PROPOSED EXTENSIONS OF EXISTING SAND AND GRAVEL WORKINGS ON TO LAND WEST OF ALDBOROUGH ROAD NORTH (PHASE E) AND WEST OF HAINAULT ROAD (PHASE F)

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1 PROPOSED EXTENSIONS OF EXISTING SAND AND GRAVEL WORKINGS ON TO LAND WEST OF ALDBOROUGH ROAD NORTH (PHASE E) AND WEST OF HAINAULT ROAD (PHASE F) 1 Introduction This briefing note summarises some of the key elements of the proposed extension to the sand and gravel operations at Fairlop Quarry. Some points have been reviewed following consultation feedback. 2 Background The Fairlop Quarry complex has been supplying the building material needs of local construction projects for several decades. Average annual output has typically been between 150, ,000 tonnes a year, about 80,000 tonnes of which is supplied to the on site readymix concrete plant. Much of the site has already been restored and the final stages of Phase D (south of Painters Lane) are currently being restored. Any permitted mineral reserves are now exhausted. The proposed new Phases E and F are already allocated for mineral extraction in the 2012 London Borough of Redbridge (LBR) Minerals Local Plan, adopted in Brett Tarmac hopes to submit its planning application at the end of April/early May and to recommence mineral extraction in autumn The application site The application site now covers hectares, of which approximately 19.5 hectares (30.1%), would be worked for sand and gravel. The rest of the application area covers the existing processing plant site and access, the proposed new internal access routes, proposed water management areas and areas for amenity soil bunding. Figure 1 attached confirms the locations of these elements across the site. The Phase E extension could yield some 900,000 tonnes of sand and gravel. At an average output of 150,000 tonnes a year, the extraction life would be approximately 6-7 years. The mineral would be extracted in 5 individual stages and would be progressively restored to agricultural use with some nature conservation habitats. The Phase F mineral resource is around 100,000 tonnes. The void space generated by the extraction of Phase F would provide silt lagoon capacity for most of the scheme, before being restored back to agriculture.

2 The mineral would be processed at the existing facility east of Hainault Road. This would be accessed via the existing permitted conveyor overbridge across Hainault Road and a proposed new conveyor route, which would be supplied by new internal haul roads. The proposed extension phases would be progressively restored by importing appropriate inert restoration materials (typically soils or clays from excavation and construction projects like foundations and tunnelling) where necessary, to supplement on site materials. The landforms within the two extension phases would primarily be restored to agriculture. However the opportunity exists elsewhere (see Sections 12 and 13) to provide valuable contributions to local nature conservation and recreational objectives. 4 Policy framework and need Among other issues, LBR s adopted and emerging policies focus on providing an adequate supply of minerals to meet building and construction requirements. Other objectives include minimising transport; protecting high value landscape, biodiversity, archaeology and agricultural land; the temporary nature of mineral extraction and restoration potential. The set of Development Control documents developed by LBR has been prepared in the context of the Greater London Plan. As such, it includes policies at this higher tier of policy guidance. LBR s Minerals Local Plan identifies Fairlop as a site which could contribute toward the adequate and steady supply of sand and gravel. The proposed areas at Phases E and F, allocated for mineral extraction within the Minerals Local Plan, will be included in the forthcoming planning application. There is also a need (identified in the Core Strategy) to provide capacity for the disposal of inert materials generated from the many construction projects within Greater London. 5 Site operations In accordance with best practice guidance, soil and overburden covering the sand and gravel would be stripped and used to form profiled and grassed soil mounds. These would help screen the operations visually and minimise noise impact. Any land not immediately needed for extraction would remain in agricultural use.

3 Sand and gravel would be extracted in a phased and progressive manner by a hydraulic excavator. This would load articulated dump trucks to transport the mineral to a feed hopper in Phase A (W). A new haul road would be built, extending north from Phase E parallel to the Sustrans route and to the north of the Aldborough Hall Equestrian Centre. The feed hopper location would change depending on the extraction stage. The conveyor would transport the as-dug mineral via the existing conveyor system, including the bridge over Hainault Road, to the processing plant at the existing Hainault Works. Processed sand and gravel would be exported either loose as an aggregate, or as readymix concrete using the existing access/egress off Hainault Road. Progressive restoration would be carried out by importing suitable inert material to supplement on site materials and achieve the appropriate contours. These would generally be at a lower level for open water areas and back to near existing levels for agriculture and/or nature conservation habitats. The existing access into Phase A (E) off Hainault Road, would be used throughout the proposed development. The existing site benefits from planning conditions that control hours of working. These were originally 7am - 6pm Monday to Friday and 7am - 1pm on Saturdays. Now, no extraction or restoration would take place at weekends. Saturday hours of working will remain as consented (7am 1pm) for the plant site to export sand and gravel and ready mixed concrete 6 Environmental controls Previous site operations have always sought to maximise recovery of sand and gravel at the same time as minimising environmental impact. From information already gathered and a detailed knowledge of working the existing site the proposed working and restoration schemes have been designed to make sure the proposed development would operate without detriment to the local environment. The selection of appropriate stand offs from the proposed site operations (particularly extraction), is of particular interest to nearby residential and other sensitive land uses. Detailed technical studies carried out by independent specialist consultants have informed the stand offs presented in the current working scheme. The proposed stand offs would make sure the sand and gravel could be extracted and the site restored within central and local government guidelines. See Briefing Note 3 for further information about stand offs.

