Preferred Options consultation document

Broadland sites

(2) MIN 55 - land at Keepers Cottage, Attlebridge

Site Characteristics

• The 1.93 hectare site is within the parish of Attlebridge
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 527,000 tonnes. However, this is based on a very deep extraction which, due to the small area of the site, is not considered to be practicable. At a more reasonable extraction depth, the site would have an estimated mineral resource of less than 200,000 tonnes.

• The proposer of the site has not given a potential start date or an estimated extraction rate for this site. However, due to the size of the site, it is considered that the mineral resource at the site could be extracted within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by the landowner as a new site.
• The site is currently a residential dwelling and its curtilage. The Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being partly Grade 3 and partly non-agricultural.
• The site is 1.8 km from the Norwich urban area, but it is outside the Norwich Policy Area.

M55.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is within the site boundary, this is the only sensitive receptor within 250m of the site boundary. The settlement of Attlebridge is 1.3km away. The existing property would be removed as part of any mineral extraction on the site. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. Therefore, no adverse amenity impacts are expected from the proposed mineral extraction.

M55.2 Highway access: The site could potentially use the existing off-highway haul route to access the C261 Reepham Road (a designated lorry route) at the existing access. The site is not within an AQMA. An estimate of the number of HGV movements per day has not been provided. The proposed highway access is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M55.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is not classified. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with boundary loss and enclosure, 20^th century pastoral farming and agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure. The wider historic landscape character also includes enclosed wetland meadow, industry, mineral extraction and 18^th to 20^th century plantation woodland.

M55.4 The nearest Listed Building is the Grade II 'Barn 50m NW of Low Farmhouse' which is 1.1km away. There are 11 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. The only Scheduled Monument within 2km of the site is the 'Round barrow north of Sandy Lane' which is 1.54km away. There are no Conservation Areas or Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. Therefore, no adverse impacts on the historic environment are expected from the proposed mineral extraction.

M55.5 Archaeology: There are no Historic Environment records within the site boundary and the site is currently occupied by buildings, however the lack of HE records may just be due to a lack of investigations. A number of nearby areas have been investigated previously and no archaeological evidence identified. There have been isolated multi-period finds and the location of a deserted medieval settlement, in the wider landscape. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M55.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site comprises a domestic dwelling and its immediate curtilage. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Horsford Woodland Heath Mosaic' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. Locally it is within a wider area of coniferous woodland plantations on former heathland, interspersed with areas of arable farmland. The site lies within an area of former mineral workings which have now been restored by landfill. The site is well screened from public view points and is surrounded by shrubs and a few large trees. Apart from the property itself, the site is remote from property. Provided access could be on the existing off-highway haul route to the Reepham Road, the impact of working this site would be relatively low on the wider countryside.

M55.7 There are no Public Rights of Way within or adjacent to the site. There is a PRoW close to the southern boundary of the site (Attlebridge RB3 and RB4). Only a narrow glimpse of the site can be seen from these paths.

M55.8 Ecology: The River Wensum SAC is 0.67km from the site boundary and the site is within the Impact Risk Zone for the River Wensum SSSI. The SSSI citation states that the River Wensum is an example of an enriched calcareous lowland river. With over 100 species of plants, a rich invertebrate fauna and a relatively natural corridor, it is probably the best whole river of its type in nature conservation terms. The site is in an elevated position in relation to the River Wensum and any working would therefore be above the water table. Therefore, although the site is relatively close to the River Wensum SAC it is considered that mineral extraction would result in no adverse effects on the integrity of the SAC.

M55.9 Alderford Common SSSI is 2.16km from the site boundary. The SSSI citation states that the site supports a wide range of habitats developed in response to variations in soils and topography. The habitats include species-rich chalk grassland, scrub, woodland, bracken heath, marshy grassland and ponds. There is also a bat roost and an outstanding assemblage of breeding birds. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and is located in a different hydrological catchment to the SSSI. Therefore, the SSSI would not be adversely affected.

M55.10 Swannington Upgate Common SSSI is 1.69km from the site boundary. The SSSI citation states that the variations in soils and wetness and a variable topography on the site have provided conditions for the development of an exceptionally wide range of semi-natural vegetation including dry acidic heathland, wet heathland with acidic flushes, fen, birch and alder woodland, scrub, bracken, rough grassland and ponds. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and is located in a different hydrological catchment to the SSSI. Therefore the SSSI would not be adversely affected.

M55.11 County Wildlife Site CWS 1344 'Triumph and Foxburrow Plantations' is adjacent to the site boundary; it is a mixed broad-leaved woodland with rides. CWS 1343 'Attlebridge Hills' is 140m from the site boundary; it is a broad-leaved semi-natural woodland. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore the hydrology of the CWS would not be affected. The potential for dust impacts on the adjacent CWS would need to be assessed as part of any future planning application and mitigation measures proposed if necessary.

M55.12 The nearest ancient woodland site is Mileplain Plantation which is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS); it is 0.28km from the site boundary. Due to the distance from the ancient woodland site there would be no impacts from dust deposition. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore the ancient woodland would not be adversely affected.

M55.13 Geodiversity: The site consists of the Sheringham Cliffs formation – sand and gravel, overlying chalk formations. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during the operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M55.14 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a medium probability of surface water flooding, with areas of surface water pooling on the site in a 1 in 30 year rainfall event and a 1 in 100 year rainfall event. In a 1 in 1000 year rainfall event there are larger areas of surface water pooling and a surface water flow path within the site which cover approximately 25% of the site area. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M55.15 Hydrogeology: The site is located over a Secondary A aquifer (superficial deposits) and a principal aquifer (bedrock). However, there are no groundwater Source Protection Zones within the proposed site. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore no effect on water resources is expected

M55.16 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 700 metres from the River Wensum (Wensum US Norwich) which is the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbody. The groundwater level in this area is many metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the River Wensum. MIN 55 and the existing nearby processing plant, which the sand and gravel could be transported to by internal haul route, are both some distance north of the River Wensum. Therefore, the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across this waterbody. Due to the distance of the site from the River Wensum, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into this waterbody from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 55.

M55.17 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets or water assets within the site. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high-pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M55.18 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore, a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M55.19 Restoration: No details on proposed restoration of the site have been provided. The preferred restoration would be to heathland. However, the estimated mineral resource at the site (of 527,000 tonnes) is based on a deep extraction which would require materials to be brought on site to enable restoration. Even with the importation of materials, it would be very difficult to restore the proposed mineral working to a suitable landform. A more reasonable extraction depth would reduce the available mineral resource but would make the restoration of the site to a suitable landform easier.

M55.20 Conclusion: The site is considered to be unsuitable for allocation because:

• The estimated mineral resource at the site (527,000 tonnes) is based on a very deep extraction which, due to the small area of the site, is not considered to be practicable and would be very difficult to restore to a suitable landform. At a more reasonable extraction depth, the site would have an estimated mineral resource of less than 200,000 tonnes, which is unlikely to be considered viable for a new site.
• There is not a mineral operator promoting the proposed site and therefore the site is less deliverable than other sites that have been proposed for extraction.
• The site is surrounded on most sides by a restored landfill sites and it is considered that this would make the engineering of a mineral extraction site problematic due to the small size of the proposed site.

