IN Brief:
- Minerals schemes are being re-tested against evolving expectations on indirect climate effects.
- The revised submission includes a soil carbon assessment and lifecycle greenhouse-gas boundaries.
- Permission has been granted again, with conditions covering operations, restoration, and monitoring.
Northumberland County Council has granted planning permission for the Northside Quarry scheme for a second time, following a redetermination triggered by a successful legal challenge to the original approval.
The proposal covers the extraction of 2.8 million tonnes of dolerite from land north east of North Side, Kirkharle, Northumberland, with the site located around 1 km south west of Kirkwhelpington. The application describes associated highway and landscape works and the importation of inert infill material as part of the overall scheme. North East Concrete Ltd is listed as the applicant.
The council’s original decision was issued on 7 February 2025 after completion of a Section 106 agreement. On 3 March 2025, the authority was served with a pre-action letter from the Environmental Law Foundation, instructed by campaigner John Winslow, inviting the council to quash the decision on climate-related grounds. The decision was quashed on 9 April 2025 on the basis that the council had failed to assess the likely significant climate effects of the development, including potential carbon emissions from soil disturbance.
The revised submission includes a new climate change chapter and supporting assessments, alongside updated ecological survey work, with no changes proposed to the previously approved working method or restoration plan. The council’s report describes a Climate Change Impact Assessment prepared by Wardell Armstrong, including a dedicated Soil Carbon Assessment modelling predicted soil carbon loss linked to stripping, storage, and restoration activities.
The council’s climate change team review notes that the assessment estimates total emissions in the region of 100,160 tonnes of CO2e in a best-case scenario, rising to 132,737 tonnes of CO2e in a business-as-usual case, across a 20-year operational lifetime. The applicant has also set out a commitment for the site to be “fully electric” and powered by clean electricity by 2035, including mobile plant where reasonably practicable, with recommended conditions to monitor delivery.
Restoration proposals include the importation of approximately 800,000 cubic metres of inert material to return the site to its pre-development landform profile, alongside phased restoration and long-term habitat management. The council report also references the allocation of land at Northside for crushed rock aggregate extraction within the Northumberland Local Plan and sets out landbank considerations, including permitted reserves and supply horizon calculations.