4 A comprehensive, independent Environmental Statement (ES) will be submitted as part of the planning application. It will review key issues and potential impacts of the development and assess the scheme design. It will also evaluate appropriate mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate any potential adverse effects and to enhance environmental quality where appropriate. There is already an extensive monitoring regime on and around the site, covering groundwater and surface water, nearby habitats and air quality. 7 Highways and Traffic Movements 7.1 Aggregates The proposed schemes would not require any new access points. The existing consented access points off Hainault Road would be used to export sand and gravel and import inert restoration materials. There would be no direct access in to Phase E. Except for local deliveries, neither Painters Road nor Aldborough Road would be used by quarry traffic during the proposed development. Processing and sale of aggregates is directly linked to demand from local markets, which is relatively constant. The existing quarry can produce around 150,000 tonnes of aggregates a year. Around 40% of this would be utilised in the on site readymix concrete batching plant the rest is processed into varying grades of sand and gravel before being taken off site. To evaluate potential impact from vehicle movements, a maximum output of 200,000 tonnes a year has been assumed. This is indicative of peak vehicle movements over the entire operational period. Maximum daily HGV movements sand and gravel and restoration vehicles (based on 200,000 tpa output) are 144 (72 in and 72 out). Of these movements up to 50 (25 in and 25 out) are linked into the importation of inert restoration materials. 7.2 Importation of Inert Restoration Materials Restoration to levels similar to the current ones would be achieved by importing approximately 130,000 cubic metres a year of inert restoration materials typically soils or clays from large excavation contracts or local development projects. On average, this would mean 25 loads (50 HGV movements a day). There is the potential to reduce this, as some of these movements could be reduced by back hauling.

5 7.3 Transport of Minerals Brett Tarmac has considered 3 options to transport minerals from the proposed Phase E to the processing plant off Hainault Road. In summary: Option 1 Creating a new haul road via a crossing point over Aldborough Road, to connect to the existing feed hopper in Phase D. This would also be used for incoming restoration materials Option 2 Creating a new haul road via a crossing point over Aldborough Road, to connect to a new feed hopper location, still within Phase D. This would also be used for incoming restoration materials Option 3 Creating a new haul road running north of the proposed extension, parallel to the boundary of the golf course with the Aldborough Hall Equestrian Centre. This would connect to a relocated conveyor network in Phase A which would also be used for incoming restoration materials. Following appropriate assessments by independent experts, Options 1 and 2 have not been selected at this stage because of their unacceptable noise impacts on adjoining properties. The proposed new haul route would be fenced, with appropriate signage, especially at crossing points associated with local rights of way. A dust suppression system would also operate along the length of the haul road (and all other haul roads), to minimise the potential impact on any adjacent land users. The Phase F haul road would use existing routes already established on site. Once the operations are complete, the haul roads would be removed and the land restored to its pre-existing use. 8 Noise assessment A noise assessment carried out by independent technical consultants identified the key potential receptors around the proposed development. Based on measured daytime local background noise levels of dba, the consultants carried out a noise assessment impact of the

6 proposals on the key local receptors. The assessment used central government guidance to predict the effects and assess these against compliance levels set out within the guidance. These assessments indicate the proposed development could be carried out within central government guidelines, if appropriate mitigation measures were incorporated in to the working scheme. Such mitigation measures would include the siting of amenity soil mounds, the appropriate selection and maintenance of plant and equipment, the use of appropriate stand off distances and not working closer than the proposed distances from receptors. 9 Landscape and visual impact assessment (LVIA) LVIA is a technique used to assess the effects of a proposed development on the landscape itself, as well as the manner in which they are perceived. It involves making recommendations to avoid, reduce or offset potential adverse impacts during operations as well as identifying opportunities to enhance the environment through the restoration programme. The main mitigation measures are common across other technical areas for example using proposed grassed soil storage mounds to provide visual and acoustic screening of operations. The assessment work to date indicates the visual effects of working the proposed extension would be temporary and balanced by the long term beneficial effects of the restoration. 10 Hydrology and hydrogeology Fairlop Quarry is in the catchment of the River Roding. Two tributaries (the Cran Brook, and the Seven Kings Water) are located close to the site which is located mainly outside the floodplain. Some of the sand and gravel contains groundwater from rain falling on Fairlop Quarry and surrounding areas. This is currently regularly monitored by boreholes around the edges of the site. The operation of the site in particular the proposed Phase E extension would require some specific mitigation measures, to protect St Peter s Church and the barn at Aldborough House Farm.

