Lincolnshire County Council refuse plans to start Greatford quarry work ahead of roadworks

Plans for a quarry are set to be buried after councillors accused the developer of ‘picking and choosing’ which parts of the permission it enacted.

The proposal to excavate three million tonnes of sand and gravel from land off King Street in Greatford was approved in 2022.

This was contingent on the narrow road being widened first to enable the constant flow of HGVs.

However, the applicant, Dr Charles Lane, said work couldn’t be carried out before planning permission expires in July.

The developer sought permission to begin excavating before the deadline, and only export the materials once the road improvements had been completed.

Lincolnshire County Council’s planning committee refused this today (Monday, March 10), accusing the applicant of playing the system.

Councillor Vanessa Smith (Green), who represents the area on South Kesteven District Council, told the committee: “The applicant has had adequate time, and hasn’t done so.

“I’ve always had grave concerns about road safety on King Street.

“Commuters use it as a rat run. Emergency services have attended four serious accidents in the last six months – one involving a fractured neck.”

King Street is so narrow that two HGVs are currently unable to pass without folding in their wing mirrors.

South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter (Ind) said: “Rules are there for a reason – it must be road first, quarry second. It would be bonkers otherwise.

“Let the applicant go back to square one if they’re not interested enough to do the work.”

The quarry would be near the Baston Road junction, with a mile of road to the south needing to be widened.

Oliver Laidler, of Land and Mineral Management, speaking for the applicant, said: “Accusations of playing the system are baseless.

“There will be no export until King Street has been widened as required, so there will be no quantifiable impact on the road network.

“Should the application expire, Lincolnshire’s stocks will lose three million tonnes of sand and gravel.”

However, the planning committee found the applicant’s arguments unconvincing.

Coun Charlotte Vernon (Con) said: “I don’t like the idea of developers picking and choosing which parts they follow and which they don’t.

“The work needs to take place before the application begins.”

Several councillors shared recollections of how risky King Street had felt for traffic.

Coun Ian Carrington (Con) said: “There would need to be a lot of big, powerful kit on the unimproved road to start excavating.”

The applicant will have until July to finish the road works and start work on the quarry; otherwise the permission will expire.