ROCK & A HARD PLACE

Quarry plan blights family dream home

A COUPLE who spent 20 years restoring their 16th century home fear it could end up being virtually worthless – after plans were unveiled to build a quarry next door.

Barbara and Simon Campbell bought the Grade Ii-listed manor house with 15 acres of land for £270,000 in 1999.

Council bosses are now set to approve proposals for a quarry 100 yards away to extract a million tons of sand.

Barbara, 54, and Simon, 57, may be powerless due to planning permission dating back more than 50 years.

The mum and dad said they were not made aware of the authorisation when they bought the derelict building.

Barbara said: “Everything has been hunky-dory… We then discovered the field next to us has dormant planning permission for a quarry. We couldn’t believe it.

“The whole site has been covered by two planning applications, one dating back to 1954 and the other from 1967.

“The fact this was effectively an existing quarry should have been available to us at the time we bought the property. It’s the unfairness and the lack of transparency that really galls us.”

The pair, who run an engineering firm and brought up their three kids, Megan and Rosie, both 23, and Alasdair, 21, in the house, are trying to stop the development, which they think may dramatically reduce the value of the property.

They are also worried about possible health implications, such as cancer, feared to be caused by dust.

They painstakingly renovated the six-bedroom home in Grantham, Lincs. The land also has two lakes.

Lincolnshire county council and Tamar Selby Group have the power to open the quarry under Review of Old Mineral Permissions legislation.

A public consultation has been delayed by the lockdown. Council planning boss Neil Mcbride said: “The quarry has had planning permission since the 1950s.”

He added the authority is engaging with residents to minimise disruption. The final application is due to be put to the planning committee in the autumn.

ON THEIR NIGHTMARE