Perth and Kinross councillor disappointed at Scottish Ministers overruling Blairgowrie quarry expansion plan

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Perth and Kinross councillor has expressed his disappointment at the Scottish Ministers overruling "legitimate local decisions".On October 30 a reporter appointed by the Scottish Ministers granted a planning appeal for Laird Aggregates to expand its quarry on land immediately north of Marlee Quarry, Essendy, Blairgowrie - subject to conditions.Cllr Ian James this week expressed his frustration at the ruling which came after councillors unanimously refused the application which drew 103 objections.On Wednesday, November 13 Perth and Kinross Council's (PKC) Planning and Placemaking Committee met for the first time since the reporter's controversial decision.Laird Aggregates Ltd applied to Perth and Kinross Council to expand Marlee Quarry by almost 30 hectares in order to extract 1.1 million tonnes of sand and gravel.

The application was unanimously refused by the committee - almost a year ago - on November 23,2022. The application received 103 objections.

Local residents and councillors made their feelings clear to the committee before it made its decision.The proposal was for quarried material to be hauled from the new extraction area 750 metres north east and across the road from Marlee Quarry and processed at the existing quarry which sits just south of the B947.Objection reasons included: visual impact, the scale of the development, noise, road safety, loss of agricultural land and the potential adverse impact on neighbouring residents' lungs from inhaling crystalline silica from the dust.On October 30, 2023 the reporter announced his intention to allow the appeal and grant planning permission subject to 30 conditionsAs this week's planning meeting drew to a close, Cllr Ian James took the opportunity to express his