Planners who hoped to install a quarry on the site of the former Hatfield Aerodrome have said they will "reflect on the decision to refuse their application", before considering their options.

On Monday, January 15, Hertfordshire County Council formally refused permission for Brett Aggregates' application – almost 11 weeks after councillors decided it should not be allowed.

The formal decision notice gave eight reasons for the council’s refusal – pointing to the impact on the Green Belt, heritage, residential amenity, landscape character, biodiversity, public access, the highway and groundwater.

The applicants have six months to determine whether or not they will lodge an appeal against the decision.

After the publication of the decision notice, the company told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it will "reflect on the reasons given before considering options".

“The decision by the planning committee to refuse our updated proposals at Hatfield Aerodrome was very disappointing,” said a spokesperson for Brett Aggregates.

“Now that the formal decision notice has been issued we will be reflecting on the reasons for refusal over the coming weeks before considering our options and making any decisions.”

Brett’s application had sought permission to extract around eight million tonnes of material from the site, which sits between Ellenbrook and Smallford, over a period of 32 years.

It included plans for a new access on to the A1057, an aggregate processing plant and other facilities.

The plans were considered by an all-day meeting of the council’s development control committee in October – where a majority of councillors voted to refuse the application.

Earlier plans – which had also included a concrete batching plan –  were also turned down by the county council in 2020.

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Brett appealed against that decision to refuse, which led to a nine-day Planning Inquiry in 2021, but ultimately the Planning Inspector dismissed the appeal.

As well as the omission of the concrete batching plant, the latest plans include the relocation of the access road to allow for additional acoustic screening and an extension of screening and planting around Grade II-listed Popefield Farm.

Meanwhile the ‘stand-off’ for mineral extraction in the ‘lower mineral horizon’ to the bromate  plume would be increased from 50m to 100m – with no pumping proposed in the lower mineral horizon.