Market Drayton quarry given go-ahead after operating hours limited so prisoners can sleep in on Saturdays

Applicants, Grundon Sand & Gravel are expecting to extract around 1.2million tonnes of sand and gravel from the site over a period of 15 years at a rate of around 80,000 tonnes each year.

The proposal also outlined plans to use the site as a solar farm while quarrying is underway, partly to provide power for the site, but also to supply electricity back to the grid.

Plans state that extraction will be done in 10 separate sections across the 17-hectare site over 15 years.

Once extraction has finished in one section, infilling and restoration to agricultural land would begin and the solar panels installed - a process repeated across the 10 sections. It's expected that the solar panels would be in place for around 30 years.

After the plans were submitted last year, concerns were raised about the proposal by the Ministry of Justice's Prison and Probation Service (HMPSS) - on behalf of HMP Stoke Heath.

During the consultation process, the MoJ asked that conditions were put in place to limit the operating hours on a Saturday to reflect the wake-up times of inmates.

Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of HMPPS wrote: "HMPPS have particular concerns regarding the proposed hours of working on Saturdays where operations are expected to take place from 7am to 1pm.

"From Monday to Friday prisoners are woken up at 7.30am for activities at the establishment which includes the employment opportunities that some of the prisoners are involved in.

"On Saturdays, prisoners are permitted to sleep in beyond 7.30am. HMPPS are therefore concerned that prisoners are likely to experience some level of disruption to their sleep from the operations taking place on Saturdays from 7am and this could potentially impact on their amenity and quality of life."

The proposal was put before Shropshire Council's northern planning committee this week, where councillors voted unanimously to grant planning permission.

As a result of HMPPS concerns, the quarry will be unable to operate before 9am on Saturdays, with no operations taking place on Sunday.

Other conditions include ongoing liaison with the local community, with Shropshire Council planning officers suggesting the establishment of a Liaison Group comprised of local stakeholders - such as the HMPPS, the parish council and council officers.

Approving the plan, the local planning officer said: "The proposed sand and gravel quarry represents an appropriate windfall opportunity for the supply of minerals to Shropshire and surrounding areas. The phased design of the site would help to minimise disturbance in the local area.

"The potential impacts on the local area, which includes an RAF facility, a young offenders institution and dwellings, can be mitigated and minimised to an acceptable level through site management controls which can be secured by planning conditions.

"There would be some impacts on the local area due to the nature of the proposal, such as from the visibility of the operation and additional traffic levels. However, it is considered that these would be mitigated to an acceptable level when balanced against the benefits of the proposal.

"These benefits include the creation of five full time jobs directly, with a further six part-time indirect positions, a significant level of biodiversity net gain, and the provision of renewable energy from solar panels."