Blasting approved at quarry near Tadcaster despite residents' concerns about noise, dust and vibrations

Members of North Yorkshire Council’s strategic planning committee have given the go-ahead for explosives to be used to extract limestone at Jackdaw Crag Quarry, in Stutton, near Tadcaster.

A previous planning permission to extend the site by 26 hectares included a condition preventing blasting due to the impact on local residents.

The owners of the quarry, Darrington Quarries Ltd, however, applied for the restriction to be lifted.

Members of the committee were told that the removal of the condition would not cause any harm as the effects were likely to be minimal and could be managed.

The quarry is within protected green belt land, but council officers say the removal of the clause would not be classed as inappropriate development.

Peter Hunt, who lives within 600m of the quarry, told the committee meeting there were concerns locally about the blasting recommencing at the quarry after it previously stopped in 2016 due its impact on residents.

He said: “There are other ways to extract rock but presumably blasting is quick and cheap, and that might be attractive.”

Mr Hunt said 6.9 million tonnes of rock would be removed.

He added: “That’s 600,000 trucks. If this goes on for ten years, that’s 240 movements every single day, five days a week.

“That’s a tremendous amount of traffic on roads that are not dealing with a 12th of that at the moment.”

But speaking in favour of approving the application, Councillor Richard Foster said: “As long as this is going to be properly monitored by us and we are confident we aren’t doing damage to people’s properties, that’s the big issue for me, but I don’t think we will.”

A majority of councillors voted in favour of lifting the restriction.