> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Concrete plant granted permission to amend requirements for out of hours operation - URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/concrete-plant-granted-permission-to-amend-requirements-for-out-of-hours-operation/ - Published: 2026-04-05T06:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-04-02T20:43:53.000Z - Description: The operators of a concrete plant supplying the HS2 project have been granted permission to amend conditions to an earlier planning permission – including changing a previous requirement for approval for out of hours working. - Author: Kerry Ashdown, Local Democracy Reporter - Tags: Alrewas, HS2, Planning, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:11, News THE operators of a concrete plant supplying the HS2 project have been granted permission to amend conditions to an earlier planning permission – including changing a previous requirement for approval for out of hours working. Quarrying is permitted at Pyford Brook Quarry in Alrewas until 15th August 2027. Staffordshire County Council granted consent more than four years ago for sand and gravel extraction at the site, as well as installation of plant and infrastructure in order to supply the HS2 project with ready mix concrete. Cemex UK Operations Limited has since sought permission to vary 11 conditions of the previous planning permission. The county council’s planning committee has now approved the changes A report to the committee said: > “This application is required because the plant site and haul road have been constructed differently from the approved plans listed in conditions attached to the current permission. > > “When the original planning application was considered by the county council’s planning committee, Cemex proposed that the concrete plant at the quarry would be required to occasionally operate over extended hours in connection with construction works on the HS2 railway. > > “Such works on the railway would be authorised under Section 61 – prior consent for work on construction sites – of the Control and Pollution Act 1974\. Consequently, a condition was imposed to require the quarry operator to seek prior written approval on the occasions when the concrete plant at the quarry would be required to operate during extended hours to supply out of normal hours construction works. > > “In practice, the applicant explains that often, Cemex receive little notice of when out of hours supply is required and the current condition requires Cemex to seek prior approval each time for these works, adding considerable delay to the timescales in which the applicant can supply. > > “It is proposed by the applicant, therefore, that the condition should be modified.” However, three parish councils in the area objected to the application. There were also concerns submitted to the county council by ten residents. Cllr Stuart Threlfall, who represented Alrewas Parish Council at the meeting to decide the application, said: > “The parish council has objected to this variation of conditions as it did for the original application for this site. > > “The original application generated a significant number of objections and was a controversial application in our community as it conflicted with the Minerals Local Plan – the approval of the site was only passed by one vote, showing the split it caused within this council. > > “Within the original application was permission for the applicant to do out of hours working for the production and delivery of concrete only to HS2 – but this was subject to the additional approval of this council. This meant the local community received detailed notice of this request and the ability to assess and comment on it. > > “This condition was openly agreed and Cemex had ample opportunity to object to it, which they did not. > > “The community and this parish council had many other conditions which they wanted adding to the final agreement, but these were not included and therefore the ones we did manage to have in the final agreement were very important to us. > > “The HS2 project has been considerably slowed down by central government, and therefore we do not see why HS2 cannot give Cemex adequate notice of the need for out of hours work. Therefore they have ample time to apply to the planning authority for permission. > > “We feel if at the same time they consulted with the local community and the liaison committee, the timescales for approval could be reduced, providing it was not controversial. > > “We are very much in favour of the HS2 works being completed as quick as possible, however this approval process is important to us – and should there be any objections from the community, there are other sites that can supply HS2 from nearby, as has been amply demonstrated by HS2’s continuing construction in this area.” Cllr Stephen Cox, who spoke on behalf of Kings Bromley Parish Council, said: > “While accepting that the construction work for the plant infrastructure has been completed over the past four years, this is a fait accompli now. However, the increase in height of the aggregate bins from six metres to nine metres is clearly significant. > > “This is not a slight variation but a material change that would have been known at the planning stage. It therefore represents a deliberate departure from what was approved. > > “The 16-metre high infrastructure painted bright white has a stark and negative impact on what is otherwise a flat open agricultural countryside. If changes are to be accepted, the parish council request that infrastructure be repainted in Cambridge Blue, as was originally intended, to better blend in with the landscape. > > “On HGV routing, the Section 106 Agreement requires all vehicles to turn right towards Alrewas and the A38\. We ask that this is actively monitored by the county council, especially if extended hours are granted. The impact of 40-tonne vehicles passing within four feet of Kings Bromley homes, particularly at night, is unacceptable.” Cemex minerals planner Thomas Cox told the committee the application was minor material amendment to the previously approved scheme. He added: > “The application seeks to regularise the as-built development on site. > > “The planning system allows developers to submit applications to tweak, change and amend schemes retrospectively – this is a common practice up and down the country for most major developments. Applications are submitted post-planning permission or post-construction. > > “Some parts of this plant are a bit taller, some parts are a bit smaller. The changes that have occurred on site are relatively minor. Given that the permission expires in August next year, it would be unreasonable to pain the whole of the ready mix plant on this site. > > “Where a Section 61 Notice has been issued by the district council in order to allow out of hours working associated with HS2 – which has its own limitations and restrictions – the applicant should not have to seek further permission from the county council. This creates unnecessary delay, hence the request for notification rather than a further approval process. > > “For context, a request for out of hours working has been submitted twice in approximately four years. We have agreed that cement will not be delivered at night time when there is a concrete pour to HS2.”