Ketton Cement Works has a quarrying permission that is bisected by a public road. The public road had to be diverted to allow access to most of the future mineral extraction areas.
Landesign made a stopping-up and diversion order application to the Department for Transport, under S247 of the Town and Country Planning Act, to close the existing road and construct a replacement 1.2km all purpose highway that includes a 35m wide overbridge, high enough to allow quarry vehicles to pass underneath the new road. This approach allowed the quarry operator to access the new reserves, whilst local traffic could pass over the quarry haul road.
As a result of unresolved objections to the stopping-up application, Landesign and the operator asked DfT to determine the matter, and they decided that there should be a public inquiry. Landesign worked with the client and its legal team and presented evidence to an inspector on the need for the stopping-up. This included rapidly preparing and submitting a planning application and EIA to amend the quarry permission with an alternative road line, as the originally permitted road line was deemed not to be as commodious as it might have been.
Having won the planning permission for the revisions to the quarry and the replacement road, we prepared proofs of evidence for the inquiry and then printed and were cross-examined on it at the public inquiry.
The Inspector and Secretary of State for Transport duly agreed with our case and made the stopping-up order. The new road is now built, and quarrying has progressed through the old road.
