Wildlife comeback on the cards as Sunderland's Field House Quarry restoration finally gets green light

Sunderland City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting this week, approved an application for Field House Quarry near Houghton-le-Spring.

According to planning documents, the quarry was once a “source of quality permian sand overlain by magnesium limestone rock” but extraction stopped decades ago and the quarry void has not been fully restored since, despite “continuing operations.”

Works to restore the quarry have included the import of inert materials such as clays and soils, under a permit issued by the Environment Agency, which are processed and sorted for recycling and then used to infill the quarry void.

The current vehicular access to the site is via the private track from Field House Farm to the south-west of the quarry.

A new planning application, submitted to Sunderland City Council last year (2024), sought permission for a long-term project to continue to restore the land to make it suitable for wildlife once again.

Planning documents from applicants said restoration was originally expected to be completed by 2015 but that operations had slowed due to a “change in local and national government policy […] placing great emphasis on the recycling of waste.”

New plans aimed to “regularise the existing situation in relation to works to restore the quarry” and to “construct a new vehicular access to the north of the site”, with the new haulage road “taken from the north-west corner of the site to the public highway to the north off Stoneygate Lane.”

Council planning documents said the new road would be single track with passing places and that the “total number of vehicles using this road is limited to 30 vehicles a day, which is 60 vehicle movements per day.”

During a council public consultation exercise on the quarry plans, there were six objections raising concerns about impacts on heritage, amenity and issues around highway and pedestrian safety.

Sunderland City Council’s planning department, in a committee report published ahead of a decision-making meeting this week, recommended the planning application for approval.

Councillors on the Planning and Highways Committee, at a meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, approved the new planning application.

Council planners, in a committee report, noted previous restoration works had “exceeded the time limit” detailed in a previous planning application approved back in the late 1990s.

While confirming that more restoration works over the next 15 years would be acceptable, they said works should be controlled by a planning condition to “ensure that the site is restored within a reasonable period of time.”

In a presentation to councillors, planning officers said the development represented the “continued restoration of the site” and included the construction of a “temporary” new access road.

Councillors heard a representative from Middle Haining Farm had initially requested to speak at the decision-making planning meeting but submitted a written representation instead as they were “no longer able to attend”.

Concerns included highway and pedestrian safety issues, namely increased traffic and the “likely” potential for an accident, although council planners noted council highway officers had no objections to the planning application “in relation to its impact on highway safety.”

There were no questions or comments from councillors on the planning application and after being put to the vote, the plans were approved unanimously.

A previous council committee report added there would be “no changes to the hours of operation within the site”, which would include “all activities on the site including the ingress and egress of HGVs, recycling activities, and landfilling and restoration activities”.

There were no concerns from the council’s public health team over noise issues and the council’s transportation development team said the “temporary access arrangement is considered appropriate to serve the import operations […] to facilitate restoration”.

It was also argued that “ceasing the use of the current road along ‘The Green,’ which leads through a housing estate on the edge of Houghton-le- Spring to Field House Farm would enhance the amenity of those residents along that route”.

The council committee report adds: “As a result of the development the integrity of the wildlife corridor would be retained.

“There would be no adverse ecological impacts as the site would be subject to significant on-site habitat enhancement secured by both planning conditions and via a Section 106 agreement which would be maintained for at least 30 years after the development is completed.

“Any potential harm which may exist from the construction of the access track and use of the access road would be short-term in nature and that the long-term benefits associated with the completed restoration of the Field House Quarry would conserve and enhance the landscape character and preserve and enhance key local views and vistas.”

A previous planning statement from applicants said the aim of the project was to “restore the quarry to its original land profile and therefore return Houghton Scarp, with its associated designated wildlife areas, to its original appearance”.

The project is expected to take around 15 years to complete across several phases, including a “site set-up phase” to construct a new access road followed by three main phases of tipping and restoration.

Restoration works range from “lowland calcareous grassland” to “open mosaic habitat”, which includes patches of dense vegetation, and would be introduced across the land as the works progress.

An additional phase of restoration would also include the creation of a “sand martin nest bank and pond to the southern perimeter of the quarry” and the erection of bird and bat boxes, planning documents state.

Applicants said no site operations would take place on Sundays, public or bank holidays, except in the case of an emergency, and that operating hours would be 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and 7am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Planning documents state that “good housekeeping practice already undertaken at the site” would be used to prevent “mud and debris” from being deposited on public roads and areas outside the site.”

The council’s planning portal website lists the applicant as A. McCall And Sons (Houghton-Le-Spring) Limited, and the submitted planning statement notes applicants also own Field House Farm.

Council planners said the development is “not considered inappropriate within the Green Belt” and imposed a number of conditions, including a “scheme of working for the operation and management of the site”.

The planning approval is also subject to the completion of a legal agreement by a set deadline, to “secure the delivery and maintenance of significant ecological enhancements to provide biodiversity net gains.”

For more information on the planning application and council decision, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 24/01217/MAW