anyone live near a gravel pit?

TerryJay · 5 April 2010 at 3:47PM

I've found a house I want to buy, it has a south facing garden with lovely field views, but there are proposals for the field view to be turned into a huge gravel extraction site. Although consultations are ongoing and nothing has been decided locals are furious that screening trees have already been planted around the proposed site. I wouldn't mind losing the view if screening was done well but continuous noise would put me off. Has anyone got any experience of living near a gravel pit?

tanith · 5 April 2010 at 3:52PM

I haven't lived near one but have some that I pass regularly and with all the traffic/lorries in and out all the time its going to be quite noisy , apart from the gravel extraction noise.. after they have finished they usually make a good job of transforming the pit/lake into a usable green space but who knows when that will be...I wouldn't buy if I were you but we all have our own priorities

Milliewilly · 5 April 2010 at 4:02PM

I lived in a house where our land bordered a sand quarry. There wasn't a lot of noise and you couldn't see it. The only noise you got was the reverse beepers on the lorries etc.

Heres a link to my old house (just above the bus stop symbol). The sand quarry is over towards the top left - looks like a large 'n' shaped green pond now but it was an active sand quarry till we left in 2006.

My pet duck Fred used to fly over every night to roost there.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T4HPEA_enGB331GB331&q=LN11%209QZ&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

TerryJay · 5 April 2010 at 4:13PM

My first reaction was not to buy but then I saw the plans, the house is furthest away from where most of the activity is likely to be, so its just the general noise of the work itself that I need to find out about. The site entrance will be over a mile away and incoming traffic won't go past the road outside the house as comes from opposite direction. The gravel will be transported by sea via a conveyor belt system from the site to the port (in Brightlingsea Essex) which is 2 miles away from the house.

mufi · 5 April 2010 at 4:33PM

We live about .75 of a mile from one which was given approval a few years ago, long after we moved here, despite local opposition, so I would imagine any opposition in your area will be equally ineffective. Having said that, we really wouldn't know it was there and it's never caused any problems.

poppysarah · 5 April 2010 at 5:08PM

Go visit during working hours.

TerryJay · 5 April 2010 at 5:22PM

poppysarah, the site's not up and running yet, its just a proposal, but will have to decide about house in next few weeks. I've searched for similar sites so can go and check them out but can't find any as big.

Running_Horse · 5 April 2010 at 7:48PM

The one nearest us can throw up clouds of dust, and has a lot of lorry movements. Probably depends what is being quarried. After they have finished they have become rubbish dumps, lakes, nature reserves, housing estates, or just left as a permanent scar on the landscape.

Edit. Forgot to mention, one became Bluewater Shopping Centre.

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anyone live near a gravel pit?

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