In September 2008, the then Bedfordshire County Council granted planning permission to Tarmac Limited for the extraction, processing and sale of sand and gravel at land to the south of Broom (Planning Permission Ref. 28/2008).
A Section 106 Agreement accompanying that planning permission required the developer to take part in a liaison group to be established by us to act as a consultation forum to monitor the development.
Tarmac implemented the planning permission on 15 April 2013. The Broom South Quarry Liaison Group was established and is made up of representatives from the following parish councils:
- Southill Parish Council
- Langford Parish Council
- Shefford Town Council
- Northill Parish Council
- Old Warden Parish Council
The liaison group is completed by our representatives, Tarmac Ltd. and our officers. View copies of minutes agreed by the group.
The Section 106 Agreement secured a contribution of £60,000 from the developer to be used towards local community projects in the vicinity of the quarry with responsibility assigned to the liaison group to decide which projects would receive financial assistance and to what extent such assistance would be given. The Community Fund operated from 2013 to June 2017 and allocated funding to 27 local community projects based on assessment criteria approved by the liaison group.
In 2018 Tarmac Ltd, now part of the CRH group of companies, submitted a further application to work a northern extension to Broom South Quarry as part of a consolidating application. The northern extension area forms a strategic allocation for sand and gravel working within the Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Strategic Sites and Policies (adopted in 2014). The application was granted planning permission on 30 November 2020, subject to a further Section 106 Agreement.
The latest Section 106 Agreement imposes a number of obligations upon Tarmac Ltd. including a requirement to provide a new Local Community Fund based on an agreed contribution per tonne of all minerals extracted from the site. As previously, the allocation of monies is to be based on a set of assessment criteria and guidance notes to be approved by the liaison group. The guidance is intended to inform those parties interested in applying for financial assistance from the liaison group and can be uploaded from the link below.
Community Fund Arrangements, Guidance Notes and Application Form (PDF)
The first round of applications for funding are to be considered at the liaison group’s meeting in September 2022 and a further link will be provided showing details of applications received by the group and spending to date.