Norfolk County Council has identified 32 potential mineral extraction sites in West Norfolk to meet the county's growing gravel and sand needs for developments over the coming years.

Among the sites are three large areas of countryside in the Gaywood River valley, including Roydon Common, Pott Row Wood and Grimston Warren, where there are growing concerns about the potential impact on the environment.

Residents have until Friday, March 28, to comment on the proposals, which form part of the county council's blueprint for the region over the next 13 years.

The documents can be viewed and commented on via the website www.norfolk.gov.uk/nmwdf

The East of England Plan requires Norfolk to prepare for nearly three million tonnes of sand and gravel extraction and 200,000 tonnes of carrstone extraction each year, according to a report to Breckland Council's policy development and review panel, which meets today.

More than 100 potential sites have been identified, including 36 in Breckland, 22 in South Norfolk and eight in North Norfolk.

In West Norfolk they include land at Bawsey, Grimston, Leziate, Brancaster, Castle Rising, Roydon, East Winch, Methwold, Middleton, Wormegay and Pentney, plus Litcham in Breckland.

Each site has been suggested by landowners or mineral companies and will be subject to further public consultation if selected.

The consultation document also lists 64 waste disposal sites across the county and possible sites for a new waste incinerator in West Norfolk, including land at Saddlebow and North Lynn, as previously reported in the Lynn News.

Pott Row farmer Richard Fulcher bought 30 acres of land in the village three years ago to set up a rare breeds' farm, but fears the proposed mineral sites will turn his "dream into a nightmare."

He said: "It's going to de-value all our land and homes. Nobody is going to want to buy land in the middle of a sand storm. They are going to destroy every bit of wildlife, it will look like the Sahara desert."
Grimston Parish Council clerk John Missing said it had already formally objected to the plans and was encouraging others to express their views in writing.

Mr Missing is a member of the Fenland Allotment Trust, a parish charity which owns around 250 acres of land including allotments and three fens in the valley.

He said the group was concerned about the damage quarrying could do to years of work to increase the fens' water level and bring back wildlife to the area.

Mr Missing, of Back Lane, Pott Row, added: "I'm no expert, but I think digging great big holes on hills around the valley could affect the water table.

"Lots of people are concerned, so I have advised them to write in. As soon as I received the plans, I put something in the parish magazine because it's something I feel strongly about."

John Hiskett, senior conservation officer at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said it would be looking carefully at the proposed sites over the next fortnight before it reached any decisions.

He also said the organisation was particularly interested in land at Grimston Warren and Roydon Common, a site of special scientific interest, which together formed one of the county's "largest and most important nature reserves."

Ashwicken resident Karan McKerrow Dean, who lives in Gayton Road, said there were concerns about increased traffic and noise in the village, as well as implications for the environment and a residents' meeting was held at Leziate Village Hall on Sunday.

She added: "There is very strong feeling about it and we organised the meeting so we can discuss how this is going to affect where we live. They want objections in by March 28, but we didn't even know about it."
But North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham, who lives in Congham, said the plans were "pie in the sky."

"It's a long, long time off. I don't envisage it taking place in the next 25 years and even then I consider it very unlikely the planning application would go through," he said.

A council spokesman said the authority is required by law to produce long-term plans with the aim of ensuring that in the years up to 2021 demand for minerals and waste sites can be met.

"After the consultation process, the county council will select sites that it considers necessary to meet the minerals and waste management needs of the county until 2021. Any successful selected site will still need planning permission before it can be developed."