Public exhibition called over Baston quarry plan by Cemex and Thetford Farm Estate
A villager is considering boycotting his local pub after its owners unveiled plans to turn farmland into a quarry.
Robin Jones from Baston said he is ‘aghast’ at what has been outlined by the owners of The White Horse pub in his village.
Thetford Farm Estate, which as well as farming and running the pub will soon open a wedding venue, is allowing cement and aggregates firm Cemex to apply for permission to extract sand and stone from 1.1 square kilometres of its land.
The proposed site is north-west of Baston, bordered to the north by the River Glen and the Macmillan Way long-distance footpath. To the south are established quarry pits. The processing plant would be about 600m from the nearest home in Baston, and the closest extraction area about 700m. After each of the six phases of quarrying, which could run from 2026 to 2036, Cemex would restore parts of the site into ‘wildlife habitat’.
Mr Jones said a leaflet from Thetford Farm Estate and Cemex was pushed through the door of his and other homes in Baston advertising a public exhibition at Baston Village Hall from 3pm to 8pm on Wednesday (March 22).
He said: “One of the photos on the leaflet, featuring a sunset over water, made it look like the area will be restored after quarrying to a Hawaiian paradise.
“But if you look at nearby pits from previous decades, they have just been allowed to fill with rainwater.
“They talk about the restored quarry being an asset but by the time this happens, many people may have moved away or died.
“In the meantime we are being asked to support something that is benefitting a business that runs a wedding and conference venue.”
Mr Jones believes potential dust, noise and vehicle movements outweigh any ‘benefits’ to Baston, where he expected people’s health and property prices to be affected.
He added he would be unlikely to visit The White Horse pub in Church Street from now on because he didn’t support the owner, Thetford Farm Estate.
Lincolnshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan says an estimated 500 vehicle movements a week could accompany the quarry, if approved, although Thetford Farm Estate says the real figure is more like half that number.
A new exit to the proposed quarry would be built from the A15 north of Baston.
A spokesperson for Thetford Farm Estate said quarrying is important for the local economy and construction materials are needed everywhere for homes, schools and roads, but can only be extracted where they occur naturally. The site would replace Cemex’s existing site at West Deeping.
The spokesman added that dust suppression measures would be taken to meet air quality regulations and the Macmillan Way would be screened by earth banks.
Responding to The White Horse boycott, he added: “Baston is our home and we want to ensure the the community can benefit from our plans to diversify the [farm] business.”
A planning application will be lodged with Lincolnshire County Council after views at Wednesday’s public exhibition have been considered by Thetford Farm Estate and Cemex.
