The Staffordshire Council Planning Committee met to discuss the annual report for Planning Committee of Safety of Sports Grounds, appoint members to the Countryside and Rights of Way panel, and decide on an application for permission by Holcim UK Limited to extend Newbold Quarry. The committee approved the appointment of members to the Countryside and Rights of Way panel, and voted to consult the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding the Newbold Quarry application, as Sports England had objected to the proposal. The committee also noted the planning committee protocols and policies, and the planning policy development management full year report for 2024-2025.

Safety of Sports Grounds Annual Report

Mark Wilson, Technical and Business Manager in the Trading Standards Department of Staffordshire County Council, presented the annual report for the Planning Committee of Safety of Sports Grounds. The report detailed the work completed during the last financial year to ensure the council met its statutory obligations under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975¹ and the Fire Safety and Safety at Sports Grounds Act 1987².

The council is responsible for administering the acts in respect of sports grounds in Staffordshire. This duty relates to designated grounds, which are sports grounds with a capacity of over 10,000, and 5,000 for football, requiring a safety certificate granted by the local authority. In Staffordshire, this relates to Burton Albion Football Club alone. Sports stadiums with a covered stand of a capacity of over 500 standing or seated spectators are known as a regulated stand, also requiring a safety certificate. Staffordshire has seven of these stands at venues detailed in the report.

Mark Wilson noted that there had been significant changes of key personnel at Burton Albion Football Club, including new ownership in 2024, the departure of the safety officer in November 2024, the departure of the temporary safety officer, and the chief executive officer following the end of the current season in April 2025. He confirmed that the club are currently actively recruiting for a suitably experienced safety officer.

He also drew the committee's attention to the delivery of anti-counter-terrorism training on 5 September 2024 at Yutoxita Racecourse and the February 2025 Safety Advisory Group at the venue, which additionally focused on contingency planning, including counter-terrorism arrangements. He noted that inspection planning for 2025-26 would include assisting the venue safety management teams with awareness and further preparedness and planning towards the implementation of the Terrorism Protection of Premises Act 2025, also known as Martin's Law³.

Mark Wilson highlighted that resources were maintained at 0.7 FTE⁴ to ensure resilience and capacity to discharge statutory duties effectively and efficiently. He also noted that the most recent SGSA⁵ audit, which was in January 2024, had moved to a biannual process. Recommendations were made and have subsequently been completed. The next SGSA audit is scheduled for December 2025.

Councillor Nicholas Lakin, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, asked about the difference in inspection between Burton Albion and other football grounds such as Stafford Rangers, Tamworth Football Grounds, and Hensford Town Football Grounds. Mark Wilson explained that designated grounds are of a higher status and supported by the football league, therefore requiring a specific level of engagement.

Councillor Lakin also asked whether clubs would get additional support if they had a successful FA Cup run. Mark Wilson confirmed that each event or occurrence is risk-rated, and the Safety Advisory Group allows all the partner agencies and voluntary sector to come together to discuss planning in and around an event.

The committee noted the activity completed in respect of safety of sports grounds for the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Appointment of Members to the Countryside and Rights of Way Panel

The committee approved the appointment of Councillors Bob Egginton, Mike Broome, James Hodges, Warwick McKenzie, Nicholas Thompson, Val Chapman, and Michelle Woods to the Countryside and Rights of Way panel.

Newbold Quarry Extension Application

The committee discussed an application for permission by Holcim UK Limited,⁶ formerly Aggregate Industries UK Limited, for a northern extension to Newbold Quarry for winning and working of sand and gravel with the restoration thereafter to water-based recreation and nature conservation, using imported and inert material with the continued use of existing access, site offices, processing plant, site lagoons and ancillary infrastructure at the Newbold Quarry, Litchfield Road, Barton under Needwood, DE13 8EG.

