Family hit out at quarry plan
A DORNOCH family have come out fighting against plans by a Dutch company to site a new sand and gravel quarry next to their home.
Bloem Natuurproduckten has applied for planning consent for the new quarry on a 7.1 hectare site at Drumdivan, Evelix Road, near Camore.
The company has a website advertising health products and dietary supplements. Roel Huisman of Bloem Natuurproduckten is understood to own the land in question.
Stuart and Louise Richardson live with their four children at St. Ninian’s – directly across from the quarry site. The area is presently covered in scrub and used by walkers.
The family say they are already disturbed by noise from an existing quarry located off Poles Road and behind their home. They claim the new development — being called Camore Quarry — would blight their lives even further.
Stuart, an ambulance paramedic working from Golspie, is concerned about the increased dust, noise, traffic and exhaust emissions.
He claims theses factors pose a risk to children in the area and also that the quarry would decrease the value of the family’s property.
Stuart said: "We feel the development would have a very negative effect on our home. Having a quarry directly across the road would definitely have a significant bearing on the price of our property if we decided to sell within the next 10 years. The saleability of the property would also be affected, as who wants to live across the road from a quarry?
"It will have a direct influence on our daily lives physically and emotionally and create a risk that at present does not exist.
"This is just across the road from my house and we’re not happy about the prospect of a quarry on our front doorstep."
Stuart also suggested the quarry would bring little benefit to the area as a whole.
He said: "There could be an argument that the quarry will bring jobs to the local area. However, this would remain to be seen as the parish of Dornoch currently has good employment rates and we would be unsure as to how many people from the area would gain employment from this venture.
"Also, the applicant is not based in the Dornoch area or Scotland and we are concerned that an absentee landlord is looking to take minerals and financial benefits from a land they are not even from.
"We have invested our time, family and finances in Dornoch and contribute in a positive way to the community from having children attend the local school, buying a property, shopping and working locally."
UK-wide engineering firm Fairhurst, founded in Glasgow, is acting as agent for Bloem Natuurprodukten. A Fairhurst spokesperson said they would not comment on issues raised until the cut-off date for comments had been reached and all objections had be lodged.
Comments on the planning application must be submitted to Highland Council by 10th July.
