Cat Smith Working for Lancaster and Fleetwood
Preesall residents are facing the daunting prospect of a quarry and inert waste infill site in the village, which has been going through planning motions now for the past two years.
The full application has now been submitted and is open to consultation, which can be found here: https://planningregister.lancashire.gov.uk/Planning/Display/LCC/2023/0030.
I have now written to Lancashire County Council opposing the application, which you can read below.
I have been vocal in my opposition to this quarry from the get-go, and I’ve taken action:
- Held public meetings
- Presented a Parliamentary Petition against the Quarry
- Consulted with over Wyre Medical Centre to get local resident health statistics
- Demanded a full Health Impact Assessment of the proposal to Public Health England
- Joined the Clean Quarrying All Party Parliamentary Group
- Supported cross-party Private Members Bills on clean quarrying and planning
Residents are clear: We don’t want a quarry here.
The health implications of this proposal are alarming. There are two schools within 2km of the proposed site, and Fleetwood’s Charity Primary School is within a 1km radius of the proposed site. There are nursing homes and a higher than average population of older people and pensioners as many people choose to retire to this coastal area – which is home to a huge diversity of wildlife, flora and fauna.
Over Wyre Medical Centre supports 11,435 residents. Of those, 477 patients have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and there are 815 patients on the Asthma Register. Worryingly, 1,361 patients use bronchio-dilators or inhaled corticosteroids – in other words, 12% of patients on Over Wyre Medical Centre books need an inhaler.
This site is estimated to result in 43,000 return trips for transporting 460,000 tonnes of gravel and sand down the area’s narrow rural roads and these roads cannot withstand consistent 25-tonne HGV journeys. Further concerns include the environmental destruction that will have to take place to create the quarry, removing topsoil, subsoil, and aquatic areas leading to a loss of habitats and biodiversity.
The constant movement of heavy goods vehicles will create noise pollution, there may be silica dust pollution from the moving of the sand and gravel and lastly, I am concerned about the contamination of water and the disruption of surface and groundwater sources, especially given the area’s history of localised flooding.
I am also separately concerned about the scope of the notifications given to Preesall residents. The implications of the proposal would clearly impact the whole village and area, not just the 85 properties listed in the Neighbour List, and I want to see more consultation go to local residents.
On the basis of the health implications set out above, large level of disruption on small local roads, and the environmental destruction, I strongly disagree with this project’s implementation and I feel the community has made itself perfectly clear in rejecting this.
Related Links
Cat Joins the Clean Quarrying APPG!
Cat Challenges LCC on Quarry Health Implications
Cat Submits Parliamentary Petition Against Preesall Quarry [VIDEO]
Cat Lends Support to Quarrying Bill
“Stop The Quarry”; Cat Meets With Preesall Residents