By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
More than six million tonnes of ash buried after being produced by power stations could be dug up near a Nottinghamshire village in an effort to create low-carbon cement.
The residue from burning coal at the former Cottam Power Station, Bassetlaw, was buried in a former quarry at Lound, near Retford, for around 30 years.
The power station, around 10 miles from Lound, was decommissioned in 2019 and later demolished.
Now, Nottinghamshire County Council could approve a 25-year project to extract the material at a planning meeting next week.
However, local residents say they are worried about the loss of a nearby nature reserve and the potential for harmful material to be released.
The application, which has been named the ‘Retford Circular Economy Project’ has been submitted by Lound Hive Ltd.
Millions of tonnes of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from the power station was piped into a former quarry near Lound between the 1970s and 1990s.
The 113 hectare site is also close to the Idle Valley Nature Reserve, and part of it includes a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The application proposes extracting 300,000 tonnes of ash per year and processing it on site.
It would be used to produce a much more environmentally-friendly form of cement than current methods.
Planning documents state: “It is estimated that the proposed development could save up to five million tonnes of carbon over its lifetime, making a significant contribution to the UK Government’s legally binding net zero emission commitments by 2050.
“The supply of PFA is currently fragile, well below underlying demand and increasingly reliant on imported material.”
The development is expected to lead to 37 lorry trips per day, with the processing centre running 24 hours a day.
Around 20 to 30 jobs would be created, with a 12 month period of construction before any excavation began.
After around 25 years, it will be restored to grazing areas for animals.
However, there has been strong opposition to the proposal from local councils.
Sutton-cum-Lound Parish Council says thousands of people visit the nearby Idle Valley Nature Reserve every year.
“The thirty-year disruption to the nature reserve and its environment will seriously devalue this significant resource in terms of biodiversity and the wellbeing of visitors to nature reserve,” it has told the county council.
It recalls “clouds of fine black dust of the drying PFA periodically covered the village” during the 1980s.
Bassetlaw District Council has raised fears that dust thrown up by the work could contain asbestos particles, and has asked for a detailed assessment of health impacts.
A trace amount of fibres were found in the site, but a county council report says the area was never used for asbestos disposal and it’s not clear how it got there.
Lound Parish Council also says it “does not feel assured that the applicant has completed anywhere near enough investigation”.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has made a strong objection, saying there would be an “unacceptable loss of habitats” and work would harm any local animal populations.
The county council’s planning officers have recommended the application is approved, stating: “There is strong national and local planning policy support for the extraction of PFA, taking what was once considered to be a waste and putting it to beneficial reuse.”
The application will be decided on by the county council’s planning committee on Tuesday (September 10).