Friends of the Ochils Newsletter 19: Autumn 2001The quarry question - What is to be done with the big hole in the Hillfoots?Clackmannanshire Council planners have introduced a raft of measures aimed at the controlled restoration of Tillicoultry Quarry to "nature conservation use" by no later than 21 February 2042. The measures are contained in 15 conditions attached to the new planning conditions under the 1995 Environment Act. While the council has ruled that all mineral extraction should cease and the restoration work be carried out by 21 February 2042, the reclamation scheme will be started sooner. Within 12 months, the quarry operator has to submit a landscaping plan for the site, for the consideration and approval of the council. The plan is to be prepared by the operator in consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Plans will include tree and shrub planting round the quarry perimeter, designed to mitigate the visual impact of the workings and to enhance the biodiversity of the site. Planting is to be implemented within the first planting season following approval of the plan, or in accordance with an approved timetable. The new planting has to be maintained for five years until it becomes established. If within this period any plants or trees die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased, they are to be replaced unless the council decides otherwise. In the event of the discontinuation of mineral working for a continuous 12-month period before 21 February 2042, a full scheme of reclamation, restoration and aftercare must be submitted to the council for their approval within 16 months of mineral work stopping. On approval, the scheme is to be fully implemented within six months unless otherwise agreed in writing by the council. Not only do the conservation proposals have to be prepared in consultation with SNH, the SEPA and the SWT, but provision is also made within the conditions for the monitoring both of the working methods and the carrying out of the restoration. Unless otherwise agreed by the council, the quarry operator must provide it with a biennial written report detailing progress on working and restoration at the site during the preceding 24-month period - the first to be submitted no later than 31 August 2003, followed by subsequent reports on the last day of August 2005, 2007, 2009 "and so forth". Such reports should also identify any difficulties with operations, and any problems encountered with planning requirements during the period covered. A bond of guarantee is to be lodged with the council by the operator to cover the cost of design, implementation and completion of restoration and landscaping, plus the scheme of aftercare, within two months of approval of details. Prior to this, a detailed specification outlining how the bond will be calculated, and how its value will be protected against inflation, is to be submitted to, and approved, by the council. The condition governing the bond states that no further extraction of minerals shall take place at the quarry if it is not lodged with the council in accordance with the details and time-scale required. David Robertson |