David Bray, speaking for the council, explained that the application had been submitted to extend the quarry and includes the existing quarry itself. The extension was allocated in the minerals local plan for future mineral extraction, and the latest planning permission for the quarry was granted in 2021. Quarrying has been operating at this site since the 1960s, and the applicant anticipates that the existing quarry will be fully worked by late 2025.

He noted that 2.8 million tons in sand and gravel would be extracted over a two-and-a-half to three-year time period, depending on the rate of extraction. The extraction would take place in four phases, and progressive restoration would be carried out during this time, using available on-site materials, and also the imported inert waste. Final restoration would take place over a two-year period. The footpaths would need to be diverted, and that would be a separate matter that would need to be dealt with by the County Council.

An acoustic fence will be constructed along the northern, northwest, and northeastern boundaries of the site, along with the screening bund that will be constructed next to the car park for the John Taylor Free School. The sand and gravel would be extracted using an excavator and transported by a dump truck to a field hopper adjacent to the conveyor. The sand and gravel would then be transported to the existing processing plant by the conveyor, and the processed sand would then be placed in stockpiles before being removed from the site using the existing access on the A38.

The plan includes a lake with a maximum depth of 10 metres with nature conservation area and an orchard along the boundary. The inert waste materials would supplement the on-site soils and would be used to create areas of shallows and terraces of reed bed. Footpaths around the boundary would also be included.

David Bray noted that no objections have been raised by technical consultees, including the County Council's environmental advice team, the Highway Authority, the noise engineer, flood risk management team, and also from East Appsborough Council and the Environment Agency, Highways England, in relation to the access onto the A38 and the Canal and Rivers Trust. Sport England have objected to the proposal due to the loss of the sports provision at Burton Rugby Club. The National Forest Company and the Southshire Wildlife Trust have also raised some concerns.

He explained that although there is no current need for additional reserves to maintain the county's sand and gravel land bank, the proposed extension would maintain production at the quarry following the exhaustion of the quarry's permitted reserves later this year.

David Bray stated that the quarry will be progressively restored using the on-site soils and then also overburden as well as the imported materials. A total of 500,000 cubic metres of inert waste would be imported to the site. He also noted that the applicant would be a member of the minerals products association restoration guarantee funds.

He acknowledged that representations have been received concerning the proximity to the site to the John Taylor Free School, the Burton Rugby Club and also the residential properties, relating to noise, dust and air pollution from the extension.

David Bray explained that Sports England have objected to the proposal, stating that the proposal would not accord with any of their exemptions in their playing fields policy or in paragraph 104 of the National Planning Practice Framework, based on the use of a strip of land within the extension area, which is used by the Burton Rugby Club. However, the rugby club have no objection to the application and have indicated that the land has been used for a training purpose and in the knowledge that the land would be only used for a short-term basis until required by the quarry.

He concluded that the conditions and the heads of terms described in the reports are necessary, relevant, fair and reasonably related in scale and in kinds to the development to minimise its impacts and to ensure the quarry operates to high environmental standards as well as to achieve high quality restoration.

Selina Gaskarth from Heaton Planning, working on behalf of Holcim, spoke in support of the application. She stated that the planning permission would ensure the continued employment of 65 direct employees, and once mineral extraction has ceased, the site would be restored to recreation and nature conservation. She also noted that the site is allocated within the adopted Staffordshire Minerals Local Plan and local policy therefore supports mineral extraction from within the extension area.

Selina Gaskarth clarified that the proposals will not result in any new or additional traffic movements on the local highway network or through the local villages, and that the proposal would provide increased flood alleviation to local residents, the school and rugby club downstream of Tate and Hill Brook, both during the working phase and post-restoration.

She also stated that Holcim is actively engaged within the community and provides both financial contributions and construction materials to local community groups, charities, local improvement schemes as well as the neighbouring Burton Rugby Club and John Taylor Free School.

Selina Gaskarth addressed the objection from Sport England, stating that it is based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of the facts on the ground, and that the planning application represents no loss of pitches because the Rugby Club does not currently use the land in question as a playing surface.