7 These would include: carrying out a condition report on both St Peter s Church and the barn at Aldborough House Farm before starting any development installing a purpose designed recharge trench to maintain water levels below the church and other adjacent land uses installing extra groundwater monitoring to monitor the long term effectiveness of the recharge trench designing the restoration scheme to include features to make sure water levels are maintained in the long term. 11 Archaeology Archaeological investigations and reporting have already been carried out in the existing Phase D. These are being supplemented by further preliminary investigations in the proposed Phases E and Phase F. For both phases, a desk based assessment has been prepared, a detailed aerial photographic assessment has been carried out and a geophysical survey completed. The Phase E geophysical survey covered 11.5 hectares, including the potential site of a suspected Bronze Age barrow cemetery. Findings include several linear features which appear to relate to former field boundaries. Other findings include a ring ditch and several pit-like features. The same type of survey in Phase F covered 8.3 hectares but found no significant or interesting features. Brett Tarmac and its specialist advisors are currently liaising with the curatorial authorities regarding further archaeological works at the proposed extensions. The company is committed to the full recording and subsequent reporting and publication of the results of any archaeological investigations. The company recognises that Phase E in particular is close to several listed buildings. Independent specialist assessments have identified that with suitable mitigation measures, the proposed development could be operated without any adverse effect on these assets. Before starting work, a condition survey would be carried out on St Peter s Church and the barn at Aldborough House Farm.

8 12 Restoration Brett Tarmac has consulted with the LBR to develop a suitable site restoration strategy. The prime focus of the scheme is restoration to agricultural land within the 2 proposed extensions. The proposed restoration scheme for the wider site, in particular Phases D and A (E), has a secondary objective of creating an enhanced restoration scheme delivering contributions to targets identified in both the London Borough of Redbridge (RBAP) and the London Biodiversity Action Plans (LBAP). These include: restoring a significant area to high quality agricultural land with at least no net loss of biodiversity contributing to the objectives of planting more species-rich hedgerows and creating green corridors for wildlife to link existing habitats providing a net gain for local biodiversity having a long term positive impact on the landscape environment contributing to specific RBAP and LBAP targets in conjunction with the existing restoration scheme including woodland; meadows and pastures; standing water and hedgerows. Across the site, the proposed restoration scheme is as follows: processing plant site - to be restored to agriculture and nature conservation Phase A (W) - to be restored to agriculture and nature conservation Phase A (E) - to be restored to recreation and nature conservation Phase D - proposed changes to approved scheme to create more biodiversity benefits Phase E to be restored to agriculture with some nature conservation habitat Phase F to be restored to agriculture. If consented, the scheme could potentially create 2.2 km (1.35 miles) of new permissive rights of way in Phase E and Phase A (E). This would provide an off road network of paths from Aldborough Hatch to the eastern part of Fairlop Waters Country Park through and around Phase D and Phase A (E).

9 13 Ecology/Biodiversity Ecological surveys are ongoing to identify habitats on and around the site and to understand the presence or otherwise of protected species. The ecological surveys already carried out have identified the presence of Great Crested Newts close to, but outside of, the proposed Phase E extraction area and large numbers of breeding and wintering bird species in the wider area. Appropriate mitigation measures would be incorporated into the proposed working scheme. Otherwise, the site is of rather limited ecological value including the existing hedgerows within the extraction area which would be replaced under the proposed scheme. Specifically, new biodiversity initiatives resulting from the restoration programme would include: Phase F reinstatement of hedge in north of Phase F Phase E new shallow drain/swale along eastern edge of reinstated FP94, to facilitate amphibian and reptile migration via a green corridor across restored arable land bigger reinstated fields to provide more scope for skylark populations after restoration reduced arable cultivation to benefit nature conservation objectives removal of scrapes from north east of Phase E larger woodland block in north east of Phase E. Enhanced Phase D revised management of western lagoons, to develop suitable habitats for wading birds. Enhanced Phase A a level, compacted area of land to be provided close to wetland potentially suitable for pond dipping

10 habitat creation and planting to provide year round nectar for bumble bees and other pollinators. Enhanced Plant Site merging two silt lagoons to create a single large open water body, with graded margins management/selective thinning of existing woodland to increase biodiversity opportunities. 14 Community Benefits Community benefits would include: reducing working hours so no extraction or restoration over weekends setting up a site liaison group, to include Brett Tarmac, elected representatives and local residents creating approx 2.2km (1.35 miles) of new permissive rights of way in Phases E and A (E), over and above that already created in Phase D establishing a new link from Footpath 97 to improve access from Aldborough Hatch to Barkingside Station via the diverted FP94 providing a wider choice of circular walks from the established Aldborough Walk and Barkingside Route 7 providing an off-road network of paths and routes from Aldborough Hatch to Fairlop Waters Country Park, through and around Phase D and Phase A (E) creating new public parking facilities close to Fairlop Waters Country Park as part of Phase A (E) creating enhanced biodiversity opportunities by creating new habitats for birds, amphibians, invertebrates and other wildlife liaising with LBR to identify opportunities for interpretation and education in Phase A.

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