Here in Pentney, we have a number of environmental factors and physical obstacles in our favour when it comes to fighting the quarry proposal.

The Water Table.
This map shows that the entire northern boundary of the proposed excavation site is overlapped by an area designated by the Environment Agency as land liable to flooding. This is a particular problem for anyone trying to dig a quarry, as anyone who has ever dug a hole on marshy ground will know. As soon as you start to dig, the water will pour out of the land and flood the hole.
This will make life difficult for the excavation company, and will incur the additional cost of pumping equipment to ensure the hole remains drained. So straight away, our village is looking like it might be a costly option for them.

However, if they do decide to proceed with their plans to dig in a flood plain, this issue of water draining from the surrounding land will cause major problems for the village, as it will cause the water table to drop dramatically, resulting in the land drying out, shrinking and contracting, and causing structural damage to buildings as their foundations shift below them. This could prove disastrous for the very old buildings like the church, which were built long before concrete foundations were even thought of. In most cases, buildings like this would have used stone slabs, or more often huge pieces of timber which have long since disintegrated and decomposed leaving the building stood on nothing more than compressed soil. The process described here is a very simple, and well understood one and can be seen clearly in the 5 stage diagram to the right.

Of course, this is only one problem that we would face as a result of water pouring into the hole. Naturally, the excavators will have pumping equipment running day and night to keep the pit dry. This will produce a permanent droning wall of background noise, and the generators which power them will pump out fumes. That hardly seems acceptable in a time when we're all struggling to minimise our carbon footprints.

One other thing to consider here is what happens to all that water once it has been pumped out of the hole. It has to go somewhere. The nearest river is a good mile away on the other side of the village. Are they just going to allow the water to soak back into the land again? That doesn't sound very efficient, does it?

Wildlife
The land proposed for the MIN93 site is currently known to be a hunting ground for two endangered and protected species, barn owls and bats. Both of these creatures, including their habitats are protected under UK law. They rely on each other to a certain extent, and their presence is often a good indicator that other endangered species may exist in an area, as the barn owl feeds on small reptiles, snakes, dormice and slow worms.
The site is also home to four creatures currently listed in and protected by the UK's Biodiversity Action Plans. The skylark, brown hare, song thrush and tree sparrow all live within the MIN93 site, and all of these will be displaced permanently if the quarry goes ahead.

The Roads.
One thing Pentney is definitely not known for is it's sweeping four lane motorways and fast flowing dual carriageways. Most of the roads that run through and to the village are single lane roads, in some places nothing more than mere tracks. The road surface is crumbling and in a poor state of repair, and in many places the roads are so narrow that two cars cannot pass each other unless one pulls into a layby.
These are not suitable roads for HGV's and heavy digging equipment, especially when the lorry drivers employed by the other existing quarries in the area already have a reputation as aggressive road hogs who take great pleasure in running cars off the road and into grass verges.
Below are a selection of images of various roads around Pentney village, clearly demonstrating their unsuitability for HGV traffic.

Trees.
The proposed site will mean cutting down a great many large established trees, some of which can be seen in the images above of the inadequate road system. A map showing the location of most of these trees can be viewed here.
A lot of urban myths surround Tree Preservation Orders (TPO's). Many people believe that all trees are protected, while others believe certain species of trees are automatically subject to a TPO, regardless of location. Sadly these are all untrue. For a tree to be protected, it must meet one of the three following criteria.
A Tree Preservation Order has been made to protect it.
A Planning condition has been made to cover that tree.
It falls within a conservation area
Now, we may be in luck with two of these points, although as previously stated, this is a very grey area, and we're about to find ourselves embroiled in a jungle of terminology, jargon and technicalities. However, that in itself could work in our favour if we can confuse the issues and muddy the waters.
West Norfolk council have declared the entire area to be an Area Of Special Landscape Quality, which may or may not mean that the area is regarded as a conservation area. One thing it does mean is that West Norfolk council expressly forbid any development which may damage or detract from that landscape, and it's reasonable to argue that cutting down the trees and digging a quarry would do exactly that.
Additionally, West Norfolk council have designated several trees in the area as Significant Trees. While this doesn't actually state that a TPO has been established, the language used would tend to imply that.
Regardless of whether a TPO exists, we can still use the subject of trees being cut down to our advantage, as it's a highly emotive issue, especially with the environmentally conscious community.

Danger To Aircraft
The MIN93 site is a mere 4 kilometres from the perimiter fence of RAF Marham, the UK's largest and busiest front line RAF station, operating four squadrons of very expensive Tornado GR4's.
While a gravel quarry doesn't propose a direct threat to aircraft, the aftermath of the quarry does.
Norfolk County Council have stated that the land must be returned to arable use after the quarrying is complete. However, this is quite impossible due to the presence of a flood plain which encroaches into the site. As soon as the pumping equipment is switched off, the site will flood and become a lake. This in turn will attract a wide range of bird life which poses a very real and dangerous hazard to aircraft, as a single bird-strike is enough to send an aircraft spiralling into the ground.
This is why the RAF have stated their opposition to developments within 13 kilometres of any RAF station that may encourage the existence of avian life.

Burial Sites.
Besides the obvious cemetery in the church yard, which the planners have only just avoided swallowing up with their proposed site, we have a rather less conspicuous green burial site in the village. A burial site which has been engulfed completely by the proposed quarry site.
The green burial site adjoins onto the church cemetery, and runs alongside the road. Although there is no visible sign of headstones or grave markings within the site, it is known that there are bodies buried there.
This subject was raised at the meeting in the village hall on March 19th, and questions were asked about what would happen to the bodies if the site were to be excavated, and what promises were made to the families of the deceased etc. Sadly, no answers were offered.
Is it really acceptable that a large company should be allowed to disturb the deceased in their final resting place, just so they can turn a profit?
Is nothing sacred anymore?

Electricity Pylons.
Running straight through the proposed excavation site is a line of power cables and pylons. This raises a number of issues which may help to make the MIN-93 site financially un-viable for the extraction companies.
Obviously if the proposal does go ahead, these pylons will need to be re-sited and the path of the power lines re-routed. This will involve a lot of planning, surveying, and negotiating with both adjacent land owners, and owners of land for a good mile or so each direction heading away from the site.
This could have the combined effect of slowing the entire process down, giving us more time, while also racking up additional costs for the extraction company.
As we said before, money talks. If circumstances force it to talk quietly, then it will go away and find somewhere else where it can shout instead.

Sewage.
As well as the power cables, we also have the main village sewage pipeline running directly through the proposed quarry site, with the sewage treatment plant located just inside the northern edge of the proposed quarry site.
This will incur further expense for the extraction companies, as they'll have to build a new treatment plant, and lay in new pipelines and perhaps even pumping equipment.

Historic Buildings.
Pentney is a very old village, and plays host to a number of extremely old buildings. Perhaps the most obvious of these is the beautiful village church of St Mary Magdalene, which is in fact a grade-1 listed building.
If this quarry proposal is allowed to go ahead, the church will be put at risk from subsidance, and may be forced to close completely as a result.