Object
Preferred Options consultation document
Representation ID: 93644
Received: 07/10/2019
Respondent: Mrs Jo Oxley
As a resident of Woodrising for some 9+ years I have grave reservations regarding the proposed Gravel Extraction plan MIN116 for the following reasons.
1: The proposed extraction area is in the middle of an attractive rural setting. As stated it is above the water table level. This means, however, that it is on a raised area within the gentle rolling landscape. Bunding around the gravel pit would not hide it.
2. It has no suitable access roads. I can say, from experience, that I have had to have 6 new windscreens in the years I have been a resident in Woodrising due to the poor and degenerative condition of the narrow lanes from Woodrising to the main road - specifically to the B1108. I have also been driven off this road by a contractors' lorry who did not concede, slow down or stop. On many parts of this road there are large drainage ditches and culverts. I was extremely lucky not to end up in the ditch. There are, already, some passing places (with extremely large holes) which we residents use where possible. I think that it is naive to assume that creating more would solve the safety issue. It is also a favourite cycle route for the ever increasing number of people wishing to increase and/or maintain their fitness. Woodrising road an unclassified or C road of some 3.8 miles. It has no pavement, no edge and is of poor structure, already under considerable pressure from the agricultural vehicles. It is not wide enough for a lorry to pass a car safely.
3. As a small community with no facilities at all; no play area for children, no pavements and no bus service, any increase in large vehicles would simply add to the already dangerous conditions for those forced to walk, cycle, and ride along these lanes. The bridleway and restricted by-way is our only local access to the countryside and is used regularly by dog walkers, horse riders and people with young children. . Fadens' Map of 1797 and an Ordinance Survey of 1847 clearly show footpaths and Bridleways at Woodrising which have been removed within the last 50 years and the public denied access to these historic rights of way.
4. We have a diverse range and number of wild animals who call this rural area 'home'. I have seen, whilst on my walks from Woodrising around the circular walk, many animals, including a herd of 9 red deer, a down of 13+ hares on the proposed site, Hobbys and Barn Owls who hunt over the site and Skylarks who nest there. The area has, in the last few weeks, been striped of its' headlands and the seeds from the abundant and diverse wild flora burnt off.
Whilst I appreciate the need for aggregates, I would argue that equal consideration should be given to the ever dwindling areas of true rural habitat. The suggestion that all will be returned to agricultural land is of little consolation to the residents both human and animal. There are really very few places, even in Norfolk, where one can see a herd of red deer in the wild or Hobbys, Kites and Barn Owls. Once dispossessed they will not have sufficient hunting land to sustain their numbers.
This by no means is an exhaustive list.
I strongly object to the proposal of MIN116.
As a resident of Woodrising for some 9+ years I have grave reservations regarding the proposed Gravel Extraction plan MIN116 for the following reasons.
1: The proposed extraction area is in the middle of an attractive rural setting. As stated it is above the water table level. This means, however, that it is on a raised area within the gentle rolling landscape. Bunding around the gravel pit would not hide it.
2. It has no suitable access roads. I can say, from experience, that I have had to have 6 new windscreens in the years I have been a resident in Woodrising due to the poor and degenerative condition of the narrow lanes from Woodrising to the main road - specifically to the B1108. I have also been driven off this road by a contractors' lorry who did not concede, slow down or stop. On many parts of this road there are large drainage ditches and culverts. I was extremely lucky not to end up in the ditch. There are, already, some passing places (with extremely large holes) which we residents use where possible. I think that it is naive to assume that creating more would solve the safety issue. It is also a favourite cycle route for the ever increasing number of people wishing to increase and/or maintain their fitness. Woodrising road an unclassified or C road of some 3.8 miles. It has no pavement, no edge and is of poor structure, already under considerable pressure from the agricultural vehicles. It is not wide enough for a lorry to pass a car safely.
3. As a small community with no facilities at all; no play area for children, no pavements and no bus service, any increase in large vehicles would simply add to the already dangerous conditions for those forced to walk, cycle, and ride along these lanes. The bridleway and restricted by-way is our only local access to the countryside and is used regularly by dog walkers, horse riders and people with young children. . Fadens' Map of 1797 and an Ordinance Survey of 1847 clearly show footpaths and Bridleways at Woodrising which have been removed within the last 50 years and the public denied access to these historic rights of way.
4. We have a diverse range and number of wild animals who call this rural area 'home'. I have seen, whilst on my walks from Woodrising around the circular walk, many animals, including a herd of 9 red deer, a down of 13+ hares on the proposed site, Hobbys and Barn Owls who hunt over the site and Skylarks who nest there. The area has, in the last few weeks, been striped of its' headlands and the seeds from the abundant and diverse wild flora burnt off.
Whilst I appreciate the need for aggregates, I would argue that equal consideration should be given to the ever dwindling areas of true rural habitat. The suggestion that all will be returned to agricultural land is of little consolation to the residents both human and animal. There are really very few places, even in Norfolk, where one can see a herd of red deer in the wild or Hobbys, Kites and Barn Owls. Once dispossessed they will not have sufficient hunting land to sustain their numbers.
This by no means is an exhaustive list.
I strongly object to the proposal of MIN116.