Preferred Options consultation document
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Preferred Options consultation document
AOS F - land to the north of Stow Bardolph
Representation ID: 98307
Received: 28/10/2019
Respondent: West Norfolk Riding for Disabled Association
We write this letter in response to the Preferred Options Consultation for the Proposed Silica Extraction Site AOS F at Land north of Stow Bardolph within the Norfolk Minerals Local Plan Review.
Background
West Norfolk Riding for Disabled Association is based at the Magpie Centre within the grounds of Wallington Hall Estate.
The Magpie Centre was set up as a Riding for the Disabled charity in West Norfolk in 1990 under a trustee committee and became a company limited by Guarantee in October 2011. Our Director and Patron is the Princess Royal Princess Anne. It should be noted that we are the only dedicated RDA facility in Norfolk and the only group in the county to offer carriage driving.
We give riding and carriage driving to over 120 children and adults with a wide spectrum of physical, mental and learning disabilities, children from as young as 3 up to adults in their 80s. We operate 5 days a week and 2 evenings during the school terms, with carriage driving on 3 days a week. Special events, carriage driving and lessons take place during the school holidays. We also have fundraising events during the year which attract a large number of people to the Centre, along with Open Days. We are also growing our services to offer Equine Assisted Therapy for those people living with dementia and those with mental health issues, using both the riding horses and also carriage driving.
We employ 6 part time members of staff and we have in excess of 80 volunteers who come to help at the Magpie Centre from the local and extended area. Three days per week up to 10 Community Service Volunteers come to help with field maintenance and 2 of these ride with us.
We have the use of an indoor school for riding so we can work all year round but we also use many of the tracks and fields for hacks around the 600 acre estate at Wallington. All the carriage driving takes place on these tracks all year round.
Our riding and carriage driving lessons are available for people with a wide spectrum of physical and learning disabilities. It is because of their disabilities that people come to the Magpie Centre as they are unable to have lessons at other riding establishments. They need our specially trained horses, and trained instructors to teach them and trained volunteers to help them. All our carriages are adapted to take wheelchairs so all our clients can learn to carriage drive. We have a large catchment area of some 600 miles from Wallington Hall.
Potential impact of the proposed silica extraction on our riders and carriage drivers
All our carriage driving is done outside all year round, along tracks and fields around the 600 acre Wallington Estate. During the good weather many of our riding lessons also take place outside, also using the tracks and fields.
This proposed extraction site is likely to have an adverse effect on air quality, with a knock on effect for our riders, volunteers and horses. A great number of our carriage drivers suffer from respiratory problems alongside their other disabilities and any such reduction in air quality will be highly detrimental to their health. Our carriage drivers range in age up to the late 70s, so with an older clientele, anything that might increase their risk of illness is unacceptable. Anything that would affect the health of our horses and volunteers also needs to be taken into account. Horses as well as people can suffer from poor air quality and if our horses are out of action for any reason this means the cancelling of lessons and a subsequent drop in revenue for the Centre and disappointment for the riders who look forward to their outings.
Two of our main drives that we use for the carriages go alongside the woods and include the proposed site AOS F 'Land north of Stow Bardolph' site west of the A10. We need to use these tracks in the winter because several other tracks are heavily pitted and churned up by the use of heavy farm machinery and contractor equipment for lifting sugar beet. These vehicles obviously cause considerable damage to the tracks and alternatives are used for the safety and well being of our carriage drivers, mainly the two tracks alongside the proposed site.
Any extraction from the site at AOS F is going to cause dust, reduced air quality and noise, all of which would be detrimental to our clients and horses. If there were any risk whatsoever, we would not be able to carriage drive, again losing revenue and customers and putting our Centre at risk. Noise, traffic and dust are all a real hazard and would be accentuated by the proposal put forward. We have very strict health and safety guidelines that we must adhere to for the safety of our horses, clients and volunteers and anything that would affect their safety would mean cancellation, lost revenue, and pleasure to many of our clients who gain a great deal from their weekly carriage and riding lessons.
Potential increased traffic impact
As the proposed silica sand extraction site at the land north of Stow Bardolph is located some distance from the processing plant, it is likely that the volume of traffic on the A10 will increase as a result. We have clients travelling to us from some distance using the A10 and an increase in traffic could cause serious disruption and delay. We rely heavily on our volunteers, some of whom come quite a distance and from both south and north using the A10 to Wallington Hall. Delays for either the clients or the volunteers can lead to possible missed or cancelled lessons. There is only one entrance into the Magpie Centre and this is already an extremely busy and fast road with many overtaking problems. When leaving the Centre, already difficult at peak times now, this will become extremely dangerous and difficult with increased heavy traffic that the proposed plan will produce on the A10.
It should be noted that during any large fundraising events at Wallington Hall access to the Centre is restricted to a left turn only approaching from Downham Market. Right turns approaching from King's Lynn are not allowed and traffic is diverted along the A10 to the Downham roundabout. These restrictions are managed by Highways England and authorised by Kings Lynn Borough Council
There will be far more heavy traffic on the A10 with the proposed new site. Slow moving lorries with other road users trying to overtake will mean it is far more dangerous for our service users to turn right into the Wallington drive. Far more delays would be expected with heavy traffic.
Conclusion
In West Norfolk there are very limited sporting activities available to those with disabilities and our Centre provides a facility where people can fulfil their potential through riding and driving. Any likely disruption to our ability to carry out our day to day running of lessons and carriage driving is likely to have a huge impact on the community that we help.
