Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 115 (North Walsham)
Object
Preferred Options consultation document
Representation ID: 93247
Received: 23/09/2019
Respondent: Mr Andrew Bluss
I am a resident of North Walsham. I have previously lived in a town where mineral extraction was prevalent so can speak first hand of the effects it has on the environment.
I have been made aware of this application and have read the proposal carefully. It is with a heavy heart that I see, once again, that our beautiful Norfolk countryside is under threat. The proposed site, is a relatively unspoilt piece of woodland that is home to a large variety of trees, shrubs and wildlife. The trees are part of an ecosystem that helps to absorb the CO2 emissions that currently threaten our planet. Every tree destroyed will be one less to help combat the scourge of the anthropocene period. There appears to be nothing in the application that mentions the negation/offsetting of the additional carbon emissions that will be created from lorries, mining machinery, generators and air conditioning units etc.
The area identified has historic value in that somewhere within the area between North Walsham and Swanton Abbot is the site of the 1381 Battle of North Walsham. The precise location has yet to be established but it is just as likely to be within Lord Anson's Wood as without. The 1381 Peasant's Revolt was one of the most important and significant episodes in this country's history. The thought that it could be lost forever should not be contemplated. It has already been documented that the area is subject to The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
The prospect of having to live here for the next 19 plus years with the disturbance to the environment of a site being prepared for mineral extraction plus the extraction itself , should this application be granted, fills myself and neighbours with horror. Major alterations would be needed to provide access to the proposed site which would involve the B1150 subjected to months of SALT control whilst the junction at Heath Road is developed to permit access/egress.
This would create queues of slow moving, polluting traffic that would disrupt the journey times of commuters and business vehicles alike.
There is nothing positive for the town of North Walsham. There is only negatives. Additional HGV's. Additional pollution. Additional wear and tear on infrastructure. Additional noise. Additional dust and dirt in the air. Additional deitrus on road surfaces. The loss of wildlife. The loss of a piece of our countryside that can NEVER be replaced!!
The planners can produce all the facts and figures they like to try and minimise the disruption so that there application would be approved but they are not the people who have to live with the consequences of their aims.
So what happens after (Should the application be approved)? The report says: "Submission of a progressive restoration to a mix of deciduous woodland and heathland
with public access". Concise to say the least. Restoration does not happen overnight! It took hundreds of years to achieve what we have now. Planting a few saplings as a token gesture hardly does the current woodland justice. There will not be many people, currently alive, who will live to see such a restoration. In addition there is no guarantee, come the conclusion of the extraction, that the land would not become nothing more than an additional piece of land to build on when the North Norfolk Local Plan 2036-56 comes up for review!!
I wholeheartedly object to the application.
I am a resident of North Walsham. I have previously lived in a town where mineral extraction was prevalent so can speak first hand of the effects it has on the environment.
I have been made aware of this application and have read the proposal carefully. It is with a heavy heart that I see, once again, that our beautiful Norfolk countryside is under threat. The proposed site, is a relatively unspoilt piece of woodland that is home to a large variety of trees, shrubs and wildlife. The trees are part of an ecosystem that helps to absorb the CO2 emissions that currently threaten our planet. Every tree destroyed will be one less to help combat the scourge of the anthropocene period. There appears to be nothing in the application that mentions the negation/offsetting of the additional carbon emissions that will be created from lorries, mining machinery, generators and air conditioning units etc.
The area identified has historic value in that somewhere within the area between North Walsham and Swanton Abbot is the site of the 1381 Battle of North Walsham. The precise location has yet to be established but it is just as likely to be within Lord Anson's Wood as without. The 1381 Peasant's Revolt was one of the most important and significant episodes in this country's history. The thought that it could be lost forever should not be contemplated. It has already been documented that the area is subject to The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
The prospect of having to live here for the next 19 plus years with the disturbance to the environment of a site being prepared for mineral extraction plus the extraction itself , should this application be granted, fills myself and neighbours with horror. Major alterations would be needed to provide access to the proposed site which would involve the B1150 subjected to months of SALT control whilst the junction at Heath Road is developed to permit access/egress.
This would create queues of slow moving, polluting traffic that would disrupt the journey times of commuters and business vehicles alike.
There is nothing positive for the town of North Walsham. There is only negatives. Additional HGV's. Additional pollution. Additional wear and tear on infrastructure. Additional noise. Additional dust and dirt in the air. Additional deitrus on road surfaces. The loss of wildlife. The loss of a piece of our countryside that can NEVER be replaced!!
The planners can produce all the facts and figures they like to try and minimise the disruption so that there application would be approved but they are not the people who have to live with the consequences of their aims.
So what happens after (Should the application be approved)? The report says: "Submission of a progressive restoration to a mix of deciduous woodland and heathland
with public access". Concise to say the least. Restoration does not happen overnight! It took hundreds of years to achieve what we have now. Planting a few saplings as a token gesture hardly does the current woodland justice. There will not be many people, currently alive, who will live to see such a restoration. In addition there is no guarantee, come the conclusion of the extraction, that the land would not become nothing more than an additional piece of land to build on when the North Norfolk Local Plan 2036-56 comes up for review!!
I wholeheartedly object to the application.
Comment
Preferred Options consultation document
Representation ID: 95073
Received: 30/10/2019
Respondent: Natural England
We welcome proposals to restore this allocation to woodland and heathland with public access given its close proximity to North Walsham, the current lack of existing greenspace provision and the planned expansion of the town.
We welcome proposals to restore this allocation to woodland and heathland with public access given its close proximity to North Walsham, the current lack of existing greenspace provision and the planned expansion of the town.