Specific Site Allocation Policy MIN 06 (land off East Winch Road, Mill Drove, Middleton):

Object

Representation ID: 99248

Received: 14/12/2022

Respondent: Historic England

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

We have no objections to the allocation of this site, which would have limited impact on designated heritage assets. However, the site will be for the extraction of carstone, a material that can be used for building stone purposes. Carstone is probably the most important building stone within the county and can be seen in historic buildings and structures of western Norfolk. It is largely quarried today for construction rather than conservation purposes, but it is essential that some extraction takes place for building stone uses and that minimal crushing of good quality carstone takes place for construction purposes.
We note from the first paragraph that the carstone deposit in this site allocation is unsuitable for building stone use. We hope this has been based on a thorough investigation of the deposit within the site and it can be clearly demonstrated that the mineral is of insufficient quality for conservation purposes. If the evidence is lacking, then Policy MIN 6 should include reference to the need for further investigation to establish the quality of the carstone deposit before extraction takes place. This might prevent good quality stone from being needlessly wasted.
In our previous response we raised the issue of exploring the possibility of an alternative site for building stone be given that that this site is of insufficient quality for use as a building stone. It is important that such stone is available for historic conservation work and also for limited use in new build where using traditional building materials can be a helpful design tool in picking up on local vernacular, character and distinctiveness in sensitive design.