Nottinghamshire County Council has approved a planning application seeking permission to extract a large deposit of former power station ash from a site in Bassetlaw.
Applicant Lound Hive Limited submitted plans to extract, process and export around 300,000 tonnes per annum of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) over a 25-year period from former disposal lagoons close to the villages of Lound and Sutton cum Lound, near Retford.
PFA is the fine ash residue created from burning coal, with the ash at the site originating from the former Cottam Power Station.
The county council’s Planning and Rights of Way Committee voted narrowly in favour of the application after a lengthy debate following the planning officer’s presentation and overall recommendation and a range of public speakers both for and against the proposed development.
Committee chairman, Councillor Mike Quigley MBE – who had the casting vote after the committee vote tied at 6-6 – said: “Members of the committee considered the matters carefully and, on balance, were satisfied with the controls to regulate the development and to limit its environmental impact.
“The permission is also subject to a comprehensive range of conditions in order to mitigate the development’s impact to local communities, including the setting up of a community liaison group, and to provide a range of benefits including for biodiversity and for local employment and training.”
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