PLANS to quarry sand just 200 metres from a protected scientific site are set for approval despite East Dorset District Council opposition. Dorset County Council officers have recommended that its regulatory committee support an application to extract 100,000 tonnes of material from Redman’s Quarry in Three Legged Cross at its meeting next week. However, the plans have prompted concerns about the impact quarrying could have on the area and on the impact it could have on public rights of ways. Under the proposal put forward by Redman Sands Ltd last year, a quarry would be established on land off Horton Road near the Horton Common site of special scientific interest. Between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes of sand would be removed from the site before it is filled with road construction waste and returned to agricultural land. Members of the regulatory committee are being recommended to approve the quarry, despite objections from councils and residents. Opposing the application, East Dorset District Council said: “Whilst the site is smaller than that proposed through the minerals site plan, the council’s objections to the allocation still stand. “Objections are raised to the impacts on the landscape based on the historical importance of Monmouth’s Ash. “Transport links and access close to the site is poor and there are concerns about vehicles using rural roads to travel south to Wimborne and Poole. “The impact of the proposal on the nearby SSSI and internationally designated Horton Common are also raised.” However, neither Natural England nor the Environment Agency have objected to the application. A report by the county council’s head of planning, Maxine Bodell, says: “Having regard to the development plan, all representations received, the mitigation measures proposed by the applicant and all other relevant considerations, I am satisfied that the proposal is in accordance with the development plan. “Whilst the mitigation measures proposed have not entirely overcome the objections to the proposal, I consider that the measures alleviate any residual impacts to an acceptable level for what is a relatively modest quarry.” It is expected that sand would be extracted for two-and-a-half years with the quarry limited by an additional year to allow the site to be restored to agricultural use.