Quarry deadline is pushed back to 2020

Restorationworkwasduetofinishdecember2019

Controversial plans to extend the infill and restoration deadlines of an opencast quarry site between Hamilton and Quarter into 2020 were given the go-ahead by councillors this week.

The opencast site off Carscallan Road is currently being infilled with a maximum of 100,000 tonnes of ‘inert’ construction waste a year in parallel with the extraction of a maximum of 100,000 tonnes of clay a year – equating to an average of 400 tonnes of material being imported each day and an average of 20 HGV movements a day to and from the site.

Raeburn Brick Ltd had previously received permission for infill at the Carscallan Farm site up until December 5, 2018, with a further 12 months permitted for the creation of an equestrian facility there.

But on Tuesday South Lanarkshire’s planning committee approved condition changes to extend the infill deadline to April 2020 and the postrestoration deadline to October 2020.

Quarter residents had objected to the proposal to change the conditions, stating that additional HGV movements would be detrimental to road safety, as well as mud and other materials on the road. However, planning chief Michael Mcglynn told councillors that following complaints earlier this year deposits on the road had been “thoroughly investigated.”

He explained that the applicant’s wheel-clearing facilities had become outdated and had been “overhauled.”

Mr Mcglynn added: “The new wheel cleaning regime has stopped mud and other material being deposited onto the public road by the applicant’s vehicles. It will be required to be maintained for the lifetime of the operations and will be monitored.”

And while vehicle movements could amount to more than 20 per day due to demand, other days would see them reduce to below 20.

Mr Mcglynn said: “Roads and Transportation (development management) are content that provided the annual importation amount of 100,000 tones remains the same this would still adequately limit the amount of vehicle movements associated with the operations throughout the year.”

Mr Mcglynn also pointed out that the site was “a legacy of previous mineral activity” and therefore operations to infill it and return the land to a rural use would in fact benefit the surrounding landscape.

“This would not be negated by the deadline extensions, he added.

The new wheel cleaning regime has stopped mud and other material on the road