Controversial quarry plan approved for second time

Plans to extract millions of tonnes of material from a county's countryside have been approved for a second time.

The controversial proposals were given the green light in November 2024, but that decision was quashed after an appeal found Northumberland County Council had not properly considered the environmental impact.

A fresh application from North East Concrete came before members of the county council's strategic planning committee on Tuesday, with some changes made to reduce the ecological impact of the scheme.

Areas of grassland, including a section home to rare waxcap grassland fungi, will be protected, as well as the endangered white-clawed crayfish population in the River Wansbeck.

Council planning officer Gordon Halliday said: "The ecological implications have been given careful scrutiny. Revised proposals have been submitted.

"These proposals are acceptable to Natural England, the Environment Agency and the county ecologist. We have carried out very careful scrutiny to the climate effects of the development."

He added that the council's climate change team had concluded that it was in "accordance with best practice and adequately deals with climate change implications".

Despite this, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said plans faced significant local opposition, with 183 objections submitted by residents along with opposition from Ponteland Town Council and Belsay Parish Council.

Kirkwhelpington resident Rachel Bachelor said the county council "fundamentally failed" to do the environmental impact assessment properly and that residents were "shocked".

"Why would we accept environmental damage?" she said.

Councillors were split on the decision.

Green Party councillor Martin Swinbank said: "The River Wansbeck is internationally important for white clawed crayfish. Eighty percent of the population has disappeared in recent years.

"We have a quarry site right at the watershed. If anything goes wrong, it wipes out the white clawed crayfish in the river.

"We know the reality of what goes into our rivers - I won't be supporting this."

However, Independent councillor Malcolm Robinson said: "All the things we have talked about, the concerns we have raised, have been addressed.

"There is mitigation in place for just about everything - certainly more than was in the last application."

The plans were approved by nine votes to two.

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