Villagers fear they are being swamped by large-scale developments after plans to dump construction waste on the outskirts of their small Broads community were unveiled.
Developers want to fill in an old disused quarry in Haddiscoe – close to the River Waveney – with soil and debris from construction and demolition projects.
But the project has caused outrage among the community. It comes at a time when locals are already fighting separate plans for a new quarry on the opposite side of Haddiscoe.
Applications for both schemes have been submitted to Norfolk County Council.
The new infill plan, put forward by Landhaul Developments Ltd, covers 16 acres of land east of Wiggs Road and would be in use for eight years.
No household or hazardous waste would be used at the site.
Plans for the 52-acre quarry have been put forward by Breedon Trading, a supplier of concrete and cement.
It would be dug on Manor Farm, next to Crab Apple Lane, and would be in use for seven years.
The two projects are under half a mile apart.
At the same time, Haddiscoe has also been earmarked as an area where 35 new homes could be built in the next 15 years.
The infill site was formerly a sand and gravel quarry dating back to 1969 but has been ‘restored’ for more than a decade.
Daryl Packer, a former mining engineer and member of Stop It 2 – a campaign group set up to fight the two schemes - said locals faced a “battle to safeguard our village.”
“We’ve got a quarry on the west side, housing in the middle and a landfill on the east side. It’s a lot to take in," he added.
“Everyone is getting angry now, asking ‘how much is enough?’
“It’s eight years they will be filling it up for, and that means eight years of extra HGVs on the roads.
“At the same time, we will have a quarry being dug up and once that is complete will they then want to fill that in as well?”
He said locals were concerned about the cumulative effect of both plans, which could generate noise, dust and extra traffic.
He said that since the Wiggs Road quarry had closed the site was meant to have been restored for wildlife and that the new plan would thwart those efforts.
Mr Packer said the two projects presented difficulties for the Stop It 2 group, as it would struggle to fund fighting both schemes.
He said the village was likely to be divided on which issue to focus on, with each resident wanting to concentrate on the scheme nearest to them.
The group is so named because it is the successor organisation to an earlier campaign against yet another quarry scheme in the village.
In 2014, plans to open one on Crab Apple Lane were rejected following a public outcry.
The community is holding a meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the latest application.
Landhaul could not be contacted for comment.
However, a statement submitted to Norfolk County Council said the site was “poorly restored to agriculture” with “little thought or care put into restoration materials or site levels”.
It said: “It currently presents as an arable field with a grass and bracken margin, up to 10m below the surrounding natural ground levels, with steep-sided banks.”
When the infill is complete the work the site would be restored to arable working land with biodiversity enhancements.
Waste material would be tipped furthest away from the "receptors sensitive to noise and dust".
Breedon Trading has previously promised to carry out restoration on its site, with shrubs planted to encourage biodiversity to return.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here