ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have welcomed an unexpected delay to a controversial application to extend a Thurrock quarry, after an administrative error forced the council to postpone a key planning decision.

Thurrock Council confirmed it has deferred the application to expand Orsett Quarry and infill the Buckingham Hill Pit Local Wildlife Site, following a mail merge failure that resulted in notification letters being sent to the wrong addresses. As a result, many affected residents did not receive required notices ahead of the planned planning committee meeting on February 10.

A notice on the council's website said the mistake meant "not all affected residents received the required notification", adding that the application would now be reconsidered on February 24.

The council apologised for the error, which left some households receiving multiple letters addressed to different people, while others received none at all.

The delay has been welcomed by wildlife charity Buglife, which has long opposed the plans.

Jamie Robins, programmes manager, said the pause gives councillors vital time to fully consider the ecological impact of the proposals.

"We welcome Thurrock Council deciding to delay the decision that would see the important Buckingham Hill Pit Local Wildlife Site infilled," he said.

"It is vital that consultees and local residents get the opportunity to submit their comments for such potentially impactful planning cases."

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Mr Robins urged councillors to "look properly into the details" of the site's rare invertebrate populations, warning that the loss of another wildlife site in Thurrock would be "devastating".

Part of the site is an area known as Buckingham Hill Pit, once used to supply sand for the construction of the M25.

It has naturally rewilded since the 1990s and is now considered one of South Essex's most valuable insect habitats.

Surveys have recorded nationally important populations of species including the Shrill Carder Bee and Five banded Weevil Wasp.

The quarry expansion plans, originally submitted in 2019, have attracted more than 1,100 objections from residents as well as formal opposition from the RSPB, Essex Field Club and Essex Badger Protection Group. Planning officers have nevertheless recommended approval, citing economic benefits tied to wider quarry operations.

It is designated as a Local Wildlife Site and has long been recognised as being a nature hotspot in South Essex.

Its history of sand extraction has left flower-rich grassland terraces and vertical sand faces, sparsely vegetated sandy slopes, seasonally wet areas and pockets of scrub.

It has become home to hundreds of species of invertebrate, including rare and threatened species such as the Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum), Brown-banded Carder Bee (Bombus humilis) and Five-banded Weevil Wasp (Cerceris quinquefasciata). Surveys undertaken by Buglife and supported by Natural England in 2007 confirmed it to be home to nationally important populations of invertebrates, and it has since been included in the Thames Estuary North Important Invertebrate Areas. 

Buckingham Hill Pit. Pcture by Jamie Robins

 However, after a long delay, proposals submitted in 2019 that would see the Local Wildlife Site infilled with imported material and sand quarrying resume on land to the south of the quarry have now been recommended for approval and will be considered by Thurrock's Planning Committee.

Buglife has previously expressed concern that its invertebrate interest has not been properly recognised and that the plans for an ecology park are not nearly enough to make up for the loss of such an important wildlife site.

Mr Robins says: "Buckingham Hill Pit is a unique haven for nature in Thurrock and it would be devastating to see yet another precious habitat lost in the Thames Estuary. We have seen so many important wildlife sites lost in Thurrock and there are fears that we are reaching a tipping point where species simply cannot recover. We urge Thurrock Council to reject this application." 

Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylvarum). Pictirfe by Neil Aldridge/Back from the Brink

 "If Thurrock's Planning Committee decide to follow the recommendation for approval, it would be another blow to nature in Thurrock, which is home to nationally important populations of invertebrates.

"Several local wildlife sites have been destroyed or are earmarked for destruction from approvals in recent years for the high-profile Lower Thames Crossing and the Tilbury 2 port expansion.

"Meanwhile, Thurrock Council is currently considering proposals for the Thurrock Data Centre on the Arena Essex Local Wildlife Site and for the further expansion of the Port of Tilbury for Tilbury 3 across an important brownfield Local Wildlife Site network.

Buglife has previously raised concerns about the continued losses of wildlife-rich brownfield habitat, referred to as open mosaic habitat on previously developed land.

Previous studies showed that over half of wildlife-rich brownfield sites in the Thames Estuary identified between 2005 and 2007 were either lost or subject to planning permission in just a six-year period. Since then, pressure on wildlife-rich brownfields have only intensified, with Buglife leading campaigns to save some of the best sites before it is too late.