(4) MIN 202 - land south of Reepham Road, Attlebridge

Site Characteristics

• The 17.36 hectare site is within the parish of Attlebridge

• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 2,200,000 tonnes. However, this is based on a very deep extraction which, due to the shape and area of the site, may not be practicable to restore to a suitable landform. At a more reasonable extraction depth, the site would have an estimated mineral resource of around 1,000,000 tonnes. This site has previously received planning permission for the extraction of 545,000 tonnes of sand and gravel; however this planning permission has now expired as extraction was required to be completed and restored by 08/12/2013, which did not happen. The site has been partially extracted, but no operations have taken place since 2009.

• The proposer of the site has given a potential start date of 2019 and estimated the extraction rate to be 140,000 tonnes per annum. Based on this information the full mineral resource at the site could be extracted within 16 years which would be within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by Cemex UK Materials Ltd as a depth extension to a previously permitted and partially extracted site.
• The site is a partially extracted mineral site, and woodland plantation. The Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being non-agricultural.
• The site is 1.7km from the Norwich urban area, but it is outside the Norwich Policy Area.

M202.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 126m from the site boundary. There are five sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary. The settlement of Update is 1km away and Attlebridge is 1.3km away. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100 metres of a source, if uncontrolled. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M202.2 Highway access: This site would use the existing haul route to access the C261 Reepham Road (a designated lorry route) at the existing access. The site is not within an AQMA. The estimated number of HGV movements is 76 (in and out). The proposed highway access is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M202.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is Twentieth century agriculture with enclosure. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with enclosure, boundary loss and boundary loss with a relict element. The wider historic landscape character also includes agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure, a common, mineral extraction, 18^th to 20th century plantation woodland, and a civilian airfield.

M202.4 The nearest Listed Buildings are the Grade II* Church of St Andrew and Grade II Church Farmhouse, which are 1.45km away. There are 9 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. The only Scheduled Monument within 2km of the site is 'Round Barrow North of Sandy Lane' which is 810m away. There are no Conservation Areas or Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M202.5 Archaeology: There are no Historic Environment records within the site boundary, however the lack of HE records may just be due to a lack of investigations. A number of nearby areas have been investigated previously and no archaeological evidence identified. There have been isolated multi-period finds and the location of a deserted medieval settlement, in the wider landscape. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M202.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site is a partially extracted mineral site and a woodland plantation. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Horsford Woodland Heath Mosaic' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. The site is screened from views in all directions by woodland, the woodland surrounding the northwest segment of the site is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland (PAWs). Marriott's Way is located immediately north of the woodland, and is crossed by the access road. The potential for impacts on this amenity trail would need to be considered as part of any future application. The estimated mineral resource of 2.2 million tonnes is based upon a deep extraction. It is likely to be difficult to suitability restore a very deep extraction on this site. Therefore, the exact depth of a suitable extraction will need to be determined at the planning application stage.

M202.7 There are no Public Rights of Way within or adjacent to the site.

M202.8 Ecology: The site is 1.15km from the River Wensum SAC and is within the Impact Risk Zone for the River Wensum SSSI. The SSSI citation states that the River Wensum is an example of an enriched calcareous lowland river. With over 100 species of plants, a rich invertebrate fauna and a relatively natural corridor, it is probably the best whole river of its type in nature conservation terms. The site is in an elevated position in relation to the River Wensum and any working would be above the water table. Therefore, it is considered that mineral extraction would result in no adverse effects on the integrity of the SAC.

M202.9 Swannington Update Common SSSI is 0.96km from the site boundary. The SSSI citation states that the variations in soils and wetness and a variable topography on the site have provided conditions for the development of an exceptionally wide range of semi-natural vegetation including dry acidic heathland, wet heathland with acidic flushes, fen, birch and alder woodland, scrub, bracken, rough grassland and ponds. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and is located up-gradient of the SSSI. Therefore, the SSSI would not be adversely affected.

M202.10 Alderford Common SSSI is 1.73km from the site boundary. The SSSI citation states that the site supports a wide range of habitats developed in response to variations in soils and topography. The habitats include species-rich chalk grassland, scrub, woodland, bracken heath, marshy grassland and ponds. There is also a bat roost and an outstanding assemblage of breeding birds. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and is located up-gradient of the SSSI. Therefore, the SSSI would not be adversely affected.

M202.11 County Wildlife Site CWS 1344 'Triumph and Foxburrow Plantations' is partially within the site; it is a mixed broad-leaved woodland with rides. Therefore, mineral extraction within this site would lead to a loss of part of this CWS. CWS 2176 'Marriott's Way' is 50m from the site boundary; it follows a disused railway line with an unvegetated central track. Trees and scrub are the dominant vegetation of the track edges, forming an almost continuous corridor as far as Reepham. The site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore no adverse effects on the hydrology of the CWSs are expected. A potential impact could be dust deposition from extraction, if uncontrolled. Therefore, a dust assessment and identification of appropriate mitigation measures will be required as part of the planning application process, to ensure that the CWSs are not adversely affected.

M202.12 The nearest ancient woodland site is Mileplain Plantation, which is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) and is adjacent to the site boundary and in some places is within the site boundary. Ancient woodlands are irreplaceable habitats and therefore the proposed mineral extraction must not result in the loss or deterioration of the ancient woodland. The working area of the site would therefore need to be set back from the ancient woodland by at least 15-metres to provide a buffer zone. The buffer zone should be planted with native tree species. The site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore no adverse effects on the hydrology of the PAWS are expected. A potential impact could be dust deposition from extraction, if uncontrolled. Therefore, an Arboricultural Impact Assessment and a dust assessment, including the identification of appropriate mitigation measures, will be required as part of the planning application process, to ensure that the PAWs is not adversely affected.

M202.13 Geodiversity: The site consists of the Sheringham Cliffs formation - sand and gravel, overlying Wroxham Crag. There is significant potential for vertebrate fossils within the Wroxham Crag. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M202.14 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a low probability of surface water flooding, with small areas of surface water pooling in a 1 in 1000 year rainfall event. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M202.15 Hydrogeology: The site is located over a Secondary A aquifer (superficial deposits) and a principal aquifer (bedrock). However, there are no groundwater Source Protection Zones within the proposed site. The site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore no effect on water resources is expected.

M202.16 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 1.2km from Swannington Beck and 1.1km from the River Wensum (Wensum US Norwich) which are the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbodies. The groundwater level in this area is many metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards Swannington Beck or the River Wensum. If mineral is extracted from MIN 202 it is expected to be processed on site, therefore the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across these watercourses. Due to the distance of the site from Swannington Beck and the River Wensum, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into these waterbodies from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 202.

M202.17 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets or water assets within the site. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high-pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M202.18 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore, a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M202.19 Restoration: The site is proposed to be restored to heathland. The depth of working will need to take into account how a suitable landform and habitat can be created on restoration. However, the estimated mineral resource at the site (of 2,200,000 tonnes) is based on a deep extraction. Even with the importation of materials, it would be very difficult to restore the proposed mineral working to a suitable landform. A more reasonable extraction depth would reduce the available mineral resource but would make the restoration of the site to a suitable landform easier.

M202.20 Conclusion: Site MIN 202 is considered suitable to allocate for sand and gravel extraction. Development will be subject to compliance with the relevant Minerals and Waste Local Plan Policies and Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 202.

(1) MIN 48 - land at Swannington Bottom Plantation, Felthorpe

Site Characteristics

• The 51.62 hectare site is within the parish of Felthorpe
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 1,900,000 tonnes
• The proposer of the site has not given a potential start date or an estimated extraction rate for this site. Therefore, it cannot be ascertained what contribution this site would make to maintaining a steady and adequate supply of mineral during the Plan period to 2036.
• The site is proposed by the landowner as a new site.
• The site is currently a plantation woodland.
• The Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being non-agricultural land
• The site is 2.3km from the Norwich urban area, but it is outside the Norwich Policy Area.

