Ecology & Landscape

background pic existing local landscape

Ecology

Quarrying several metres deep and only metres away from both sides of our river!

The newly proposed quarries in West Deeping, (SG11 and SG17), are situated in beautiful countryside primarily devoted to agriculture. The area designated by SG17 (included in the LCC Preferred Approach) is classified as grade 2 (very good) agricultural land which means a wide variety of crops can be grown with a high yield. SG11 (which is likely to follow SG17 once the infrastructure is in place) is designated as grade 3 (good) which means it is capable of consistently producing moderate to high yields. With the agricultural land to the north of the A1175 already quarried, it is essential that we protect remaining agriculture for generations to come,

Details of agricultural grades can be found here.

The Governments 25 year environment plan details their dedication to clean air, clean and plentiful water and thriving plants and wildlife. This seems in complete contrast to Lincolnshire County Councils scorched earth policy of quarrying within West Deeping parish.

Within the 25 year Environment plan, which you can find here, the opening paragraph from the then Prime Minister’s Foreword is

“Our natural environment is our most precious inheritance. The United Kingdom is blessed with a wonderful variety of natural landscapes and habitats and our 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our comprehensive and long-term approach to protecting and enhancing them in England for the next generation. Its goals are simple: cleaner air and water; plants and animals which are thriving; and a cleaner, greener country for us all”.

The Secretary of States foreword includes the following paragraph

“Respecting nature’s intrinsic value, and the value of all life, is critical to our mission. For this reason we safeguard cherished landscapes from economic exploitation, protect the welfare of sentient animals and strive to preserve endangered woodland and plant life, not to mention the greening of our urban environments”

And the first paragraph of the executive summary states

“This 25 Year Environment Plan sets out government action to help the natural world regain and retain good health. It aims to deliver cleaner air and water in our cities and rural landscapes, protect threatened species and provide richer wildlife habitats. It calls for an approach to agriculture, forestry, land use and fishing that puts the environment first”

The River Welland which runs between the two proposed sites is a significant geographical feature and is home to a variety of wild life including otters which are a protected species. The National Biodiversity Network (NBN) has documented a significant number of bird and animal sightings within a 5km radius of the potential quarry sites. Most of these sightings are concentrated along the river corridor, which currently serves as a crucial habitat for local ecology. It is impossible to imagine the river Welland will not be negatively impacted by quarrying on either side of it.

Both SG11 & SG17 include notable woodland shelter belts running along the River Welland, particularly near Molecey Mill and the Manor. These habitats are home to numerous species of wildlife including herons & egrets, cuckoos & woodpeckers, swans, geese & ducks, badgers & rabbits, water voles & otters to name only a few.

Surrounding the quarry sites, there are numerous scheduled ancient monuments and listed buildings, detailed extensively in the heritage and archaeology section. (add link to heritage section)

This Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 (EIP23) is that revised plan. It sets out for the first time how the 25YEP goals, Environment Act targets, and other commitments we have made domestically and internationally will combine to drive specific improvements in the natural environment.

We have used the 25YEP goals as the structure for this document, setting out an integrated and outcome focused delivery plan which recognises the interdependencies between the goals. (2023 Government)

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Best & Most Versatile Agricultural Land Lost

Food Security & historical agricultural landscape & character under threat.

Best & Most Versatile agricultural Land sacrificed for development, also planned for SG17, due to be restored to lakes. We have 100s quarry lakes already across the region, most previously BMV land. In the last 12 years BMV land lost to development in the UK has amounted to 34,500 acres. That’s the equivalent production loss of around 250,000 tonnes of vegetables, enough to provide nearly 2 million people with their 5 a day for an entire year. This the pattern of depletion increasing year on year. (The countryside Charity - https://www.cpre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Building-on-ourfood-security.pdf ). This loss affects food security, increases reliance on imports (with their associated environmental impact), and erodes our agricultural industry and way of life. These issues pose significant threats to our planet, nation, and people.

Access

Numerous public rights of way (PROWs) are situated in close proximity to SG11 and SG17 and serve as important recreational areas for villagers and local walking groups.

