Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his department has considered the potential merits of mandating a minimum distance of 1km between new Quarries and residential homes or schools.

The scale and form of quarries, and their potential impacts, can vary significantly. As such, it would be overly restrictive to introduce a blanket presumption against quarry development within 1km of residential homes or schools, particularly as minerals are a finite natural resource which can only be worked where they are found.

Important safeguards are in place when quarrying is proposed. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that in considering proposals for mineral extraction, minerals planning authorities should ensure that there are no unacceptable adverse impacts on the natural and historic environment, human health or aviation safety, and take into account the cumulative effect of multiple impacts from individual sites and/or from a number of sites in a locality. They should also ensure that any unavoidable noise, dust and particle emissions and any blasting vibrations are controlled, mitigated or removed at source, and establish appropriate noise limits for extraction in proximity to noise sensitive properties.

Where issues are identified through the planning process, the imposition of planning conditions can assist in mitigating impacts to acceptable levels.