Re my previous report the decision on the planning application by Tarmac for extraction of gravel on Land near the Henges has been delayed yet again. The meeting on 20 May 2008 will not now go ahead and no new date has been fixed.

 Cllr Bill Hoult

Courtesy Friends of Thornborough Henges 

North Yorkshire County Council has conceded that a planning permission given to Tarmac to excavate gravel at a site near Nosterfield North Yorkshire is fatally flawed following the threat of legal action by protest groups. The approval will be withdrawn and the whole application put before the planning committee again.

The controversial decision is near the  prehistoric Thornborough Henges often referred to as “The Stonehenge of the North”. One claim is that the three henges form part of a prehistoric religous site.

The legal challenge refers to 8 issues, three of which the County Council have conceded.

An application to excavate a much larger area was originally refused but the current application was approved by the Council’s Planning and Regulatory Committee in January 2007 despite strong opposition and a 10,000 name petition.

The application will be reconsidered at a meeting of the Planning Committee on the 20 May 2008 at 1000hrs at Masham Town Hall. The meeting will be held in public session.

On behalf of myself and County Councillor Richard Hall a formal objection has been lodged on behalf of local residents in our division to the allocation of the above site for Waste Transfer and Recycling.

Our main reasons are as follows:-

1) The proximity of the site to residential properties is a concern, not only is there a house attached to the adjoining nursery but residential properties at the end of Bar Lane, Beech Grove and Boroughbridge Road. The use for “municipal waste” is totally unacceptable (see point 2)

2) The size and scale of the site indicates a use for a much larger operation than envisaged in the “other sites” definition. The extent of the site shown on the plan is such that it indicates that waste disposal operations may be conducted at remote locations from adjoining residential areas. This is not so as most of the site shown hatched on the plan is currently a ground water lake that is used for recreational purposes. To utilise this area (which could only be done by filling in the lake) would mean a loss of a much valued amenity. If the lake is not intended to be filled in the area of site usable for any operations is limited and is in close proximity to the residential properties identified in (1).

3) The lake itself indicates the level of the “ground water” in this area and there are serious concerns regarding contamination of this environment.

4) There are inevitably great concerns regarding heavy goods vehicle traffic that would be generated through Bond End Knaresborough an already congested and narrow main road.