M48.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 50m from the site boundary. There are ten sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary and one of these is within 100m of the site boundary. The settlement of Felthorpe is 198m away. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100 metres of a source, if uncontrolled. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M48.2 Highway access: The proposed access route would use an existing plantation track, then turn left onto Swannington Upgate Road (C463) and right onto the Felthorpe Road (C245), and left onto the Reepham Road (C260) (a designated lorry route). An estimate of the number of HGV movements per day has not been provided. The Highway Authority has concerns about the local highway network which is sub-standard and narrow. A highway routing agreement would be required to prevent HGV quarry traffic from travelling through Felthorpe or Swannington Upgate. A contribution would be required from any developer of this site for any highway improvements required by the Highway Authority to ensure suitable highway access and safety.

M48.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is 18^th to 20th Century woodland plantation. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with boundary loss and boundary loss with a relict element, and 20^th century pastoral farmland. The wider historic landscape character also includes agriculture with 18^th to 20^th century piecemeal enclosure, a common, a civilian airfield, enclosed wetland meadow, and 18^th to 20^th century plantation woodland.

M48.4 The nearest Listed Building is the Grade II Felthorpe Hall which is 760m away. There are 7 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. There is a Scheduled Monument within the site, which is the 'Round barrow north of Sandy Lane'. It is the only Scheduled Monument within 2km of the site. The area of the scheduled round barrow would need to be excluded from the proposed extraction area because Scheduled Monuments are legally protected. There are no Conservation Areas or Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M48.5 Archaeology: The site is located within an area of interest, and there are Historic Environment records of a feature comprising a bronze age barrow, within the site boundary. This barrow is a Scheduled Monument. The site is in a wider landscape with a significant number of finds and features from multiple periods. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M48.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site is a coniferous plantation with a broadleaf edge and some regenerating broadleaf understorey. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Horsford Woodland Heath Mosaic' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. It is within a wider area of coniferous woodland plantations on former heathland interspersed with areas of arable farmland.

M48.7 The eastern edge of the site is visible from Felthorpe Road and the southern edge from the public right of way (PROW) Felthorpe RB7. In addition, intermittent views of the northern edge of the plantation can be seem from Mill Lane. The site is remote from settlement, the nearest properties being approximately 300m to the north on Mill Lane. In landscape terms, a well-designed working which retained a woodland screen would have a relatively low impact in landscape terms. Subject to margins, gradients and land use, it should be possible to achieve an acceptable low level restoration on this site, potentially heathland. A heathland restoration would return the site to the land use prior to the planting of the coniferous woodland.

M48.8 There is a Public Right of Way along the southern boundary of the site (Felthorpe RB7).

M48.9 Ecology: The site is 2.22km from the River Wensum SAC and is within the Impact Risk Zone for the River Wensum SSSI. The SSSI citation states that the River Wensum is an example of an enriched calcareous lowland river. With over 100 species of plants, a rich invertebrate fauna and a relatively natural corridor, it is probably the best whole river of its type in nature conservation terms. The site is in an elevated position in relation to the River Wensum and any working is likely to be above the water table. Therefore it is considered that mineral extraction would result in no adverse effects on the integrity of the SAC, provided that dewatering is not required.

M48.10 The site is 3.46km from Buxton Heath SSSI which is part of the Norfolk Valley Fens SAC. It is outside the Impact Risk Zone for this SSSI.

M48.11 Swannington Upgate Common SSSI is adjacent to the site boundary. The SSSI citation states that the variations in soils and wetness and a variable topography on the site have provided conditions for the development of an exceptionally wide range of semi-natural vegetation including dry acidic heathland, wet heathland with acidic flushes, fen, birch and alder woodland, scrub, bracken, rough grassland and ponds. The potential exists for impacts from mineral extraction at MIN 48, if uncontrolled. An assessment of potential impacts, including from dust deposition and hydrogeology, together with appropriate mitigation would be required as part of any planning application.

M48.12 Alderford Common SSSI is 1.82km from the site boundary. The SSSI citation states that the site supports a wide range of habitats developed in response to variations in soils and topography. The habitats include species-rich chalk grassland, scrub, woodland, bracken heath, marshy grassland and ponds. There is also a bat roost and an outstanding assemblage of breeding birds. Whilst the site is within the Impact Risk Zone for this SSSI, provided that no dewatering is proposed as part of the working scheme, no impacts on this SSSI are expected.

M48.13 County Wildlife Site CWS 1348 'Land adjoining Swannington Bottom Plantation' is adjacent to the site boundary; it is a silver birch and young oak dominated woodland. The potential exists for impacts from mineral extraction at MIN 48, if uncontrolled. An assessment of potential impacts, including from dust deposition and hydrogeology, together with appropriate mitigation would be required as part of any planning application.

M48.14 The nearest ancient woodland site is Mileplain Plantation which is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) and is 0.75km from the site boundary. Due to this distance, provided that no dewatering is proposed as part of the working scheme, no impacts on this PAWS are expected.

M48.15 Geodiversity: The site consists of Head deposits - clay, silt and gravel, which are priority features due to their method of formation; Sheringham Cliffs formation-sand and gravel, and Britons Lane sand and gravel member, overlying chalk formations in the west and Wroxham Crag in the east. There is significant potential for vertebrate fossils within the Wroxham Crag. The Britons Lane sands and gravels are known to contain priority features such as palaesols and erratics in other locations, and therefore they may occur on this site. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M48.16 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a low probability of surface water flooding, with one location of surface water pooling in a 1 in 1000 year rainfall event. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The northern boundary of the site, adjacent to the watercourse, is within the Norfolk Rivers Internal Drainage Board area. The rest of the site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M48.17 Hydrogeology: The site is located over both Secondary A and B aquifers (superficial deposits) and a principal aquifer (bedrock). However, there are no groundwater Source Protection Zones within the proposed site.

M48.18 Water Framework Directive: The site is adjacent to Swannington Beck and 2.2km from the River Wensum (Wensum US Norwich) which are the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbodies. The groundwater level in this area is many metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the River Wensum. MIN 48 is adjacent to Swannington Beck and the potential for silt ingress to this waterbody exists, during the extraction phase if uncontrolled, although screening bunds would form a physical barrier. Setting the working area of the site back from Swannington Beck would reduce this risk. Therefore, given a standoff distance to the Swannington Beck and the likely physical barriers related to mineral operations the potential for silt ingress to nearby Swannington Beck is negligible. Assessment and mitigation measures would need to form part of any future planning application to control any fugitive emissions of dust from the site to acceptable levels. If mineral is extracted from MIN 48 it is expected to be processed on site, therefore the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across these watercourses.

M48.19 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets or water assets within the site. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M48.20 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone for Felthorpe Airfield where Felthorpe Flying Group should be consulted on all development. The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M48.20 Restoration: The site is proposed to be restored to a heathland habitat. This could provide a southern extension of the Swannington Upgate Common and result in biodiversity and ecological gains.

M48.21 Conclusion: The site is considered to be unsuitable for allocation because:

• Even though the site was allocated in the Minerals Site Specific Allocations DPD in 2013, there is still not a mineral operator promoting the proposed site and therefore the site is less deliverable than other sites that have been proposed for extraction.
• Due to the close proximity to Swannington Upgate Common SSSI, there is the potential for unacceptable adverse effects on the SSSI from the proposed mineral extraction. Whilst it may be technically possible to design a site where there would not be any adverse effects on the SSSI, this is a significant constraint to the development of the site and therefore the site is considered to be less deliverable than other sites that have been proposed for extraction.

