had erred in law on this basis, and agreed to enter into a consent order to quash the decision. Preventing the quarry development was a massive win for the environment and, thanks to Jessica’s assistance, our enquirer was able to achieve justice without having to go through the long, arduous and expensive litigation process.