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Views Sought On Restarting St.Anne’s Beach Sand Extraction For Use In Concrete Making

Fylde Council has launched a consultation as part of the process to restart sand extraction from St Anne’s beach.

The operational access, which first began in the 1970s, is via a track to the beach off Clifton Drive North, near Thursby Nursing Home and Dune Point, where there is a small, fenced compound.

Sand taken off-site is used locally in the manufacture of ready-mix concrete products for use in housebuilding and construction. The site itself has become a very important regional supplier of sand, particularly due to diminishing reserves of land won sand and gravel within Lancashire.

The operation now requires a fresh planning permission from Lancashire County Council (LCC) and a Marine Management Organisation (MMO) Licence to allow it to restart.

Following an initial meeting between Fylde Borough Council (FBC) officers and LCC in January 2020 to explain the background to the scheme and seek feedback from LCC officers, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping exercise was undertaken with LCC and the MMO. Assessment work has since been progressing during 2021.

Councillor Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council said: ‘Once again we would like to gain the views and feedback of our residents across Fylde to be included as part of the evaluation of re-starting sand extraction from the beach here in St Anne’s.

Sand extraction has taken place for many years; however, we would like to ensure that if it continues it is in the best interests of everyone involved. This includes ensuring the income from the licence is re-invested across the Fylde Borough. All feedback will be considered as part of the scheme going forward and I would strongly encourage everyone to have their say on the matter.’

The survey is available at www.fylde.gov.uk/consultation.

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