Possibly the most popular PROW is from the end of The Lane to Molecey Mill. Frequented by dog walkers and ramblers, the footpath follows the river Welland and is surrounded by crops to the North and the river to the south. If plans for SG17 & SG11 are approved this will become a narrow alley with a bund or restrictive fencing to the North and undoubtedly a polluted river to the South. Walkers & animals using the narrowed PROW would risk inhaling pollutants such as silica dust (a Class 1 carcinogen), the audible sound of wild life would be drowned out by heavy machinery and what was once a pleasant experience will become a hazard.

Please find a link to PROWs in West Deeping here

These public rights of way serve as pathways through the countryside, facilitating exploration and contributing to the health and well-being of the community, without them generations will be negatively impacted.

Visual Impacts

Surface mining and quarrying activities typically give rise to a multitude of environmental impacts, with landscape alteration ranking among the most prominent. Although this may not directly impact public health as dust or noise will, it will undoubtedly evoke adverse reactions among observers. West Deeping will become an island village and will be viewed from the A1175 as an ugly series of open quarries surrounded by gravel. For an example of this observers need only look to the North of the A1175 and the ugly gashes which have already been present in our parish for decades.

The visual impacts resulting from mineral extraction activities will be evident from the local villages of West Deeping and Maxey, the local public rights of way (PROWs) and from the A1175. The proposed mineral extraction involves digging down to extract minerals, permanently altering the landscape character of the sites. The once flat and open countryside will transform into a sunken area with bunds along the River Welland. Post quarrying transformation will resemble other local mineral extraction sites, characterized by a series of flooded ponds with minimal landscaping that will take generations to fully recover. Restoration to the original arrangement of the site is not feasible after mineral extraction and high quality agricultural land will be lost forever.

The visual impacts will be significant due to changes in levels, alterations in sight lines resulting from bunding, and modifications in landscape character, ecology, and biodiversity as a consequence of the proposed works. These changes highlight the lasting and transformative effects of mineral extraction on the visual aesthetics and natural features of the surrounding environment.

Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment

Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) can be key to planning decisions by identifying the effects of new developments on views and on the landscape itself.

This fully revised edition of the industry standard work on LVIA presents an authoritative statement of the principles of assessment. Offering detailed advice on the process of assessing the landscape and visual effects of developments and their significance, it also includes a new expanded chapter on cumulative effects and updated guidance on presentation.

Written by professiona ls for professionals, the t hird edition of this widely respected text provides an essential tool for landscape practitioners, developers, legal advisers and decision-makers

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Views of the current sites - north part of the Parish

current sites - east part of the Parish

Protected Species

“A species of animal or plant for which it is forbidden by law to harm or destroy”

Protected Species

Our remaining un-quarried local landscape (sadly less than half of the parish), provides natural habitat for a variety of protected species including bats, otters, water voles etc. There may be others not monitored or detected remaining at the mercy of the diggers. The economic benefit derived from gravel and sand resource can and will compromise their habitat. Given the destructive impact of quarrying there is a need to ensure measures are in place to prevent harm and ensure protection. Whilst assurances are given and promises made, you only have to visit existing sites to witness the woefully disappointing results of quarry restoration.

The proposed sites also provide habitat for species classed as ‘conservation concern’, including many birds such as lapwing, corn bunting, snipe, tree sparrow, redshank and curlew. Amber and Red categories are those of the highest concern and needing more urgent action. These categories have significant declines in breeding populations and require extra protection (those mentioned are identified by the MAGIC defra website as located within the proposed sites).

We know from previous official surveys and local sightings that protected species currently thrive in the as yet un-quarried landscape under threat by the proposed sites. On the section at the bottom of this page we have highlighted an example of one species under threat, our local otters. They together with all our local wildlife, fauna and flora need our voices to help protect them. Our voices needed to highlight laws, regulation, guidelines that should be applied together with stringent governance and compliance. We aim to provide an index of relevant planning ‘material considerations’ we feel should be adhered to and taken into account on our ‘how to object’ section. Do let us know if you feel there are others we may have missed. If you would like to view the DEFRA natural environmental data, the links are available below.

The MAGIC website provides authoritative geographic information about the natural environment from across government.

DEFRA Magic Map

Guidance Magic Map

Birds of Conservation Concern is compiled by a coalition of the UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations and reviews the status of all regularly occurring birds in the UK (lists include those identified within the sites).