(7) MIN 37 - land east of Coltishall Road, Buxton

Site Characteristics

• The 23.5 hectare site is within the parishes of Frettenham and Buxton with Lammas.
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 1,450,000 tonnes.
• The proposer of the site has given a potential start date of 2019 and estimated the extraction rate to be 85,000 tonnes per annum. Based on this information the full mineral resource at the site could be extracted in just over seventeen years, which would be within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by Frimstone Ltd as an extension to an existing site.
• The site is currently in agricultural use and the Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being Grade 3.
• The site is 6.2km from Aylsham and 8.9km from North Walsham, which are the nearest towns. The site is 7.2km from the Norwich urban area and it is outside the Norwich Policy Area.

A reduced extraction area has been proposed of 17.36 hectares. This would provide a standoff area for the dwellings along the Coltishall Road.

M37.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 15m from the site boundary. There are 20 sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary and five of these are within 100m of the site boundary. The settlement of Buxton is 1.1km away. However, the proposed extraction area is set back from Coltishall Road and the nearest residential property is 96m from the extraction area. There are 13 sensitive receptors within 250m of the proposed extraction area (two of these are within 100m of the proposed extraction area). Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100 metres of a source, if uncontrolled. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M37.2 Highway access: The site would use a new temporary access, joining the C494 Coltishall Road near the junction with Sandy Lane and then onto the B1354 which is designated as a main distributor route in the route hierarchy. The site is not within an AQMA. As a proposed extension to an existing site, the number of vehicle movements is expected to remain the same but continue for a longer period. The estimated number of HGV movements is 40 per day. The proposed highway access using Coltishall Road is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M37.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is agriculture with 18^th to 19th Century piecemeal enclosure. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with enclosure, boundary loss, and boundary loss with a relict element. The wider historic landscape character also includes agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure, enclosed wetland meadow, mineral extraction, leisure/recreation, and 18^th to 20^th century plantation woodland.

M37.4 The nearest Listed Building is the Grade II Mayton Hall which is 870m away. There are 35 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. There are 3 Scheduled Monuments within 2km of the site; Mayton Bridge is 0.92km away, Great Hautbois old Church is 1.63km away and the 'Roman camp and Settlement site West of Horstead' is 1.71km away. RAF Coltishall Conservation Area is 1.67km from the site. There are no Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M37.5 Archaeology: There are no Historic Environment records within the site boundary, however this may just be due to a lack of investigations. The site is in a wider landscape with a significant number of finds and features from multiple periods, including Bronze Age features and a post-medieval fairground and market. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M37.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site comprises gently undulating arable land. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Bure River Valley' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. The site lies within a wider arable plateau above the River Bure. There is a restored landfill site to the east and an active mineral working to the north east.

M37.7 The site lies approximately 0.75km from the edge of Buxton village to the north, but is immediately opposite five isolated properties which lie along Buxton Road. The site would be difficult to screen from upstairs views from these properties, without a suitable standoff area incorporating advanced planting. Screening should take the form of tree belts with hedgerows closest to the boundaries of the site. This screening has the potential to provide a long term landscape gain by mitigating the differences in landform between the domed landfill and the mineral allocation. Any screening should make use of native species wherever possible; as an overuse of conifers in the landscape would be intrusive in its own right.

M37.8 There is a Public Right of Way crossing the site (Frettenham FP2).

M37.9 Ecology: The site is 4.23km from Crostwick Marsh SSSI, which is part of the Broads SAC, Broadland SPA and Ramsar site. It is outside the Impact Risk Zone for this SSSI, therefore no impacts on this site are expected.

M37.10 There are no SSSIs within 4km of the site boundary and the site is not within the Impact Risk Zone for any SSSI. Therefore, no impacts on SSSIs are expected.

M37.11 The nearest County Wildlife Site is CWS 1411 'Disused Gravel Pit' which is 90m from the site boundary. The CWS includes areas of broadleaved semi-natural woodland, acid grassland, scrub and sparsely vegetated bare mineral soils. The potential exists for impacts from mineral extraction at MIN 37, if uncontrolled. An assessment of potential impacts, including from dust deposition, together with appropriate mitigation would be required as part of any planning application.

M37.12 The nearest ancient woodland site is Clamp Wood which is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) and Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW); it is 2.25km from the site boundary. Due to the distance from the ancient woodland site there would be no impacts from dust deposition. Due to the distance from the ancient woodland there would be no impacts from dust deposition. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore the ancient woodland would not be adversely affected.

M37.13 Geodiversity: The site consists of the Happisburgh glacigenic formation-sand and gravel, overlying Wroxham Crag-sand and gravel. There is significant potential for vertebrate fossils within the Wroxham Crag. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during the operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M37.14 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a low risk of surface water flooding, with a two locations of surface water pooling in a 1 in 30 rainfall event. In a 1 in 1000 year rainfall event there is a surface water flow path across the widest part of the site west-east. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M37.15 Hydrogeology: The site is partially located over a Secondary B aquifer (superficial deposits) and a principal aquifer (bedrock). The southern part of the site is within groundwater Source Protection Zone 3. The northern part of the site is not within a groundwater SPZ. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore no effect on water resources is expected.

M37.16 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 1km from the River Bure which is the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbody. The groundwater level in this area is several metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the River Bure. MIN 37 and the existing adjacent processing plant, which the sand and gravel would be transported to by internal haul route, are both a considerable distance west of the River Bure. Therefore, the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across this waterbody. Due to the distance of the site from the River Bure, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into this waterbody from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 37.

M37.17 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets within the site. There is a water main within the site and Anglian Water would require the standard protected easement widths for the water main and for any requests for alteration or removal to be conducted in accordance with the Water Industry Act 1991. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high-pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M37.18 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore, a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M37.19 Restoration: The restoration proposal is for a low-level restoration with some inert fill to provide an acceptable landform. The site would be restored to a mix of agricultural land, grassland, and some woodland. The proposer of the site has indicated that there may be the possibility of some enhanced public access to the site, as part of the restoration.

M37.20 Conclusion: Site MIN 37 is considered suitable to allocate for sand and gravel extraction. Development will be subject to compliance with the relevant Minerals and Waste Local Plan Policies and Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 37.

(4) MIN 64 - land at Grange Farm, Buxton Road, Horstead

Site Characteristics

• The 16.76 hectare site is within the parish of Horstead with Stanninghall
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 650,000 tonnes
• The proposer of the site has given a potential start date of 2020 and estimated the extraction rate to be 50,000 tonnes per annum. Based on this information the full mineral resource at the site could be extracted within 13 years, which would be within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by Longwater Gravel Co Ltd as an extension to an existing site.
• The site is currently in agricultural use and the Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being Grade 3
• The site is 7.9km from Aylsham and 9.3km from North Walsham, which are the nearest towns. The site is 6.9km from the Norwich urban area and it is outside the Norwich Policy Area.

A reduced extraction area of 10.2 hectares has been proposed. This provides a standoff from the properties to the NE of the site.

M64.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 61m from the site boundary. There are five sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary and four of these are within 100m of the site boundary. The settlement of Horstead is 453m away. The standoffs proposed for the reduced extraction area, mean that the nearest residential property is 182m from the extraction area, althought there are still five residential properties within 250m. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100 metres of a source, if uncontrolled. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M64.2 Highway access: The site would use the existing access route from the adjacent site onto the B1354 which is designated as a main distributor route in the route hierarchy, and then onto the A140. The site is not within an AQMA. As a proposed extension to an existing site, the number of vehicle movements is expected to remain the same but continue for a longer period. The estimated number of HGV movements is 6 per day. The current working is limited by condition within its planning permission to a maximum extraction volume of 50,000 tonnes per annum and this would continue. A highway routing agreement would be required. The proposed highway access is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M64.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is Twentieth Century agriculture with enclosure. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with enclosure and boundary loss, agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure, and drained enclosed rectilinear grazing marsh (17^th to 20^th century enclosure). The wider historic landscape character also includes enclosed wetland meadow, mineral extraction, informal parkland, leisure/recreation, and 18^th to 20^th century plantation woodland.

M64.4 The nearest Listed Buildings is the Grade II* Church of St Theobald (which is also a Scheduled Monument) and is 580m away. There are 46 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. 22 of these are within Coltishall and Horstead Conservation Area which is 850m from the site. RAF Coltishall Conservation Area is 1.29km from the site. The nearest Scheduled Monument is the 'Roman camp and settlement site west of Horstead' which is 460m away. There are 3 Scheduled Monuments within 2km of the site. There are no Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M64.5 Archaeology: The site is located within an area of interest, and there are Historic Environment records of isolated multi period finds and features including a probable bronze age barrow, within the site boundary. The site is close to the boundary of the historic parkland associated with Horstead Hall and is in a wider landscape with a significant number of finds and features from multiple periods. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M64.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site is a large flat arable field. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Bure River Valley' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. The site adjoins a permitted area of mineral working and lies within a wider area of arable farmland.

M64.7 A scheme of working has been proposed, which shows field boundary hedgerows and trees, and it would be important that any planting reinforces and enhances the existing hedgerows, so that they provide some mitigation to the soil storage bunds which could otherwise be intrusive in their own right. An area of woodland trees is proposed to be planted at the north-eastern end of the site to mitigate any landscape and amenity impacts to Largate Farm and the users of the PROW. It would be important that this planting takes place a sufficient period in advance of mineral operations to provide mitigation. Any agricultural land within a restoration scheme should incorporate wide field margins and the retention of the screen planting to provide long term landscape and biodiversity benefits.

M64.8 There are no Public Rights of Way within the site. There is a PRoW (Horstead with Stanninghall BR3) close to the eastern boundary of the site.

M64.9 Ecology: The site is 3.39km from Crostwick Marsh SSSI, which is part of The Broads SAC, Broadland SPA and Ramsar site. It is outside the Impact Risk Zone for this SSSI, therefore no impacts on this site are expected.

M64.10 There are no SSSIs within 3km of the site boundary and the site is not within the Impact Risk Zone for any SSSI. Therefore, no impacts on SSSIs are expected.

M64.11 County Wildlife Site CWS 1409 'Land adj. All Saint's Church' is 270m from the site boundary; it is a semi-improved neutral-acidic grassland with a diversity of forb species (herbaceous flowering plants) with a central oak and sycamore woodland. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table), therefore, due to this distance, no impacts on this CWS are expected.

M64.12 CWS 1411 'Disused Gravel Pit' is 400m from the site boundary; it includes areas of broadleaved semi-natural woodland, acid grassland, scrub and sparsely vegetated bare mineral soils. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table), therefore due to this distance, no impacts on this CWS are expected.

M64.13 The nearest ancient woodland site is Clamp Wood which is an Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) and Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS); it is 1.6km from the site boundary. Due to the distance from the ancient woodland there would be no impacts from dust deposition. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore the ancient woodland would not be adversely affected.

M64.14 Geodiversity: The site consists of Head deposits - clay, silt and gravel, which are priority features due to their method of formation; Happisburgh glacigenic formation - sand and gravel, overlying Wroxham Crag - sand and gravel. There is significant potential for vertebrate fossils within the Wroxham Crag. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during the operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M64.15 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a low risk of surface water flooding, with one location of surface water pooling in a 1 in 30-year rainfall event which extends in both the 1 in 1000 and 1 in 1000-year rainfall event. There are and two additional locations of surface water pooling in a 1 in 1000-year rainfall event. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M64.16 Hydrogeology: The site is partially located over a Secondary A aquifer (superficial deposits) and a principal aquifer (bedrock). The site is within groundwater Source Protection Zone 3. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Hydrogeological Risk Assessment to identify any potential impacts to groundwater and appropriate mitigation measures.

M64.17 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 200 metres from the River Bure which is the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbody. The groundwater level in this area is several metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the River Bure. MIN 64 and the existing adjacent processing plant, which the sand and gravel would be transported to by internal haul route, are both some distance west of the River Bure. Therefore, the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across this waterbody. Due to the distance of the site from the River Bure, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into this waterbody from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 64.

M64.18 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets or water assets within the site. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high-pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M64.19 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore, a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M64.20 Restoration: The restoration proposal is for a low-level restoration scheme, mainly to arable agriculture with the retention of boundary hedges and the retention of woodland planting in the north-eastern part of the site. The addition of wide field margins, hedgerow formation and tree planting would provide appropriate landscape and biodiversity gains.

M64.21 Conclusion: Site MIN 64 is considered suitable to allocate for sand and gravel extraction. Development will be subject to compliance with the relevant Minerals and Waste Local Plan Policies and Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 64.

(6) MIN 65 - land north of Stanninghall Quarry

Site Characteristics

• The 53.12 hectare site is within the parish of Horstead with Stanninghall
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 4,500,000 tonnes
• The proposer of the site has given a potential start date of 2024 and estimated the extraction rate to be 350,000 tonnes per annum. Based on this information the full mineral resource at the site could be extracted within 13 years, which would be within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by Tarmac Aggregates Ltd as an extension to an existing site.
• The site is currently in agricultural use and the Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being a mixture of grades 2, 3a and 3b.
• The site is 9.1km from Aylsham, which are the nearest town. The site is 5.5km from the Norwich urban area and it is outside the Norwich Policy Area.

M65.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 13m from the site boundary. There are 13 sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary and four of these are within 100m of the site boundary. The settlement of Horstead is 239m away. The proposed development scheme would include standoff margins to the three properties located at the perimeter of the site, which would increase the distance of the proposed extraction area from these closest properties. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100 metres of a source, if uncontrolled. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M65.2 Highway access: The site would use the existing processing plant and site access. The site access is via Quarry Road onto the B1150 Norwich Road, which is a designated lorry route. The site is not within an AQMA. The site is proposed as an extension to an existing site, however, the extraction rate is proposed to increase to 350,000 tpa which would lead to an increase in the number of HGV movements from the existing 75 per day up to an estimated 122 HGV movements per day. The proposed highway access is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M65.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is Twentieth Century agriculture with enclosure and agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with enclosure and boundary loss, agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure and estate fields. The wider historic landscape character also includes drained enclosed rectilinear grazing marsh (17^th to 20^th century enclosure), enclosed wetland meadow, informal parkland, and woodland (ancient woodland and 18^th to 20^th century plantation woodland).

