Dear Supporters
please take literally a couple of minutes this weekend to object to this Planning Application which is directly related to the Peak Cluster Pipeline Project – HOW TO OBJECT IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS UPDATE (closing date Mon 30th March)
Background:
Breedon Cement have submitted a planning application for a proposed lateral extension of their Hope Limestone Quarry to extract up to 13 million tonnes of limestone for the purpose of continued on-site cement manufacture at the Hope Cement Works.
Breedon Cement is one of the partners in the Peak Cluster Project and the 200km pipeline is proposed to transport Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from the adjacent Hope Cement Works to store under the Irish Sea.
Based on current extraction rates the Hope Limestone Quarry may become exhausted by the mid 2030s. This proposed extension to the quarry would sustain extraction of limestone for the production of cement until 2042. The proposed development would be extracted within the existing permitted operational timeframe (upto 2042) and are not expected to extend the quarry’s overall lifespan.
Whilst the Environment Statement (ES) refers to transition to lower carbon CEM II products by 2035, without the use of new technologies to reduce carbon capture at source, this proposed extension would enable continued prolonged high carbon emissions. Significant Carbon reduction is not embedded within this planning application, instead it is deferred to an external carbon capture and storage scheme, i.e Peak Cluster.
The environmental acceptability of the quarry extension (in terms of carbon emissions) implicitly depends on the implementation of the Peak Cluster project. However, should a Development Consent Order for the Peak Cluster project be approved it will not be until 2029 and it is not expected to be operational until at least 2032. With delays that we typically see to such large scale infrastructure projects, it is highly likely it may not be operational for several years later, or the Peak Cluster project may never be delivered at all.
Therefore, granting of permission for this quarry extension at this time would come with no guarantee that the mitigation measures for limiting Green House Gas Emmissions are deliverable or achievable.
Is it not acceptable to approve continued high-emission activity now, based on an anticipated future carbon capture project, the delivery of which is still uncertain. Particularly as, to date, two Councils along the Peak Cluster Pipeline route (Wirral and now Derbyshire) have voted to oppose the Peak Cluster Project and opposition to the scheme is gaining significant momentum.
The ES demonstrates that the environmental acceptability of the quarry extension is contingent on a future carbon capture system that is not part of the application and not guaranteed to be delivered.
In addition Table 5.1 of the ES states “The scope of successive effects considered in the ES should include: The influence any approval of the limestone extension may have on the development and implementation of proposed carbon capture infrastructure and associated necessary developments at the Cement Works”
The “successive effect” of the proposed expansion of the quarry is to directly enable the long-term viability of the Peak Cluster project. As the existing reserves of limestone in the quarry are not expected to run out until the mid 2030s, potentially for another 9 or 10 years, it is a reasonable assumption that this planning application has been submitted now to justify the Peak Cluster project.
This application gives limited consideration to alternative low carbon technologies, acknowledging emerging technologies but dismissing them as not viable in the required timescales. However, as the quarry extension is not effectively required to replace depleted supplies until the mid 2030s, there is still significant time for alternatives to be designed and implemented.
Section 1.6.3 of the ES states “The likelihood of cumulative effects has been considered and in this instance, none were found to be likely to occur.”
Cumulative impacts, often assessed within an Environmental Statement (ES) , refer to the total, combined effect of a proposed project alongside other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future developments on a particular resource or community. If the Peak Cluster scheme was to proceed and provide the carbon capture for the Hope Cement works it would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the local community and environment. So it is not acceptable to state that no cumulative impacts were found to be likely to occur.
Sections 3.16. states that “no limestone is transported off site by road, meaning that the proposed application will not give rise to any additional highways impacts from the works” – however should the Peak Cluster project go ahead then highways and traffic impacts in the area would be significant, especially during the construction stage.
Section 3.5.11 states “The proposed development will have no effect whatsoever on road and rail movement” but if Peak Cluster goes ahead to capture carbon produced by the extension to the quarry then there will be a significant effect on road movements.
Section 11 of the Environmental Statement outlines how a Climate Change impact assessment considering the likely effects arising from undertaking the continuing operation of the quarry has been carried out and mitigation has been suggested to reduce these effects through limiting the release of GHG emissions. The suggestion is that to achieve its Net Zero targets Breedon Group will use Carbon Capture and Storage. They state “Carbon Capture and Storage is also at the core of the innovative Peak Cluster project, in which Breedon Trading Ltd is one of the key players.”
The ES states “Extraction is expected to be completed by February 2042, and final restoration of the site will take place within five years after extraction has ended, or by 2047. The scheme, therefore, has a full service life of 22 years from 2025 to 2047, and this is the reference study period used to form the temporal boundary for the assessment of impacts for this separate planning application for a small lateral extension to the current extraction areas at the existing quarry site.” – this is misleading as the quarry currently has reserves up to the mid 2030s and this scheme would only extend the quarry life for perhaps 7 years.
Furthermore, a Freedom of Information request from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero has confirmed that Hope Cement Works uses 110,000 tonnes of coal and 34,000 tonnes of per annum in the production of Cement Production. This planning application does not address how the Hope Cement Works will reduce and eventually eliminate their use of these fossil fuels and the only mitigation that it proposes in the Peak Cluster Carbon Capture Project which is not guaranteed.
WHAT YOU CAN DO / HOW YOU CAN OBJECT:
Please object to this Planning Application – it is very easy to do and takes just a few minutes.
To do so click on the following link:
https://portal.peakdistrict.gov.uk/12251235
Complete your personal details (name address etc)
Tick Object
Write your comments in the box.
Some possible comments could include the following issues (please amend and edit with your own words if possible)
· The environmental acceptability of the application relies on the Peak Cluster Carbon Capture Project which is not guaranteed
· It makes no provision for carbon reduction should the Peak Cluster Project not proceed
· The cumulative impacts of the Peak Cluster project have been discounted
· This planning application has been submitted prematurely to justify the need for the Peak Cluster Project.
· Alternative Carbon Technologies have not been adequately considered
· The highway and traffic implications of the directly related Peak Cluster project have not been considered.
· Reduction of the use of fossil fuels such as coal and waste tyres in the cement production process has not been addressed
The closing date for objections is Monday 30th March 2026
Thank you for your support