In taking into account the above, and the representations made on behalf of Mr and Mrs Plaxton it is hoped that the site AOS F will be removed from the Norfolk Minerals Local Plan and a more suitable site agreed.
We write this letter in response to the Preferred Options Consultation for the Proposed Silica Extraction Site AOS F at Land north of Stow Bardolph within the Norfolk Minerals Local Plan Review.
Background
West Norfolk Riding for Disabled Association is based at the Magpie Centre within the grounds of Wallington Hall Estate.
The Magpie Centre was set up as a Riding for the Disabled charity in West Norfolk in 1990 under a trustee committee and became a company limited by Guarantee in October 2011. Our Director and Patron is the Princess Royal Princess Anne. It should be noted that we are the only dedicated RDA facility in Norfolk and the only group in the county to offer carriage driving.
We give riding and carriage driving to over 120 children and adults with a wide spectrum of physical, mental and learning disabilities, children from as young as 3 up to adults in their 80s. We operate 5 days a week and 2 evenings during the school terms, with carriage driving on 3 days a week. Special events, carriage driving and lessons take place during the school holidays. We also have fundraising events during the year which attract a large number of people to the Centre, along with Open Days. We are also growing our services to offer Equine Assisted Therapy for those people living with dementia and those with mental health issues, using both the riding horses and also carriage driving.
We employ 6 part time members of staff and we have in excess of 80 volunteers who come to help at the Magpie Centre from the local and extended area. Three days per week up to 10 Community Service Volunteers come to help with field maintenance and 2 of these ride with us.
We have the use of an indoor school for riding so we can work all year round but we also use many of the tracks and fields for hacks around the 600 acre estate at Wallington. All the carriage driving takes place on these tracks all year round.
Our riding and carriage driving lessons are available for people with a wide spectrum of physical and learning disabilities. It is because of their disabilities that people come to the Magpie Centre as they are unable to have lessons at other riding establishments. They need our specially trained horses, and trained instructors to teach them and trained volunteers to help them. All our carriages are adapted to take wheelchairs so all our clients can learn to carriage drive. We have a large catchment area of some 600 miles from Wallington Hall.
Potential impact of the proposed silica extraction on our riders and carriage drivers
All our carriage driving is done outside all year round, along tracks and fields around the 600 acre Wallington Estate. During the good weather many of our riding lessons also take place outside, also using the tracks and fields.
This proposed extraction site is likely to have an adverse effect on air quality, with a knock on effect for our riders, volunteers and horses. A great number of our carriage drivers suffer from respiratory problems alongside their other disabilities and any such reduction in air quality will be highly detrimental to their health. Our carriage drivers range in age up to the late 70s, so with an older clientele, anything that might increase their risk of illness is unacceptable. Anything that would affect the health of our horses and volunteers also needs to be taken into account. Horses as well as people can suffer from poor air quality and if our horses are out of action for any reason this means the cancelling of lessons and a subsequent drop in revenue for the Centre and disappointment for the riders who look forward to their outings.
Two of our main drives that we use for the carriages go alongside the woods and include the proposed site AOS F 'Land north of Stow Bardolph' site west of the A10. We need to use these tracks in the winter because several other tracks are heavily pitted and churned up by the use of heavy farm machinery and contractor equipment for lifting sugar beet. These vehicles obviously cause considerable damage to the tracks and alternatives are used for the safety and well being of our carriage drivers, mainly the two tracks alongside the proposed site.
Any extraction from the site at AOS F is going to cause dust, reduced air quality and noise, all of which would be detrimental to our clients and horses. If there were any risk whatsoever, we would not be able to carriage drive, again losing revenue and customers and putting our Centre at risk. Noise, traffic and dust are all a real hazard and would be accentuated by the proposal put forward. We have very strict health and safety guidelines that we must adhere to for the safety of our horses, clients and volunteers and anything that would affect their safety would mean cancellation, lost revenue, and pleasure to many of our clients who gain a great deal from their weekly carriage and riding lessons.
Potential increased traffic impact
As the proposed silica sand extraction site at the land north of Stow Bardolph is located some distance from the processing plant, it is likely that the volume of traffic on the A10 will increase as a result. We have clients travelling to us from some distance using the A10 and an increase in traffic could cause serious disruption and delay. We rely heavily on our volunteers, some of whom come quite a distance and from both south and north using the A10 to Wallington Hall. Delays for either the clients or the volunteers can lead to possible missed or cancelled lessons. There is only one entrance into the Magpie Centre and this is already an extremely busy and fast road with many overtaking problems. When leaving the Centre, already difficult at peak times now, this will become extremely dangerous and difficult with increased heavy traffic that the proposed plan will produce on the A10.
It should be noted that during any large fundraising events at Wallington Hall access to the Centre is restricted to a left turn only approaching from Downham Market. Right turns approaching from King's Lynn are not allowed and traffic is diverted along the A10 to the Downham roundabout. These restrictions are managed by Highways England and authorised by Kings Lynn Borough Council
There will be far more heavy traffic on the A10 with the proposed new site. Slow moving lorries with other road users trying to overtake will mean it is far more dangerous for our service users to turn right into the Wallington drive. Far more delays would be expected with heavy traffic.
Conclusion
In West Norfolk there are very limited sporting activities available to those with disabilities and our Centre provides a facility where people can fulfil their potential through riding and driving. Any likely disruption to our ability to carry out our day to day running of lessons and carriage driving is likely to have a huge impact on the community that we help.
In taking into account the above, and the representations made on behalf of Mr and Mrs Plaxton it is hoped that the site AOS F will be removed from the Norfolk Minerals Local Plan and a more suitable site agreed.