Councillor Catherine Brown submitted local member comments, which were read out by Jo Piech. Councillor Brown expressed alarm at the planning application, stating that the mitigating actions for noise barriers and buffer zones are just not suitable or enough, and that dust, noise, light pollution, 850 lorries per day and the quarry working hours are major issues and cannot be underestimated. She requested that the northern limit of the Newbold Quarry extension is the Footpath 25 with a much wider and more suitable buffer zone around the Burton Rugby Club.

David Bray responded to Councillor Brown's comments, clarifying that there will be no vehicles associated with a quarry going to and from the extension area near to the high school or to the 2,000 houses that the local member has referred to, and that no changes are proposed to the current operating hours.

He also noted that there is a quarry liaison committee, and normally the local county councillor for that area is invited to attend or more normally to be chair of that liaison meeting, so Councillor Brown will be actively with that committee if she wanted to do that.

Councillor Lakin asked what solid inert material would include, and what pulverised fuel ash contains. David Bray explained that solid inert waste is things like soils and that type of material, so it's not hazardous or anything like that, bricks and construction waste. He also noted that the existing permission allows pulverised fuel ash to happen already, but they've not applied for pulverised fuel ash as part of this extension.

Selina Gaskarth added that the existing quarry did have a permit that allowed PFA to be accepted into the site along with inert material, but there's no proposal for PFA to be accepted at the extension area, it will just be cleared as well.

Councillor Warwick McKenzie asked whether it is going to go for dry extraction in the new area, and where all the water goes when it's being extracted that you're going to pump out. Selina Gaskarth explained that the mineral would be worked dry, so the top layers would be dry anyway, and then when they reached the water table there'd be a need to dewater the site through pumping.

Councillor Biam Moore asked whether statements for species protection during the clearance operations had been received, and where the existing bridleway was actually going to be rerouted or will that bridleway now be lost. David Bray confirmed that the wildlife trust requested some information and the applicants submitted matters to it to address that, and that the bridleway won't be changed, it's the footpaths that will be changed because they go across the site and they'll be reinstated as part of the the restoration restoration proposal.

Councillor Mark Nixon asked what the makeup of the dust is, whether there is a potential for silica to be present, and what is the anticipated fallout if we do have an event where. David Bray explained that the Environment Agency and the local authority environmental health are responsible for pollution control, and that the borough council environmental health no objections.

Selina Gaskarth added that it's not silica sand so that that shouldn't be an issue, and that the dust and the part of the potential for particles beyond the site boundary was assessed.

The committee voted to consult the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding the application, as Sports England had objected to the proposal.

Planning Committee Protocols and Policies

Julie, speaking for the council, explained that the report was to inform the planning committee that all the policies and the protocols that were were previously approved by the planning committee is seven separate documents, they've all been compiled into the one document. She noted that the only amendments and updates have just been to reflect any any minor text changes to to any of those documents.

The committee noted the planning committee protocols and policies.

Planning Policy Development Management Full Year Report 2024-2025

Julie, speaking for the council, explained that the report was to inform the planning committee about planning development management activities and planning policy making and related matters at the end of the 2024 2025 financial year. She noted that the team has produced an annual monitoring report, and reviewed the decisions made on minerals and waste developments against policies in our minerals local plan and our waste local plan, concluding that the policies in the local plans are still working well.

She also stated that work on preparing for the review of those local plans remains on hold until further information is published on planning reforms and future plan making by by the government by by the ministry of housing communities and local government.

Julie explained that the government threshold is 60% of our decisions within statutory time limit or agreed extended period, and that 100% of our decisions reported to the government were within the statutory time limit or agreed extended period. She also noted that 11 out of 14 applications were determined under delegated powers, so that's 79%, which meant three were brought to planning committee.

The committee noted the planning policy development management full year report 2024-2025.