Birds of Conservation Concern 5 RSPB

UK Parliament - status of Birds

Otter Protection

Otters are designated and protected as European protected species (EPS) and protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010

This protection makes it an offence to:

To kill, injure or handle an otter
Disturb an otter in its place of shelter (holt), or resting
Obstruct, damage or destroy the places where otters live
Possess or control, transport, sell, exchange or offer for sale / exchange any live or dead otter or any part of an otter
Keep otters in captivity.

It is also an offence under the wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to intentionally or recklessly:

disturb otters while they occupy a structure or place used for shelter or protection

obstruct access to a place of shelter or protection.

Protected Species, Otters. Under threat. Quarrying in and around West Deeping

Message from our Otters, on behalf of local fauna and flora

We don’t have a voice but you do!

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We debated whether to post this video, giving their location, but not highlighting their plight places our otters in even greater danger!

As otters have been seen swimming along the River Welland, which borders the proposed quarry sites, and as an otter’s range along rivers could be up to 35km, a survey will be needed to assess the numbers of otters present and the habitats that they are using. This should be carried out by an approved ecologist.

An assessment will also be needed to determine the effect that the quarry will have on the current otter population, whether due to habitat loss or degradation, loss of holts and resting place, disturbance to resting and feeding places, disturbance to usual routes, and a change to water quality which could affect food sources.

Once the survey and assessment has been carried out, avoidance, mitigation and compensation measures are likely to be required, that first limit or avoid work on or near the water body and known otter habitats, and disturbance effects by leaving a buffer zone along the river, and then incorporate compensation measures to compensate for the loss. Compensation measure include the construction of artificial holts to replace any that will be damaged or removed, build viaducts or underpasses to allow otters to cross barriers like roads, install mammal ledges or bridges and culverts to allow for continued passage alongside water bodies and restore or improve habitats to compensate for those lost. The use of otter proof fences may be required to stop otters getting into the River Welland close to the site if the quarries go ahead.

Protect West Deeping expects all of this to be undertaken in advance of the works and would hope to see the findings of those surveys and assessments, and any proposed mitigation / compensation measures as part of any application.

Biodiversity Net Gain

What do local authorities need to do?

The Environment Act 2021 made biodiversity net gain mandatory for all but small sites and some exemptions from 12 February 2024 and for small sites from 2 April 2024. Councils should be be ready to meet the new legal requirements.

BNG has been required through national planning policy in England and Wales for a number of years, and can be achieved on site, off site, or through a combination of on-site and off-site measures.

There has been and continues to be much work required by Local Authorities regarding preparations for the new legal requirements, including planning decision-making. and policy. Training is still being rolled out across more than 300 authorities England-wide. It may be an area where the Mineral Planning Authority and Planning Councillors may yet up to speed with or resourced for. BNG reports submitted by Mineral Operators will need to be examined thoroughly.

If planning obligations are likely to be used to secure biodiversity net gain, should the local planning authority request further information as part of the planning application?

For the purposes of biodiversity net gain, planning obligations are one of the mechanisms under paragraph 9 of Schedule 7A necessary to secure the maintenance of significant onsite habitat enhancements for at least 30 years, They are also required to register sites for offsite gains (unless conservation covenants are used).

The purpose of planning obligations is to make development acceptable in planning terms. If planning obligations are going to be used for biodiversity net gain, it is good practice to submit information about any potential planning obligations which may need to be entered into should the proposal be granted planning permission. For example, this may be appropriate if pre-application engagement has indicated the need for:

significant increase of onsite biodiversity enhancements, then applicants are encouraged to provide a draft Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan as part of the application which sets out the proposals for long term maintenance of habitats to be secured through planning condition or planning obligation; or
an off-site biodiversity gains site specifically to provide gains for the development, then applicants are encouraged to provide the local planning authority with draft heads of terms clearly setting out the obligations that they are likely to be bound by in a section 106 agreement, should permission be granted.

This is something that local planning authorities may want to add to local lists of information requirements if they are able to justify their inclusion in relation to any particular development.

Paragraph: 015 Reference ID: 74-015-20240214

Included on the list are Rivers and Hedgerows

More reference links below