M65.4 The nearest Listed Building is Grade II Horstead Lodge which is 310m away. There are 50 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site, 24 of these are within Coltishall and Horstead Conservation Area which is 380m from the site. The nearest Scheduled Monument is the 'Roman camp and settlement site west of Horstead, which is 140m away. There are 2 Scheduled Monuments within 2km of the site. There are no Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M65.5 Archaeology: There are Historic Environment records of multi-period features in the northern part of the site including a probable WW2 military site possibly a training site, within the site boundary. There is a WW2 Royal Observers Corp post on the site boundary. The site is in a wider landscape with a significant number of finds and features from multiple periods, including Roman features including a camp and probable trackway, and a possible settlement. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M65.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site comprises open arable plateau farmland divided by hedgerows with some boundary trees. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Marsham and Hainford Wooded Estatelands' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. The site lies within a wider area of arable farmland. The land to the south is an operational mineral working. Glimpses of the land can be seen from Frettenham Road to the west through gaps in boundary hedges. Views could also be seen from two properties which lie close to the site perimeter to the west and east respectively. The site is fairly level and it should be possible to design a scheme of working, incorporating screening, which would have an acceptable impact on the wider landscape. The proposal for the site indicates that screening and standoff areas would form part of the working scheme.

M65.7 There are no Public Rights of Way within the site. There is a PRoW (Frettenham BR4) close to the western site boundary at one point.

M65.8 Ecology: The site is 1.4km from Crostwick Marsh SSSI, which is part of The Broads SAC, Broadland SPA and Ramsar site. The SSSI citation states that the site forms an excellent example of unimproved valley meadow and supports a series of intergrading plant communities ranging from damp neutral grassland through species-rich fen grassland to tall fen in the valley bottom. A number of uncommon plants are present and there is additional ornithological interest. The proposed extraction site is in a different hydrological catchment to Crostwick Marsh SSSI and therefore would not adversely affect the hydrology of the designated sites. Due to the distance from the proposed extraction site to the SSSI the designated sites would not be affected by dust deposition and the birds on the designated sites would not be disturbed by noise or lighting from mineral extraction operations. Therefore, no adverse effects are expected on the SSSI, SPA, SAC or Ramsar site.

M65.9 The nearest County Wildlife Site is CWS 1409 'Land adj. All Saint's Church' which is 900m from the site boundary. It is a semi-improved neutral-acidic grassland with a diversity of forb species (herbaceous flowering plants) with a central oak and sycamore woodland. Due to distance, no impacts on County Wildlife Sites are expected.

M65.10 The nearest ancient woodland sites are: Clamp Wood, which is an Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland (ASNW) and Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) and is 0.27km from the site, and Stanninghall Wood which is a PAWS and is 0.89km from the site boundary. Due to the distance from the ancient woodland there would be no impacts from dust deposition. The proposed extraction site would be worked dry (above the water table) and therefore the ancient woodland would not be adversely affected.

M65.11 Geodiversity: This site consists of the Britons Lane sand and gravel member, Happisburgh glacigenic formation - sand and gravel, overlying Wroxham Crag formation - sand and gravel on the west of the site, Wroxham Crag Formation at the surface in the east of the site. There is significant potential for vertebrate fossils within the Wroxham Crag. The Britons Lane sands and gravels are known to contain priority features such as palaesols and erratics in other locations, and therefore they may occur on this site. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M65.12 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a low probability of surface water flooding, with a few locations of surface water pooling in a 1 in 1000 year rainfall event. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use that is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M65.13 Hydrogeology: The site is partially located over a Secondary B aquifer and a Secondary A aquifer (superficial deposits) and a principal aquifer (bedrock). The majority of the site is within groundwater Source Protection Zone 3. The most northern part of the site is within groundwater SPZ2. A southern part of the site is not within a groundwater SPZ. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Hydrogeological Risk Assessment to identify any potential impacts to groundwater and appropriate mitigation measures.

M65.14 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 700 metres from the River Bure which is the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbody. The groundwater level in this area is several metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the River Bure. The site proposal indicates that the working would not require dewatering, the current permitted site to the south has been worked 'dry'. MIN 65 and the existing adjacent processing plant, which the sand and gravel would be transported to by internal haul route, are both some distance west of the River Bure. Therefore the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across this waterbody. Due to the distance of the site from the River Bure, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into this waterbody from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 65.

M65.15 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets or water assets within the site. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure with the site. There are electricity distribution lines running approximately north to south through the site. There are no high pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M65.16 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M65.17 Restoration: The site is proposed to be restored to a combination of arable agriculture, grassland and woodland.

M65.18 Conclusion: Site MIN 65 is considered suitable to allocate for sand and gravel extraction. Development will be subject to compliance with the relevant Minerals and Waste Local Plan Policies and Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 65.

(8) MIN 96 - land at Grange Farm (between Spixworth Road and Coltishall Lane), Spixworth

Site Characteristics

• The 39.03 hectare site is within the parishes of Spixworth, and Horsham St Faith and Newton St Faith
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 1,600,000 tonnes
• The proposer of the site has given a potential start date of 2020 and estimated the extraction rate to be 150,000 tonnes per annum. Based on this information the full mineral resource at the site could be extracted within eleven years, which would be within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by Tarmac Aggregates Ltd as an extension to an existing site.
• The site is currently in agricultural use and the Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being Grade 3
• The site is 2km from the Norwich urban area and is within the Norwich Policy Area

M96.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 21m from the site boundary. There are five sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary and two of these are within 100m of the site boundary. A standoff area and screening would therefore be required in order to mitigate potential amenity impacts to the adjacent properties. The settlement of Horsham St Faith is 352m away. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100 metres of a source, if uncontrolled. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M96.2 Highway access: The site would use the existing site access route which travels north along the C246 Buxton Road (a designated lorry route), then west along the B1354 Old Church Road, to join the A140 Cromer Road. The potential for the site to access the A1270 (Broadland Northway) at the roundabout north of Norwich Airport via a new off-highway haul route is being explored by the proposer of the site. The site is not within an AQMA. As a proposed extension to an existing site, the number of vehicle movements is expected to remain the same but continue for a longer period. The estimated number of HGV movements is 30 in and 30 out per day for the sand and gravel extraction. The site is proposed to be restored by the importation of inert waste (600,000 cubic metres or 1.1 million tonnes per annum over eleven years). The use of inert waste for restoration would produce estimated additional HGV movements of 24 in and 24 out per day. The proposed highway access is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M96.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is Twentieth Century agriculture with boundary loss and agriculture with 18^th to 19^th Century piecemeal enclosure. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of 20^th century agriculture with boundary loss and enclosure, and agriculture with 18^th to 19^th century piecemeal enclosure. The wider historic landscape character also includes Norwich Airport, industry, enclosed wetland meadow, informal parkland and 18^th to 20^th century plantation woodland.

M96.4 The nearest Listed Buildings are Grade II Meadow Farmhouse (210m away), Grade II Barn at Grange Farm (240m away), Grade II Grange Farmhouse (260m away) and Grade I Church of St Peter (300m away). There are 29 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. 11 of these are within Horsham St Faiths Conservation Area, which is 650m from the site. The only Scheduled Monument within 2km of the site is 'St Faith Priory, which is 1.08km away. There are no Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M96.5 Archaeology: The site is located within an area of interest, and there are Historic Environment records of multi period finds, within the site boundary, and a possible medieval trackway crossing the site. The site is close to the boundary of the historic parkland associated with Spixworth Hall, and is in a wider landscape with a very significant number of finds and features from multiple periods. Therefore, there is the potential that unknown archaeology exists on the site and an assessment of the significance of archaeological remains will be required at the planning application stage, in order to protect and mitigate the impact of mineral extraction in this site. The archaeology assessment may initially be desk-based but may need to be followed up with field surveys and trial-trenching.

