The meeting was scheduled to consider two planning applications and to receive reports on enforcement action and outstanding planning applications. The committee was also scheduled to note the applications that had been approved by the Executive Director – Place under delegated powers.

Installation of Ground Mounted Photovoltaic Solar Panels, Inverter Cabins, Underground Cabling, Perimeter Fence, CCTV, Construction of Internal Temporary Access Road, and Construction Site Compound with Associated Landscaping to Form Solar Farm at Land at Former Williamthorpe Colliery, Mansfield Road, Temple Normanton, Chesterfield - Applicant: Derbyshire County Council Planning Application Code No: CD4/0424/2

The first application was for the installation of a solar farm on 10.31 hectares of farmland at the former Williamthorpe Colliery, off Mansfield Road, Temple Normanton. The proposal would cover 9.7 hectares of the site for a temporary period of 40 years, with 14,231 ground based photovoltaic solar panel arrays with an installed capacity of 3.7 Mega Watts.

The site is adjacent to Williamthorpe Country Park, a designated Local Nature Reserve and Local Wildlife Site. The nearest residential properties are located within 50m of the site on Moorland Drive and Mansfield Road.

The report to the committee included a summary of the responses from statutory consultees, including those of Councillor Jack Woolley. He did not object to the scheme, stating that:

Investment in our area is incredibly important, as are projects such as these.

The report also summarised the issues raised in nine representations from members of the public. Seven objected to the scheme, while two others provided general comments on it. The objections included concerns about the loss of fertile farmland, the displacement of wildlife, the negative visual impact on the area and the proximity of the development to the nearby nature reserve and the Five Pits Trail.

The report recommended that the application be approved, subject to a number of conditions. These conditions were designed to mitigate the visual impact of the development, to protect the surrounding trees and woodland, and to ensure that the site is decommissioned and restored to its former condition after 40 years.

The Phased Extraction of Approximately 600,000 Tonnes of Sand and Gravel as a Southern Extension (Part in Staffordshire) to Willington Quarry (in Derbyshire) with Restoration to Conservation Wetland, Lowland Meadow, Biodiversity Enhancements and Flood Attenuation Measures; Retention of Existing Aggregate Processing Plant, Silt Lagoon, Ready-Mix Concrete Plant, Access/ Haul Roads and Soil Bunds, Construction of a Temporary Vehicular Bridge over the River Dove and the Permanent Diversion of Public Right of Way - Burton CP10 Applicant: CEMEX UK Operations Ltd - Code No: CM9/0922/18

The second application was for a southern extension to Willington Quarry, in order to extract approximately 600,000 tonnes of sand and gravel from a 20 hectare area of pastureland. The land, which is located in Staffordshire, is bounded by the Trent and Mersey Canal to the north, agricultural land and the River Trent to the south, and the River Dove to the west.

Because the site straddles the county boundary, identical applications were submitted to both Derbyshire and Staffordshire County Councils. The Staffordshire part of the application, which covers the extraction area, had already been approved by Staffordshire County Council's planning committee, subject to conditions, at its meeting on 1 August 2024.

The Derbyshire part of the application, which is the subject of this report, covers the processing plant and the main access road. The report states that the material differences between this proposal and the development activities within the site that have previously been approved by the council are the location of the source of the mineral and the establishment and use of the bridge between Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

The closest residential properties to the proposed extraction area are located in the village of Newton Solney which lies to the south-east of the site across the River Trent.

The report summarised the responses from statutory consultees, including eleven representations from members of the public. The issues raised included concerns about the impact of noise and dust on residents of Newton Solney and the potential impact on the setting of the Newton Solney Conservation Area.

The report recommended that the application be approved subject to conditions and to the signing of a Section 106 legal agreement. The conditions are designed to control the environmental impact of the development, including the hours of operation, noise and dust levels, and the protection of trees, shrubs, hedgerows and boundary features. The Section 106 agreement would secure the following:

• That the applicant becomes a member of the Mineral Products Association (MPA), in order to provide the safeguard of the MPA’s Restoration Guarantee Fund, or provides an alternative financial guarantee to cover the costs of restoration and aftercare if they do not become a member.
• That the applicant commits to carrying out an additional 20 years of aftercare, for a total of 25 years.

Current Enforcement Action

A report on current enforcement action was scheduled to be provided to the committee for information. It provided details about the status of five ongoing enforcement cases relating to unauthorised waste storage and processing at a site in Lindrick, non-compliance with a condition relating to land stability at Stancliffe Quarry, a change of use of land from agricultural to waste storage at a site in Stanton, the unauthorised deposit of waste materials on land at Park Hills Farm in Weston Underwood, and the importation and deposit of materials at a site on Lady Lea Road in Horsley.

Current Appeals/Called in Applications

The committee was scheduled to be informed that there were no current appeals.

Matters Determined by the Executive Director - Place under Delegated Powers

Finally, the committee was scheduled to be informed of the applications that had been approved by the Executive Director – Place under delegated powers. The report listed ten approvals, including a non-material amendment to a previous planning permission for Whitwell Quarry, the installation of a caustic dosing kiosk at Dronfield Wastewater Treatment Works, a change of use of land for sewage treatment purposes at Kilburn Sewage Treatment Works in Horsley, the development of a strategic greenway between Little Eaton and Rawson Green, the erection of a new steel portal-framed building at Stanton Recycling Ltd in Ilkeston, the erection of a teaching block at Norbriggs Primary School in Woodthorpe, the installation of external condensers at Netherseal St Peter's C of E Primary School in Netherseal, an extension to the operational area of Duffield Sewage Treatment Works in Duffield, and the installation of kiosks at Whaley Bridge Wastewater Treatment Works in Furness Vale. The report also listed the approval of a number of schemes at Tunstead Quarry in Buxton that had been required by conditions attached to previous planning permissions.