A renowned environmentalist has called for a proposed quarry in a protected area to be scrapped.

David Wingate said the quarry, which would be sited on a woodland-zoned area on Judkin Lane, Hamilton Parish, was against planning policy.

He said: “We can’t afford to simply compromise away until Bermuda is completely urban.

“This is why we have planning. This is why we try to plan out how to use the land most efficiently.

“Planning has just broken all the rules by ignoring all that went into this zoning.”

Dr Wingate said the project could also create a safety risk for residents as the only access to the area was along a narrow, winding road.

He added: “You are going to have heavy industrial trucks, which are a real hazard on a narrow lane where people might be walking, and the noise and dust pollution from the quarry; all degrading this large plot of open space because it’s smack in the middle.

“The access road is one of the really critical issues that the planning department can’t have thought about.

“You can’t use something as long and narrow as Judkin Lane as access to a quarry site.”

Read more here: http://www.royalgazette.com/environment/article/20191228/wingate-slams-quarry-plan