On Monday last week the council’s County Planning Committee refused a planning application seeking consent for a 10-year extension of works on site at Hesleden Pit Heap. Full details can be found in the article published on these pages last week: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/09/hesleden-community-stands-together-as.html
As a follow up the council recently published a formal notification confirming its decision:
Town and Country Planning Act 1990
11th September 2023
Continued restoration of colliery spoil heap, including extraction, processing and export of combustible material, limestone and sand for a period of 10 years
Former Colliery Spoil Heap Hesleden TS27 4PN
B & S Recycling
The above application received on 11 February 2022 in respect of the above development was considered by the Council where it was decided that permission should be refused. I enclose the relevant notice of decision.
As you can see from details published in the link below, the original planning application had asked specifically for consent to continue ‘extraction, processing and export of combustible material, limestone and sand’, so now that consent has been refused it stands to reason that the applicant has no legal right to continue works on site.
With that in mind I think it’s incumbent on the applicant to cease works immediately, and it follows that the council is now obliged to use enforcement measures wherever necessary to ensure that the applicant complies with the council’s decision. That’s my personal view, and I’ve written to officers in the planning department several times over the past week or so to let them know exactly what I expect to happen next.
To avoid confusion about who does what in these circumstances, it’s perhaps useful to point out that there’s a clear distinction between the roles of paid officials of the council and local elected members. For example, all operational and enforcement issues are for officers in the planning and legal teams to resolve, while as elected members our role is to maintain contact with council officers, represent the best interests of our communities and raise any ongoing concerns on behalf of our residents.
As mentioned in previous posts, the council’s planning officers are scheduled to meet with legal representatives this week to formalise their response to residents’ reports that works appear to be continuing on site.
I’ll update on developments as soon as I have more information from the council, but in the meantime I’ve published in the link below full details of the council’s notification.
As ever, if you have any comments or queries about this issue please get in touch with me direct at: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk
