Preferred Options consultation document

Norfolk Minerals and Waste Local Plan Review: Preferred Options Consultation AOS E - Land Between Marham and Shouldham
The Open Spaces Society (formerly the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society) is Britain's oldest national conservation body, founded in 1865. The society works to protect and create common land, village greens, open spaces and public paths, in town and country, in England and Wales.
I write on behalf of the Open Spaces Society to object to the inclusion of the area called "AOS E", in the Preferred Options document. I understand that this area includes Shouldham Warren and overlaps with the area formerly SIL 02, in the Norfolk Minerals and Waste Local Plan. It is a matter of concern that the Norfolk County Council has announced the removal of SIL 02 when in actual fact a good third of it is now included in "AOS E".
The area of "AOS E" is located on the important area of transition in the county between the Fens and the Brecks, and includes features of significant amenity value to the wider public, including Shouldham Warren and areas of undeveloped agricultural land of high landscape value, and is located adjacent to a large area of fen edge, and within a historic environment which contains numerous high value heritage assets from multiple time periods starting in early prehistory.
Crucially, this area is able to viewed and enjoyed by the public to a high extent, through a considerable number of public rights-of-way and highways. The public rights of way, as well as Shouldham Warren, are much enjoyed by pedestrians and riders, and are generally historic. The effect upon public rights of way would be devastating, necessitating their diversion or closure over undoubtedly considerable periods of time, and it is questionable how practicable it would be to restore them, subsequent to extraction works, to anything like their original character. The change to the historic landscape of the area, following extraction, would be devastating. Shouldham Warren is a long established feature on the map if Norfolk, now long characterised and highly enjoyed as a large and peaceful woodland plantation. There would be a negative impact upon habitats for birds, animals, and insects, too. The Warren is, I understand, a home to some 64 species of conservation concern, including endangered bats, nightjars and woodlarks.
Extraction operations in any part of this "AOS E" would have a severe and permanent negative impact upon the public's enjoyment of this beautiful and important part of the Norfolk countryside. This would have a negative impact on the public's recreation and social well-being.

We object to the fact that there would be no benefit to the local community or wider public from this proposal. A number of local communities would bear the brunt of a hugely disruptive and harmful industrial process, and a very popular public amenity - enjoyed by a much larger section of the population - would be permanently, severely harmed, with the only beneficiaries essentially being private interests. We urge the Norfolk County Council to put the wider public interest before private profit, and remove "AOS E" completely from the Preferred Options list.