Derbyshire residents to have their say on quarrying

RESIDENTS of Derbyshire are being invited to comment on a Development Plan Document (DPD) being drawn-up to help deal with quarrying in the county (outside the Peak District National Park) in the future.

Derbyshire County Council, together with Derby City Council, is putting together a plan – called the Derby and Derbyshire Aggregate Mineral Sites Document – to identify sites where quarrying could take place at any time between 2008 and 2019. The plan will eventually supersede the relevant parts of the Minerals Local Plan.

Last year the county’s residents were asked for their views about more than 20 suggested sites and these were used to draw-up a list of the most suitable ‘preferred sites’. The councils also drafted a number of new policies to deal with future planning applications and now want to know what people think of these policies and the list of preferred sites.

Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, Councillor Geoff Carlile, commented: ‘Derbyshire plays an important part in providing minerals for the UK building industry. We want to make sure we can meet the demands while causing the least amount of damage as possible to the environment.

‘We said we’d consult people every step of the way and now we want to know their views about the places we think are the most suitable for quarrying in the future.’

Residents have until 12 October 2007 to submit their comments on the preferred options, after which the councils will prepare a draft for submission to the Secretary of State in summer 2008. An independent inspector will carry out a public examination of the DPD in 2009.