A PLANNING application has been submitted to import inert materials over three years due to flooding issues in a Hampshire quarry.

Collard Group has submitted an application for the measures which it says will eliminate and mitigate flooding issues at Busta Triangle, which forms part of the wider Eversley Quarry in Eversley.

The site and wider quarry, for which planning permission was granted in 2011, are located approximately 2.5 km southeast of Eversley and one-kilometre northwest of Blackbushe Airport.

The application included a “progressive restoration to heathland, mire and commercial forestry” at Eversley Quarry once operations at the site stopped.

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After years of mining, the quarry has depleted its mineral reserves. For that reason, restoration works have commenced and are almost complete, except for the Busta Triangle area which has experienced recent flooding problems.

Planning documents indicate that officers initially waited to see if the flooding problems would naturally be resolved. However, it became “apparent that intervention is needed in order to eliminate the flooding that is now present in the form of standing water and to appropriately mitigate against future flood risk”.

By tackling the flooding issue, Collard will also restore the area to “high-quality” nature conservation habitats, commercial forestry and the reinstatement of public access in line with the principles of the scheme approved in 2011.

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Collard’s application seeks to secure planning permission to import approximately 165,000m3 of inert restoration material over three years to Busta Triangle, which has an area of 12.4 ha.

The planning statement stated that the proposed importation and landform “will eliminate and mitigate the existing flood issues through raising the existing site levels.”

The inert restoration material would be imported at approximately 55,000m3 per annum.

The importation, landscaping, and restoration will be done in phases. Phases 1-3, located to the south of the bridleway, would be completed within approximately two years and works in Phases 4-5, located north of the bridleway, would be completed within one year.

Once the flooding issues have been resolved, the final restoration at Busta Triangle can be completed, and the formal aftercare period can commence.

In this regard, Tarmac, who operated the quarry, will be responsible for all aspects of aftercare.