Hampshire County Council to make decision on New Milton Sand and Ballast’s gravel extraction plan for Ashley Manor Farm
A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to turn New Milton farmland into a quarry is set to go before councillors for a decision.
New Milton Sand and Ballast wants to turn Ashley Manor Farm into a gravel extraction site.
The 26.8 hectares of agricultural land could be mined for up to 1.5 million tonnes of sharp sand and gravel over more than a decade if the application is approved by Hampshire County Council.
That also depends on the adoption of an update to HCC’s Minerals and Waste Plan, which includes Ashley Manor Farm and sites at Ringwood and Fordingbridge. This is currently with the Secretary of State for examination.
The proposal for Ashley Manor Farm has prompted a strong backlash from residents, with concerns over loss of green land, highway safety and congestion, and the impact on local people’s health.
But the company says the gravel extraction site is necessary to keep businesses and development going in the Forest and further afield.
In a planning statement, New Milton Sand and Ballast said: “(We have) for many years been the principle suppler of building and landscape products in south-west Hampshire.
“The continuation of a local supply of sand and gravel is vital to the business… and the economic benefits it provides.
“Should the supply of these products cease, or more expensive materials be used from third-party quarries outside the area, these benefits would be lost or considerably reduced.
“Construction costs would also rise because substitute materials would have to be imported from further afield, incurring greater haulage costs.”
NMSB also stated it will restore the land for agricultural use after the quarry has been exhausted.
The company’s marketing director Suzanne Wright added: “We’re hopeful we will be able to effectively replace our quarry in Downton with the Ashley Farm site so we can continue to provide builders in the local area with the supplies they need.”
But Marilyn Husbands, of Angel Lane in New Milton, pleaded with HCC to refuse the plans, asking: “What is best for the future of New Milton?
“Up to 15 years of gravel extraction at the entrance to the town followed by an urban park or housing, or farmland that has been producing food since the Iron Age and is already crossed by a public right of way?
“I would say to county councillors, please do not allow more countryside to be destroyed.”
Fellow objector Pam Perry said the “exposed site (would) blow noise and dust over a wide area”, adding there are potential health risks from the dust.
She continued: “The site is high grade, versatile agricultural land, having been used for agriculture since at least the 1870s. It is generally accepted that areas of poorer quality land should be prioritised over higher quality land.
“The site is in the greenbelt, near the bottom of New Milton high street, adjacent to a cemetery and a nursing home, and not far from the rapidly eroding cliffs at Barton.
“The rural open aspect on the eastern approach to New Milton would be lost with the creation of a much enlarged roundabout and access to a quarry, creating a semi industrial area.
“If the quarry goes ahead there will be the period of preparation with a haul road constructed across the open field, blighting the open aspect on the approach to the town.”
David Evans, who lives near Ashley Manor Farm, told the A&T: “My concerns include noise and light pollution, dust, and the destruction that will be caused, and the increase in vehicle traffic to and from the site.
“Our community is reliant on tourism - we’re in a naturally beautiful part of the world, but the intention is to put a huge quarry here, which will have a huge effect on the environment in terms of over development, dust, noise and light pollution. I’m not terribly impressed by the proposal, and I don’t think anybody around here is.”
Hampshire County Council’s regulatory committee members are set to make a decision on the Ashley Manor Farm application at a meeting in Winchester on 13th November.
