Decision delayed on future work at Houghton Quarry after claims it could affect plans for multi-million pound retail development

Proposals to extend works at Houghton Quarry could put a multi-million pound retail development in “jeopardy”, councillors have claimed.

This week, planning bosses discussed an application from Holystone Civil Engineering for the former quarry site off Newbottle Street.

Since August 2014, the firm has operated a plant within the quarry void sorting waste into recyclable and non-recyclable materials.

Non-recyclable waste has been used to create a ‘development platform’ for an employment park, which won approval from Sunderland City Council in 2013.

However an independent assessment, provided by the applicant, states there is no demand for the development currently as “economic uncertainty for construction projects remains likely due to Brexit.”

Under a new programme, waste bosses hope to continue infilling at the quarry to increase the height of the development platform alongside building a new ‘wash plant’ to clean materials.

But local councillors have hit back, claiming the the plan could stall a proposed retail park at the nearby former Houghton Colliery site.

“This [quarry] application arrogantly assumes that because the activity is already being undertaken, that it should continue, and that because it’s happened for a number of years that it should automatically be approved,” Copt Hill councillor, Kevin Johnston, said.

“This is simply not the case and to subject the site and the people of Houghton to another five years of use as a waste site shows a lack of ambition and a lack of respect for the residents who aspire for better for Houghton.”

Coun Johnston was speaking at meeting of the area development control sub-committee, on Tuesday, February 4, as a ward councillor.

He added that rejecting the plans would show residents that their “quality of life matters, their pride in Houghton is justified and that the regeneration and development of this site and Houghton is the council’s priority.”

Last year, the city council’s cabinet backed plans to sell the colliery land for development, subject to planning permission.

The plans are expected to generate around £12 million of inward investment and create hundreds of jobs in the Houghton area.

Houghton councillors, Juliana Heron and Neil MacKnight, raised concerns at the meeting about the impact on visual amenity, increased traffic, road conditions and dust from the quarry site.

Coun MacKnight added these issues could make the colliery site “less attractive to businesses” and “will potentially put this huge investment in jeopardy.”

The council’s own strategic property manager also shared similar views in an official objection to the plans.

A written statement in the planning report reads: “The extension of the operations at the quarry will extend the use of the main road by large lorries, extending the disruption to local transport links and the visible noise and dirt from lorries servicing the quarry and from the operation of the site itself.

“It is considered that the success of the Houghton Colliery site as a retail offer will undoubtedly be affected by the continued operation of the quarry as a ‘landfill’ site.”

Planning officers said these comments were considered but stressed there were no objections from other council departments, such as highways, environmental health and ecology.

A report, prepared for councillors, also recommended the quarry plans for approval.

Houghton quarry was previously mined for stone for more than 150 years before being used by BIffa Waste as a household waste landfill site in the late 1990s, with the landfill use ceasing in 2014.

Timescales for the new scheme include five years to create the heightened development platform and the aggregate wash plant remaining for five years after its completion.

A planning agent for Holystone Civil Engineering told councillors that the scheme would bring economic benefits to the area.

This includes £2 million of investment into the local economy, alongside securing jobs, creating four new roles, supporting local supply chains and improving recycling rates.

Following discussions, Coun Mel Speding called for the plans to be deferred to allow for a site visit – a move which won support from the planning committee.

The plans are expected to return to the council’s Planning and Highways Committee for decision later this year.