M96.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site comprises arable land on gently undulating land above the valley of Crostwick Beck. It is divided by hedgerows with small field size in the east with many hedgerow trees. Field size increases to the west with fewer hedgerow trees. The western part of the site is bisected by Marketfield Lane a road used as a public path. The site is within the landscape character area described as 'Spixworth Wooded Estatelands' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment.

M96.7 The site forms part of a wider area of gently undulating arable land with the pasture lands of the valley of the Crostwick Beck to the north and the former parkland at Spixworth to the south. The NDR (Broadland Northway) runs approximately 500m to the southeast. The site is adjacent to an existing aggregate processing plant. The site lies approximately 0.5km from the edge of Spixworth and 0.6km from the edge of Horsham St Faiths. Working the eastern part of the site may also affect the setting of Spixworth church and the complex of properties around Grange Farm. Two semi-detached cottages also lie close to the southern boundary of the site, and a standoff area and screening would be required in order to mitigate potential amenity impacts. The site is a large area, however, and it is accepted that it may be possible to work parts of the site, with suitable screening without an unacceptable impact on either the wider landscape or views from property.

M96.8 There are no Public Rights of Way within or adjacent to the site.

M96.9 Ecology: The site is 2.22km from Crostwick Marsh SSSI, which is part of The Broads SAC, Broadland SPA and Ramsar site. The SSSI citation states that the site forms an excellent example of unimproved valley meadow and supports a series of intergrading plant communities ranging from damp neutral grassland through species-rich fen grassland to tall fen in the valley bottom. A number of uncommon plants are present and there is additional ornithological interest. The proposed extraction site is located up-gradient of the SSSI and therefore would not adversely affect the hydrology of the SSSI. Extraction is expected to take place at the same rate as the existing mineral working so there would not be an increase in traffic movements. Due to the distance from the SSSI dust emissions could be satisfactorily controlled to ensure that the SSSI is not affected by dust deposition. Due to the distance of the site from the SSSI noise and lighting would not disturb the birds on the SSSI. Therefore, no adverse effects are expected on the SSSI, SAC, SPA or Ramsar site.

M96.10 County Wildlife Site CWS 2205 'Spixworth Bridge Meadows' is 90m from the site boundary. It is a large area of mixed grassland, some very species rich, and there are many wet, damp and dry ditches. The CWS is in a valley with Spixworth Beck running though. The site is expected to be worked dry (above the water table), therefore adverse impacts to hydrology are not expected. A potential impact could be dust deposition from extraction, if uncontrolled. Therefore, a dust assessment and identification of appropriate mitigation measures will be required as part of the planning application process, to ensure that the CWS is not adversely affected.

M96.11 CWS 1396 'Spixworth Meadows' is 480m from the site boundary. The CWS contains three shallow valleys leading to a tributary of the River Bure. The majority is damp, species-poor, semi-improved grassland with areas divided by wet mesotrophic ditches which have a more diverse flora. The meadows are grazed. The site is expected to be worked dry (above the water table), therefore adverse impacts to hydrology are not expected. Due to this distance, no other impacts on this CWS are expected.

M96.12 The nearest ancient woodland site is The Wilderness, which is a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site (PAWS) and is 1.47km from the site boundary. Due to this distance, no impacts on this PAWS are expected.

M96.13 Geodiversity: The site consists of the Sheringham Cliffs formation - sand and gravel, and Happisburgh glacigenic formation - sand and gravel. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M96.14 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The site has a low probability of surface water flooding, with two very small locations of surface water pooling in a 1 in 1000 year rainfall event. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board area.

M96.15 Hydrogeology: The site is not located over any superficial deposit aquifers. The site is located over a principal aquifer (bedrock). However, there are no groundwater Source Protection Zones within the proposed site.

M96.16 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 200 metres from the Spixworth Beck which is the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbody. The groundwater level in this area is several metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the Spixworth Beck. MIN 96 and the existing adjacent processing plant, which the sand and gravel would be transported to by internal haul route, are both some distance south of the Spixworth Beck. Therefore, the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across this waterbody. Due to the distance of the site from the Spixworth Beck, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into this waterbody from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 96.

M96.17 Utilities infrastructure: There is an Anglian Water foul sewer which crosses the site as well as foul sewers and a pumping station adjacent to the site boundaries. There are no water assets within the site. Anglian Water would require the standard protected easement widths for the sewers and for any requests for alteration or removal to be conducted in accordance with the Water Industry Act 1991. There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high-pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M96.18 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on all development, including developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore, a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M96.19 Restoration: The site proposal does not contain any details regarding restoration. A restoration to agriculture with wide field margins, hedgerow formation and some woodland planting would provide biodiversity and landscape gains. The restoration scheme should seek to retain screen planting. It is recognised that in order to achieve a suitable landform, the importation of inert material is likely to be required and the proposal is for 600,000 cubic metres (1.1 million tonnes) of inert waste material to be used in the site restoration.

M96.20 Conclusion: Site MIN 96 is considered suitable to allocate for sand and gravel extraction. Development will be subject to compliance with the relevant Minerals and Waste Local Plan Policies and Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 96.

(64) MIN 213 - land at Mansom Plantation, Stratton Strawless

Site characteristics

• The 34.8 hectare site is within the parish of Stratton Strawless
• The estimated sand and gravel resource at the site is 1,000,000 tonnes
• The proposer of the site has given a potential start date of 2020-2022 and estimated the extraction rate to be 140,000 tonnes per annum. Based on this information the full mineral resource could be extracted within 8 years which would be within the plan period.
• The site is proposed by Cemex UK Operations Ltd as a new site.
• The site is currently a coniferous plantation, and the Agricultural Land Classification scheme classifies the land as being non-agricultural land.
• The central part of the site has an extant planning permission for the construction of 98 holiday homes and associated infrastructure.
• The site is 5.2km from Aylsham which is the nearest town.

A reduced extraction area is proposed of 20.3 hectares, which leaves a buffer/screening area all around the site boundary of approximately 60 metres wide.

M213.1 Amenity: The nearest residential property is 18m from the site boundary. There are 18 sensitive receptors within 250m of the site boundary and 11 of these are within 100m of the site boundary. The settlement of Hevingham is 580m away and Stratton Strawless is 210m away. Even without mitigation, adverse dust impacts from sand and gravel sites are uncommon beyond 250m from the nearest dust generating activities. The greatest impacts will be within 100m of a source, if uncontrolled. A smaller extraction area has been submitted by the proposer of the site, and there are 13 sensitive receptors within 250m of the reduced extraction area, and none of these are within 100m of the extraction area. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include noise and dust assessments and mitigation measures to deal appropriately with any amenity impacts.

M213.2 Highway access: Access is proposed onto Shortthorn Road (C245), then east onto the A140 Cromer Road which is a Principal Route in the route hierarchy. The site is not within an AQMA. The estimated number of highway movements is 76 per day (access and egress). The proposed highway access is considered to be suitable by the Highway Authority.

M213.3 Historic environment: The historic landscape character of the site is 18^th-20th Century woodland plantation. Aerial photography indicates that the current plantation was probably planted post World War II. The site is within a wider historic landscape character of woodland and 20^th century agriculture. The wider historic landscape character also includes parks, gardens and recreation, and industry.

M213.4 The nearest Listed Building is 79m away and is the Grade II Lodge to Stratton Strawless Hall. There are 23 Listed Buildings within 2km of the site. There are no Scheduled Monuments, Conservation Areas or Registered Historic Parks and Gardens within 2km of the site. A planning application for mineral extraction at this site would need to include a Heritage Statement to identify heritage assets and their settings, assess the potential for impacts and identify appropriate mitigation measures if required.

