Locals put range of concerns to firm
Consultation, noise and traffic worries are aired
Local resident Tim Baynes raised a number of questions on behalf of his Palace Road neighbours regarding proposals for an extension to a sand and gravel quarry on the outskirts of Blairgowrie.
The points were made during an online public meeting last week as part of the pre-application planning process, hosted by Forfar-based Laird Aggregates and attended by environmental consultants Dalgleish Associates, among others.
Mr Baynes said: “Why have local residents been given less than a month to assess this when it has been looked at for a long time, and why is the public consultation being done online when most of the residents are not online and it could have waited a couple of months and been done in person? Why the great rush?”
Willie Booth from Dalgleish Associates replied that the consultation allowed them to “understand what concerns there are and tailor the approach to address them as far as possible”.
He added: “It is starting to get to the point where there may not be any reserves left and while we are hopeful that Covid restrictions may be eased there are no guarantees that will happen.
“We have said we are willing to discuss the proposals further by telephone for those not online.”
Other questions included Laird Aggregates’ record on adhering to planning conditions, which the firm’s Jamie Laird said was “completely clean” and the visual impact of the site.
Residents also asked about what has been described as the “progressive restoration” programme planned for the site.
Mr Baynes said: “There’s a very real possibility that there could be a very large hole left in the ground and some concern that it might be used for landfill.
“And will the loss of biodiversity on the whole site be offset by the creation of a small pond?”
Mr Laird said that his company is a “friend of nature” and likes to leave behind “good habitat”, while Mr Booth said that there was “no appetite” for using the site for landfill.
In response to the biodiversity question, he replied: “There will be no real loss of biodiversity as the land is currently used for agricultural purposes and will be restored to that.
“We will probably have to take four or five trees away for line of sight at the crossing which is the only real loss to biodiversity so, yes, the pond will offset that.”
An eight-foot bund is planned to minimise the impact of noise from the site and trees have been planted in an effort to filter some of the dust expected to be generated.
However, residents were doubtful of the efficacy of the measures and pointed out that a number of the trees were dead.
My Baynes commented: “We recognise that the narrow strip of trees will be ineffective against noise and dust and there is extreme scepticism that the eight-foot bund will have any effect in terms of noise or visual impact.”
Mr Booth responded by saying that the screening mounds were high enough but could be higher to reduce noise further.
He added: “There’s a balance to be had between the impact on the landscape and on reducing noise.
“We are very confident that noise levels experienced at the properties will be within reasonable limits.”
Concerns about traffic around the site were also raised at the meeting.
Resident Billy Whytock commented: “Palace Road is a C-class road and single track, it is not appropriate for lorries from the quarry to be come along it.”
Mr Laird said that traffic from the quarry should not be using Palace Road unless it was delivering to customers who lived there.
However, residents responded by saying that nine Laird lorries had been seen on the road in one day recently and that it was not an isolated incident.
They suggested that drivers should be required to go through Blairgowrie instead, which Mr Laird agreed to look into.
In addition, Mr Baynes commented: “The B947 is a very fast, open road and there are going to be large, slow moving vehicles crossing it.
“What measures are going to be in place to ensure safety at the crossing point?”
Mr Booth responded: “There will be appropriate visibility for lorry drivers.
“Perth and Kinross Council’s roads department will have to be satisfied that the junction is safe and may request additional signage but to date there has been no indication that that will be necessary.”
And he added that they were “hoping to have a very strong traffic management plan in place”.