Wildlife charity to formally object to plans to extract pulverised ash next to Bassetlaw beauty spot

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the county’s largest locally-based environmental charity, has confirmed it will be objecting to plans to extract pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from former ash disposal lagoons south of Lound, near Retford – immediately adjacent to the trust’s largest site – the Idle Valley Nature Reserve.

At the heart of the reserve is the Sutton & Lound Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the charity, which has previously responded to a technical Scoping Consultation and highlighted its concerns over possible impacts on wildlife habitats, feels it has no option but to object due to the lack of sufficient detail in the planning application about the likely impact of noise, dust and hydrogeological changes on the wildlife of the nature reserve and surrounding area.

Speaking about the application, the trust’s Head of Nature Recovery (North) Janice Bradley MBE said: “This a large and complex proposal making it vital for us to carefully review the possible negative impacts on the wildlife of the reserve and surrounding area, whilst considering the potential for beneficial restoration of priority floodplain habitats before responding.

“We’ve now scrutinised all the technical details of the application, but the lack of crucial information relating to likely hydrogeological changes and the impact of noise and dust on the most sensitive wildlife means that we are unable to fully assess the potential impacts. We will therefore be objecting.”

The trust has welcomed the fact that the applicant completed a suite of ecological surveys as requested, but the gaps in the information provided mean it is unable to form a balanced view.

The charity also has concerns about proposed direct impacts on parts of the SSSI outside the nature reserve, and part of an adjacent local wildlife site. As the hosts of the popular Idle Valley Rural Learning Centre café and shop, the trust is also concerned about the traffic impact on visitors of HGVs transporting the PFA from the site onto the highway network, close to the learning centre.

Janice added: “As we face up to both ecological and climate crises, it is vital that we carefully weigh the possible negative impacts on wildlife and visitors of this proposal against the potential for wider environmental benefits, not least reduced carbon emissions. As we seek to put nature into recovery, we must also carefully consider the potential for long-term re-creation of some of the scarcest wetland habitats in the county, that might result from this scheme.

"However, as things stand, we cannot fully assess the negative impacts – so we have no option but to object. We are aware that many reserve visitors and local residents share concerns about the proposal and we would recommend that anyone concerned about the impact on wildlife, their personal enjoyment of this special nature reserve or their quality of life, to submit a formal response via Nottinghamshire County Council’s website.”

The closing date for responses in Monday 8th May and details of how to respond can be found at nottinghamshire.gov.uk/planningsearch

The planning reference is ES/4518.