Planning application submitted for Fullamoor Quarry
Hills Quarry Products seeking to extract 2.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel in South Oxfordshire
HILLS Quarry Products has submitted a planning application to Oxfordshire County Council for the development of a sand and gravel quarry in South Oxfordshire, to be known as Fullamoor Quarry. The site is located south of the A415 opposite the Culham Science Park. The proposed quarry will create 15 new local jobs at the site plus additional work to other local businesses.
Fullamoor Quarry covers an area of 104ha of which only 76ha will be worked. It is estimated that 2.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel will be extracted over a period of 10 years. As other quarries in the area will soon be exhausted, Fullamoor will provide the essential construction materials required to support the substantial development proposed in the area.
Peter Andrew, Hills Quarry Products group director, said: ‘The submission of our planning application follows 18 months of public consultation which included a public exhibition and numerous meetings with local residents.
‘As a result of the feedback received, we significantly reduced our plans in relation to the volumes of material we hope to extract and the time we will take to work the site. The final restoration plans were also scaled back so that no additional material is brought on to site, which, in turn, reduced the overall number of vehicle movements.’
The quarry will be worked in phases and progressively restored to keep the area of open quarry to a minimum. Once all the sand and gravel has been extracted, existing material on site will be used to restore a large portion of the quarry back to agricultural use.
The two remaining voids will be allowed to fill naturally with water to create two new lakes. One lake will be used for non-motorized watersports, such as fishing or sailing, and the other will be a valuable biodiverse area to encourage wildlife. Also, the reduction in ground levels over the lake areas will provide a larger flood storage capacity than currently exists.
The amended site design protects the Scheduled Monument at Fullamoor Plantation and an existing footpath will be diverted. Upon restoration, additional new footpaths will be installed to link the A415, the new lakes and the Thames Path.
