PLANS for a quarry and access road have been turned down by Torfaen council over fears of the “irreplaceable loss” of ancient woodland.

 

A planning application at Tirpentwys Cut was submitted in 2003 and involves building a quarry and access road onto the A472 Hafodyrynys Road, in Crumlin.

 

The operation would involve an estimated 12 staff recovering Pennant Sandstone materials from former opencast coal waste tips.

 

These materials would be used in the road construction industry and transported from the quarry site through a new access road snaking through a patch of ancient woodland.

 

The entire project aimed to recover 4.75 million tonnes from the site at the rate of 100 tonnes a day — a figure equating to 100 HGV movements per day along the access road.

 

Around 14 years on from the application being lodged, Torfaen County Borough Council’s planning committee refused the plans on the grounds of potential damage to ancient woodland.

 

In a lively meeting this evening (TUES, APRIL 25) that lasted for almost two hours, planning committee members, council officers and guest speakers from several Gwent organisations aired their concerns.

 

This included objectors from the Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly county borough and Torfaen areas discussing issues from ecological damage and increased traffic to pollution and traffic safety.

 

Vice Chairman of the Campaign For the Protection of Rural Wales (CPRW), Vic Warren, argued that the site should be used for “recreation and tourism, not minerals”.

 

He added that an access road through the ancient woodland would leave the area “permanently changed” and described it as “serious ecological vandalism”.

 

Torfaen CBC’s ecologist, Steve Williams, strongly objected to the plans, stating the access road being built directly through ancient woodland, was “unacceptable”.

 

He added that while trees have been felled in the past to create an agricultural path in the woodland, the proposed quarry access road would have a “lasting impact” that “can’t be mitigated”.

 

Other concerns included potential traffic increases onto the A472 and Hafodyrynys Road, Crumlin — a road confirmed by UK Government data as one of the most polluted roads outside of London (2016).

 

A Torfaen CBC highways officer added that while the quarry would create increases in traffic, it would not be a sufficient reason to reject the application.

 

But an agent, speaking on behalf of applicant Peakman Ltd at the meeting, stated that the economic benefits of the quarry should be treated as equally as ecological matters.

 

The spokesman said the quarry was the only “mineral extraction” development allocated in Torfaen CBC's land plan (LDP) and that the council is “obligated” to make a “contribution to the aggregate supply”.

 

He added that the applicant would be “very aggrieved” if after 14 years, the application was refused as it was listed in the council's LDP.

 

However, the planning committee agreed to back council officers recommendations to refuse the application on grounds of the “irreplaceable loss” of ancient woodland.