M213.5 Archaeology: A rapid archaeological evaluation was carried using fieldwalking of the site, as part of the application for 98 holiday homes in 2004. This found the remains of a parish boundary ditch along the northern boundary of the site. There were also a number of ditches within the site itself, the assessment of these indicated that they were related to forest operations from the mid-18th century to the present day. There were also a number of pits and mounds relating to historic mineral extraction on parts of the site. No finds were identified as part of this assessment, although it was acknowledged that the potential exists for finds to be uncovered as the tree cover is removed.The HER records the site of a possible Roman furnace, and a metal working site to the outh and east of the site. The site of a moated medieval Bishop's Palace is recorded immediately to the North of the site. The earthworks on site are recorded within the Historic Environment Record, and trial trenching to establish the potential for archaeology within the site would be required.

M213.6 Landscape: The site is not located within the AONB, a Core River Valley or any other designated landscape feature. The site is currently a coniferous plantation. The site is within the landscape character areas described as 'Horsford Woodland Health Mosaic' in the Broadland Landscape Character Assessment. The proposal leaves a buffer/screening area of approximately 60 metres around the site boundary, which is currently conifer plantation and could screen the site. Views into the site may be possible from Shorthorn Road, through the proposed entrance, although it would be possible to reduce this with a curved internal access road.

M213.7 There is an area of land designated as a village green (Mansom Green) adjacent to the eastern site boundary, which is bordered by the A140 to the east and Shortthorn Road to the South. Mansom Green is currently an area of mixed woodland.

M213.8 There are no Public Rights of Way within the site. Access to a PRoW is located on the opposite side of the A140 Cromer Road to the site (Stratton Strawless FP3).

M213. 9 Ecology: The site is more than 5km from any SPA or Ramsar site. Therefore, there would be no likely significant effects on these sites.

M213.10 The site is 2.6 km from Buxton Heath SSSI, which is part of the Norfolk Valley Fens SAC and is within the Impact Risk Zone for the Norfolk Valley Fens SAC. The SSSI citation states that Buxton Heath is a diverse heath-with-fen area situated in a basin of glacial sand. The valley mire is floristically rich and there is a rapid transition from calcareous to acidic plant communities with dry acidic heathland on higher ground. A number of rare relict mosses, liverworts and fungi occur on the site. Several uncommon invertebrates have also been recorded. Buxton Heath SSSI is within the Camping Beck hydrological catchment, but the proposed extraction site is located within a different hydrogeological catchment to the SSSI. Therefore, there would be no likely significant effects on this site.

M213.11 The nearest County Wildlife Site is CWS 2204 'Hevingham Park' which is adjacent to the site and is a large replanted ancient woodland with pingos which includes areas of semi-natural broadleaved woodland, planted broadleaved woodland, planted coniferous and mixed woodland. The eastern and northern parts have a rich ground flora with many ancient woodland indicator species, whilst a more typical healthland flora occurs in some of the wood alongside these species. CWS 1400 'Brickkiln Grove' is 118m from the site and consists predominantly of semi-natural, broadleaved woodland (oak, sycamore, hazel and hornbeam), the majority of which has been coppiced. The CWS also includes an area of free-draining grassland and an area of improved grassland. CWS 1401 'Waterloo Plantation' is 767m from the site and contains oak, beech, hornbeam, sweet chestnut and silver birch. CWS 2114 'Horsford Woods' is 380m from the site and is a mature pine plantation with a relict heathland vegetation along the rides in particular. CWS 1412 'Ivy Farm Meadow' is 455m from the site and is a mosaic of semi-improved and unimproved grassland which straddles a small stream. Due to the relatively high watertable, the potential exists for effects on the hydrology of the features of the CWS, especially the pingos, if dewatering is required. The proposer of the site has stated that mineral extraction would be worked 'wet' without dewatering. A hydrological impact assessment together with identification of appropriate mitigation measures will be required as part of the planning application process to ensure these features are not adversely affected.

M213.12 The nearest ancient woodland site is an unnamed ancient replanted woodland site which is immediately north of the site, and adjacent to Hevingham Park. As the ancient woodland sites are within the same hydrological catchment as the site, the potential exists for effects on the hydrology of the ancient woodland sites, if dewatering is required. A potential impact could be dust deposition from extraction, if uncontrolled. Therefore a dust assessment and hydrological impact assessment together with identification of appropriate mitigation measures will be required as part of the planning application process to ensure these sites are not adversely affected. Hevingham Park ancient replanted woodland is approx. 150m from the site boundary.

M213.13 Geodiversity: Wroxham Crag deposits underlie the site with glacio-fluvial deposits of sand and gravel overlying this on the southern half of the site. There is significant potential for vertebrate fossils within the Wroxham Crag. The glacio-fluvial sediments have the potential to provide insights into the processes taking place during the glaciation. Potential impacts to geodiversity would need to be assessed and appropriate mitigation identified as part of any future application. It would be useful to retain some open faces for scientific study during operational stages, and ideally after restoration, and have a 'watching brief' during the extraction phase in case features of potential geodiversity interest are uncovered.

M213.14 Flood Risk: The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk) for flooding from rivers. The area has a low risk of surface water flooding with a few locations of surface water pooling, mainly in the south east and north east corners of the site, in a 1 in 30-year rainfall event. There are additional locations of surface water pooling in a 1 in 100-year rainfall event. The number of locations of surface water pooling increase in a 1 in 1000-year rainfall event and there is a surface water flow path in the south-eastern corner of the proposed site. Sand and gravel extraction is considered to be a 'water compatible' land use which is suitable in all flood zones. The site is not in an Internal Drainage Board Area.

M213.15 Hydrogeology: The Wroxham Crag is identified as a Principal aquifer, and the glacio-fluvial deposits are identified as a Secondary aquifer. The site is not within a groundwater Source Protection Zone. The site is located within the Hevingham Watercourse catchment.

M213.16 Water Framework Directive: The site is approximately 0.5km from the Hevingham Watercourse which is the nearest Water Framework Directive waterbody. The groundwater level in this area is several metres below ground level and therefore overland flows are not expected from the site towards the Hevingham Watercourse. MIN 213 would be likely to contain a processing plant, which the sand and gravel would be transported to by internal haul route, and the site is a considerable distance south of the Hevingham Watercourse. Therefore, the sand and gravel to be processed would not be transported across this waterbody. Due to the distance of the site from the Hevingham Watercourse, it is not expected that there would be a pathway for silt ingress into this waterbody from any future sand and gravel extraction within site MIN 213.

M213.17 Utilities infrastructure: There are no Anglian Water sewerage assets or water assets within the site.There is no electricity transmission infrastructure within the site. There are no high-pressure gas pipelines within the site.

M213.18 Safeguarding aerodromes: The site is within the zone where Norwich Airport must be consulted on developments with the potential to increase the number of birds and the 'bird strike' risk to aircraft. Therefore, a Bird Hazard Assessment would be required at the planning application stage.

M213.19 Restoration: The centre part of the site has planning permission from Broadland District Council (20041641) for a holiday lodge park comprising 98 holiday lodges, swimming pool, restaurant, tennis courts etc, which was granted in December 2006 and has been implemented, but no lodges or other facilities have been constructed. The proposal is for the site to be restored to include the holiday lodge development, whilst the remainder of the site is proposed to be restored to heathland, with the existing woodland retained around the site boundaries.

M213.20 Conclusion: The site is considered to be suitable to allocate for sand and gravel extraction, subject to any planning application addressing the requirements overleaf: