Extra time to have your say on quarry plan

Wakefield Council has confirmed that people will still be able to comment on the proposal to extend Rudd Quarry in Normanton, on its planning portal, after technical difficulties affected the site. It will continue to accept submissions until a deadline for a planning committee meeting to consider the proposal has been set.

Braithwaite Excavations is seeking planning permission to expand the quarry on green belt land off Newland Lane, moving it closer to homes and a junior school in Altofts village.

It plans to quarry there for 14 years, with up to 50,000 tonnes of brickshale and fireclay being extracted per annum. Earlier this week, council leader Coun Peter Box took delivery of 272 objection letters from Altofts Junior School pupils.

Coun Box, who is a councillor for Altofts and Whitwood and is supporting the fight against the plans, said: “When you see the children’s letters and the emotion they express, you cannot doubt the negative impact this proposed extension will have on the local community and the lives of those who live here – particularly our children.”

Nearly 400 objections have been lodged, raising concerns over dust, noise, loss of green space, potential flooding, HGV traffic and possible harm to wildlife.

Nickie Mcintyre said red kites were nesting on the site, and protected species including bats and great crested newts also bred in the Newlands area. She is among embers of the community calling for Newlands to be made into a nature reserve, like the nearby Washlands site.

Andrew Braithwaite, operations director at Braithwaite Excavations said: “The site won’t be going right up to the houses, we won’t be taking any woodland or allotments out, the footpath will stay and the site will all be put back to grassland when we are done.”