Great news Sam, a victory for common sense.

A million thanks to everyone out there who supported our campaign to have the MIN93 quarry proposal in Pentney stopped.
Norfolk County Council today published this document, and if you look on page 9, you'll see that our beautifull village has been spared.
The document will go before the cabinet of elected representatives on September 14th to get their seal of approval.
Everyone who supported or participated in the campaign should feel very proud of their acchievements right now.
Lets break open those bottles of fizzy plonk and have a good old fashioned celebration tonight.

Johnny "Fox" if that's YOUR real name, what a saddo you are if you cant respect the livehood and heritage of small rural villiages and the residents who live there, in some cases for umpteen generations. Are you a blowin landowner hoping to cash in at the expense of others, better still are you English born and bred, your reply ( If truthfull ) will be interesting to read

Words are cheap Johnny. Yours especially so. It's easy to sit there and make broad sweeping statements like that when it's not your home at risk.
As they say, walk a mile in our shoes.

So many people devoted to the village of Pentney and undoubtedly proud of it. So proud that several of them give first names only or are hiding behind an alternative name. Nice to see such pride! If I was offered a nice sum of money for my property/land I would be more than happy to sell despite what my neighbours thought, and I love my neighbours. Several of the people objecting would do also. Regards. Johnny.

Keep up the fight Sam and the Pentney residents, dont let the ''money grabbers'' beat you.

Sorry for the lack of service recently folks. Server and hosting problems knocked the site offline for a bit, but we're back again, cooking on gas and ready to continue the fight.

Keep up the pressure. The fine balance of community and nature is all too easily lost in favour of foolish gains. Landscape inspires, nourishes and supports our fragile lives, and should remain our harbour in death. Respect it for what it gives and for what it has given.

whats happening about the fight against the cOUNTRYSIDE DESTROYERS, those who are prepared to sell not only their birthright but their very souls to make a POUND or TWO. It's not the EC workers who want to kill the British landscape or villagers not only way of life but very existence in the communities they were born and bred in. Shame on those with enough money not only to KILL a community but to make sure it dosent happen anywhere near to where they live and hope to rear their children. A privilige they want to deny others for the sake of the pound note. SHAME ON THE SECRETIVE. GREEDY PEOPLE

One can only wonder if they mean to drag it on and on in the hope that people will become disheartened and have other things (such as the almighty Crunch) looming over them to worry about and will therefore have less time to spend fighting what is turning into a dirty battle that it seems we can’t win…

MigrantLondoner, I fear you've rather missed the point here. We're not objecting to gravel extraction. We all know that gravel and aggregate is vital for roads and building, and that the country would grind to a halt without it.
What we object to is the proximity of this quarry to a built up residential area.
There are other quarries in Pentney, but they are far removed from any habitation, and Middleton Aggregates have done such a good job of minimising their impact upon the village that for the great majority of the time, you wouldn't even know they are there.
This MIN93 quarry would be impossible to operate in such a responsible way, as it would be right in the heart of the village.
Aggregate for building doesn't just have to come out of the ground, which is after all a finite resource. The government are trying to encourage the increased use of recycled aggregate, so the need for quarried gravel is less urgent, and there are other sources such as offshore dredging, which admittedly has it's own little storm of controversy surrounding it.
But the salient point here is that alternatives to quarrying in the heart of a rural and historic village do exist.

Finally, if you had ever been to Pentney, you would realise that the village already has an extensive complex of lakes. Why on earth would it need another one in 15 years time?
That was probably the most pointless justification for the quarry that I have ever heard.

I wonder how many of you drive cars? and want to continue to have roads built or repaired? However i think its unfortunate for villagers that Pentney happens to be the target area again. But then again, another lake in 15 years ould be good for my kids to learn to ski on.

I lived in Pentney from 2002-2003, as I was a United States Military member stationed at RAF Lakenheath for three years. I lived at the Harness House, Back Road, Church Farm. I loved Pentney. I am saddened to see that this is the possible outcome to such a wonderful village. I will submit my input, though, I am not sure how far it will go, as I am not an English citizen. I hope that Pentney Village can be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

greedy & sleekit buggers. its true. we can prove that. in the right moment we will be there,and send this persons to the jail.

Save the arguing for something that matters Tom?
Pray tell, what could possibly be more important than the impending destruction of our village, coupled with the negative impact on the health of the community?
I'd be absolutely fascinated to hear what calamitous events are unfolding in your life that matter more than the destruction of your home.

fuck it! just dig it up,save the argueing for somthing that matters!!!!

In response to Matt… Or would you prefer to be called Andy?
I ask this because it's clear from the entries in the forum database that you are both one and the same person. Your messages were lgged with the same email address and IP address.
So, in one message you say Pentney is a shit hole and the quarry should go ahead, then a few minutes later you post under a pseudonym saying that the quarry should be stopped.
Which is it to be? Or are you just trying to cause trouble on the forums?

i just 8 2 oreos and drank a glass of orange. now i need a yorkshire pudding mmmmmmmm. i dont think they shud build a big hole in the middle of pentney because it is a health and safty risk for local residents as there will be large lorries going through every day and the dust will be bad for people with asthma etc.. NVE

I wrote on here a while ago now and I don’t agree on what you are saying if they want to build a qurry they can if we need suplys we need quarrys I agree with harriet because pentney is a shit hole and jamie smith is a inbred I live in narborough [address hidden by webmaster] if you have any problems with me please send me an email at mattyhotshot@yahoo.com thank you

Harriet. you've completely failed to see the point of this website and our protest. We know that the gravel has to be dug from somewhere. We aren't trying to stop them from digging for gravel. We just want them to show a bit of consideration when selecting the sites. Instead of putting a quarry in the heart of a village, we'd rather they put it in a remote secluded location where it won't ruin anybody's life instead. It isn't a lot to ask, and given how big and wide-open Norfolk is, there must be plenty of locations that fit the bill.

Harriet, would you have this attitude if it was yours and your childrens health that was going to be effected by this. its appriciated a quarry is needed but not this close to peoples doorsteps and there are other places it can be done where it is not going to destroy history (ie the church etc)the roads in this village are not strong enough to take the heavy traffic etc the reasons we are all against it are good ones.

These quarries have got to be dug, and they're going to be dug. The sand and gravel is required and it has to come from somewhere. You're all happy to reap the benefits of sand and gravel extraction, so long as it affects someone else and not yourself. If you stop the quarry in Pentney, they'll just go and dig it somewhere else so you aren't achieving anything.

So, the site's been altered. Was anybody surprised by this? Not me. A typically sneaky tactic. Wait until the opportunity to object is over, then sneak an amendment in through the back door hoping nobody will notice. But then, did anybody really expect the land owner to play fairly? He doesn't understand what rules are. He thinks they're something that only applies to other people.

The latest news is that NCC have delayed the decision date, thus prolonging the agony suffered by the villagers, and at the same time they're point blank refusing to reply to any letters or emails we send them. Teh council are supposed to be there to represent and look after the community. Well, they're doing a rotten job of it if you ask me.

Whats the latest news on the fight to save the Village?

Just a message to say, I'm just back from my holidays, it was lovely to have a week off from the stress and worry about our lovely village!!

Sadly, due to the actions of some idiot who decided to flood the forum with spam and adverts for viagra, I've been forced to build in a security validation measure.
I want the forums to remain as uncensored and unmoderated as possible (within reason), and I still want to respect the anonymity of anyone who feels they may be compromised by giving out their full name. After all, we live in a small community with a lot of complex inter-personal relationships.
In order to post to the forum now, you will be required to provide a valid email address. Moments after you submit your message, you will receive an email at that address containing a link which you can click on to verify that you are indeed the real sender of the nessage. This will result in your message being displayed on the forum
Your email address will be retained on the database for security reasons, but will never be revealed, published or used for any other reason.
I'm sorry I had to introduce this measure, but my hand was forced by the actions of a petty and stupid minority who felt they could gain something by disrupting the forum for everyone. Perhaps as Phil has suggested, they thought they had found a way to discredit us.

I live in Devon, Im so sorry to hear about these people trying to distroy yet another beautiful village, and i know its beautiful because we have had the pleasure of visiting Pentney.leave the village alone, and let the people live in a clean environment.this Country is trying to stop pollution not cause more.good luck to you all, hope you succeed.

This ''person'' jtsfds115 sounds very much like the son of a certain family of Pentney land owners, GREEDY & SLEEKIT BUGGERS.

When I set up this forum, I intended it to be an uncensored and unmoderated one where everyone could leave comments, either posiive, negative or whatever. However, vitriolic attacks on individuals don't acchieve anything - especially when they aren't related to the subject of stopping the quarry.
On the subject of false names, I can understand why some people might want or need to retain anonymity, so I respect people's right to use a false name. However, I would politely request that users of the forum try to keep to the subject of quarries destroying the village rather than resorting to personal attacks.

phil, i did say this a while back, but people are still using nicknames etc. personally i think we should all be proud to stand up against the people who are behind the plans, to show them we are not scared to say what we think and that we will not be silenced until the plans get scrapped

Might I suggest that people, for or against, who post on this forum identify themselves fully to keep it credible. By using first names and nick names like Uncle Bert, Auntie Flo, friend of Pentney etc. leaves it open to abuse with multiple postings from the same person. This will not look good when used as evidence and will lessen it's impact.

I hear he had his application to turn his barns into a bail hostel declined too. These are all just schemes of his to piss off the community. I've known this crotchety old codger for years and he's only happy when he's annoying people. He thrives on other peoples misery. You mark my words, within a few weeks he'll have cooked up another hare brained scheme to inconvenience the whole village.

Ah yes. The stench of onions. Have you noticed that it's gone? Has someone been and had a word with them? I think so.

Wow. Just read your article about noise. Very scary stuff. This, more than anything else has made me realise the extent to which a quarry will destroy our village. How on earth do the land owners sleep at night? No wait, I just realised they sleep perfectly well because they don't give a flying monkeys toss about Pentney and the community. The recent stench of rotting onions coming from their land is proof of that.

The Pentney village is NOT the place to have a gravil pit to much history and a lovely littal village let the fat cats spend their mony some here else

Why the delay? The decision process should be a simple case of counting the number of objections each site has received and listing them in ascending order. Once that's done, you simply select the forty sites with the least objections and discard the rest. What's taking them so long? I could have done that in the space of a weekend. Perhaps it's a bit more complicated than that. Perhaps they also have to count and consider the value of the bribes that each site proposer has paid to NCC.

why do they even need to drag it out longer surely the clear oppisition from everyone makes the descion easy. lets hope they decide against it it will make a brilliant birthday presant (my birthday being on descion day)

They just keep prolonging the agony. Who's to say they won't delay it by another two months as the new January deadline starts to loom on the horizon? This is no way to live.

Pentney is part of my heritage & NCC should really think about what they are proposing.Keep PENTNEY quarry free!!!!

30th January 2009 before we know what the planners have decided to do with the Pentney quarry site? Do you mean we have to live with this threat hanging over hour heads right through Christmas and into the new year? Oh that's just great isn't it?

Good luck with your efforts to stop was does not seam like a very good thing for the town.

Plz help save my village the world wont be rite wid out it i love this place this is my home place

I saw your web address on the back window of a car this morning and decided to check it out when I got to work. I can't believe anyone could think this is a good location for a quarry. It's right in the middle of the village for god sake. Keep fighting the bastards and put me down as a supporter. I'm going to sign your petition and forward it to everyone I know.

i fink dat save pentney is a good ider cause the gravel pits r a waste of time

Save pentney!

dont do it coz of the bad smell and pultion

i agree with fay google dont put the gravel pits because of bad astma

don't do it

you get really bad astma from the gravel pits so dont put them there

Hi Alison. I can't help thinking you're fighting a losing battle with the Silicosis angle to be honest. I was there at Leziate sailing club when the EWAG chap gave his speech, and I quietly wept when that other old chap stood up and told us the heartbreaking story about the long list of his family who had tragically died as a result of silicosis from the quarries. So I do fully agree with you that it's a very serious danger, and one I'd be very scared of if I lived in East Winch. But I really do believe that EWAG are making a mistake by basing their entire strategy around Silicosis and nothing else. The quarry companies have millions of pounds at their disposal, and a very large team of very clever legal people and science experts, and every time you make a valid point, they'll crush it like it was an ant. Eventually you're going to end up spending a vast amount of money fighting this cause without ever getting anywhere. What you need to do is find a different angle, or lots of different angles to attack from. Look at what Pentney are doing. They aren't hung up on just one particular argument. They're actively pursuing the health implications, environmental implications, wildlife implication, heritage implications, transport infrastructure and finding mistakes and errors in the blue book that they can use as loopholes. This multi-fronted attack method is a far more effective approach than the 'all your eggs in one basket' approach that EWAG appear to be employing. You could learn a lot from the Pentney campaign.

Hi Aaron, thanks for your note on 18th May reminding us of the wildlife reserve and bird sanctuary at East Winch with regard to disturbance of the local water tables. Will pass this on to our committee. Not sure whether WBB are actually having to play by the rules though. If they are being allowed to ignore human health risks with Silicosis, will they be forced to take notice of the wildlife and birds? The killer disease Silicosis isn't a made up name, it comes from the word SILICA. It's time those people who like digging it out of the ground near our villages, near our children, pets and old age pensioners are forced to accept that TRUTH instead of making out it does no harm. The whole damned thing should be illegal near peoples' homes. I don't need to be a doctor to know this.

To me it could just as easily be my own home village. Netherthong just outside Holmfirth in West Yorkshire

We live over 200 miles away but have ties with the beautiful village through family. Why on earth any NORMAL human being would want to build a quarry in the middle of such an idillyic place is beyond comprehension and we believe something beautiful will be turned into a complete eyesore.

I object to this quarry in the strongest possible terms. I will fight it and do whatever it takes to stop it. Even if I have to go out onto Mr Cunningtons land with a spade and a wheelbarrow and cart all the gravel away myself, I'll do it just to ensure there's nothing left for the quarry companies to extract. Who's with me?

If the people of Pentney say NO to a quarry on our doorsteps, then that should be the end of the matter. No means No. Go and dig your holes somewhere else. There was once a time when democracy meant something in this country. A time when the voice of the majority counted. Nowadays the only language anyone listens to is the call of the almighty pound sign.

I'm sure I read somewhere about offshore dredging operations to extract gravel from seabed reserves. Why don't we make better use of this resource instead of digging holes in peoples back gardens?

Please help us to save the village by takingthe time to sign our E-Petition. Just click here to go to the E-Petition website, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Just noticed yesterday when driving up Paws Lane. It's not just power lines running across the site. There's a telephone line that runs through the site too. It runs parallel to the road, from Mr Fry's house, past the back of Mr Veltzeboar's house and entering the village itself somewhere in the region of Mr Beck's house. That's another expense and complication that the quarry companies will have to consider, all of which contributes towards making this site fnancially unviable.

This proposal is too near this wonderful; village!

Getting back on topic again, has anyone stopped for a moment to look outside the boundaries of the village itself? About a kilometre to the north west of the site, where Common Road meets the A47 at East Winch, there is a large and rather important wildlife reserve and bird sanctuary. One of the unique features of this reserve is that it's one of Norfolk's very few remaining areas of natural marshland, and as such it has been afforded certain protections under law. Now, I'm no expert on geology, but it occurs to me that any disturbance of the local water table will seriously jeapordise this rare and unique habitat. If anyone from the East Winch Action Group is reading this, you may be able to make good use of this information too. Good luck to everyone involved in the fight, and don't let the bastards win. They've already taken far too much from us.

We, at Save Pentney Action Group, are producing a robust, well-researched dossier of information to oppose gravel extraction in Pentney. We feel that personal invective is counter-productive. In this Public Forum we invite reasoned dialogue from all parties.

Agreed Phil. Regardless of what personal feelings people might have, this shouldn't be a personal crusade against anyone. Our attentions should be focused on NCC and influencing their decision at this stage in the game. Misdirected anger only serves to weaken our case by drawing our focus and attention away from the real issue at hand.

People should not get carried away and start making personal attacks, that is not going to help anyone's cause. I have always known the Cunningtons as very fair and straightforward folk. Keep it clean and stay focused, if this degenerates into a slanging match no one is going to take you seriously.

i agree with all the statements below but why is every one disgusing there names, surley that is showing that the cunningtons do have power over us. be proud to live in and fight for the village and let them know who they are hated by

I Thnk maybe the Cunningtons have tried to enter some sort of popularity contest!! They certainly wont get any votes in this area!! LOL

Thanks Annoyed for bring this to attention just one thing bothers me WHY suddenly put in for planning permission after all this time as it seems that the HAPPY JACKS Cunningtons dont usually bother with doing thing legally after all now how long has he has this migrant workers there, all of a sudden he seems to be playing nice guy on this one YET a right son of a B****h over the gravel pit. Pentney is our home not just theres. Come on all residents of Pentney dont let the buggers win fight all the way no matter what they want they dont own Pentney even though they think they do prove we are have a right to peace and quite here

I don't know if everybody else is aware of this, but the delightful individual who has submitted the application for the gravel pit has also submitted other plans in his quest to drag the whole village into the gutter. Planning applications have been submitted to turn three of his properties in Back Road into houses of multiple occupancy (HMO). Those houses are Church Farm and 3 & 4 Barn Cottages next door. What this will mean is a return to the bad old days when the houses were illegally occupied by east european migrant workers - noisy vans tearing up and down Back Road at all hours of the day and night, untaxed cars, uninsured cars, the verges being knee deep in empty white cider and cheap wine bottles, groups of drunk idiots roaming the streets and being another step closer to the sewer as the tranquility and beauty of the village is eroded again. Back Road and the village as a whole cannot cope with a sudden influx of such large numbers of people into such a small area. If you are a Pentney resident and are concerned about this then go to the Kings Lynn Borough Council website and register your objections, or go to the Council offices and do it in person. The planning application reference numbers are 08/01037/CU, 08/01036/F and 08/01035/CU. As there are three applications you will have to register three objections. The attack on our lovely village and the environment is continuing unabated, please register your objections otherwise we are in danger of sinking without a trace.

Well said Aunt Bessie you never know what devious things the Cunningtons would do, all there interested in is MONEY MONEY and more the better (about time they were brought down a peg or two) and have no interest in those that will be affected by this outragious plan, Keep fighting the buggers not only for our generation but also for the youngsters what future do they have in our beautiful village.

Tracy. I suspect Matt might be Matthew Cunnington, one of the land owners two sons.

matt why the hell would we want more housing, and as for jobs its going to be underpaid forigners who will be employed. its going to ruin the village and endanger the health of many of the residents from young children to the elderly from all the dust and pollution not to mention then noise and added traffic onm the roads, its pretty obvious you are a outsider to the village, wghen they decide to build something simular on your doorstep we will see if you still have the same attitude !!!!!!

Yes and we all know who will provide the overcrowded accomodation for the Polish workforce don't we? I'm not mentioning any names, but a certain land owner is going to get very rich from all of this. Surely his wallet is fat enough already. It's all greed.

Matt, the quarry wont bring jobs to the area becaus the big companies will just buy their labour in cheaply from elsewhere. Most likely from the migrant polish workforce who will work for tuppence an hour. And why do you think more housing is a good thing for pentney? We want it to remain a rural paradise, not turn into a sprawling metropolis.

Matt what you say is typical of someone who neither lives in the village nor will be effected by all the destruction that will hit Pentney. Remember these money grubbing quarrying firms could come to your street and your community will be seeking support from your neighbours in surrounding areas.

i am not botherd by this if they want to put a quarry here let them .this will bring jobs and possibley new housing

In response to the last two comments, I have just had a quotable statement given to me from Peter Lemon the managing director of Middleton Aggregates - the largest minerals extraction company in the area.
Mr Lemon was keen to reassure us that "Middleton Aggregates are not interested or involved in any way with the MIN93 site".
Many thanks to Mr Lemon for that reassuring message.

I had also noticed there was not comments from land owners/farmers etc but this dosnt mean they are all for it i do know that Will Fake is really against this and has been to all the meetings, but dont know about all the others.

It's now almost 3 months since the campaign started to save the village and still no entry's on the forum from local farmers/landowners, from their silence it would seem they are not only against the villagers but must want the site to go ahead. They should hang their heads in shame and be sent to ''COVENTRY'' by everyone in the area. What Price Greed????

We live in Surrey, an increasingly crowded part of the country. Four years ago we had the opportunity to purchase a second property and discovered rural Norfolk where we have been amazed that you can drive along roads without seeing another car for several minutes! We chose Pentney for its peace, unassuming beauty and escape from the rat race. We own part of the old Wesleyan Chapel, and have already been saddened in the short time we have known Pentney to find greedy landowners building new properties, blocking out views from old cottages, and half them still seem to be standing empty. We would wholeheartedly join in any protests against the gravel pit in both Pentney and some of the other villages which we have come to know - the noise, dust, traffic, damage to health and destruction of quality of life and beautiful landscape is just too unbelievable to imagine.

In a nut shell this is taking the P***.When i heard the news today it made me livid. I lived in Pentney for 22 years and still wish i was there bringing up my family and also still have family there.They dont want this at the foot of their gardens and neither do anyone else unless the've got a screw loose.Its bad enough these GREEDY SELFISH cretins have popped houses up around there.As always they just think about filling there fat ass pockets up with money.To the person who is selling the land and those who want to create this monstrous hole if you dont like Pentney the way it is SLING YOUR HOOK AND LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE,leave this village as it is for those who love it and live there.

Yet again someone is thinking of their own back pocket getting fat and sod the rest who will be affected. I lived in Pentney for twenty-two years and still have family there. Its a beautiful village and would spoil it drastically.Its bad enough with all the new houses going up there but it certainly doesn't need a great big hole in the middle.Im against the quarry 100% and so should anyone in their right mind.To the GREEDY SELFISH PIGS who are trying to make money from this leave PENTNEY as it is and SLING YOUR HOOK ELSEWHERE.

I was bought up in Narborough and Bought a house in Pentney because of the surrounding peace and quiet and community that a village represents. I have live next to a noisy development and thought by moving to Pentney I would escape all that. Many people buy properties within this tranquil village because it is just that, therefore property prices will be affected not just our peace and sanity, coupled with the fact that many natural habitats of badger and barn owls to name a few will be distroyed, the roads are not large enough for that kind of traffic, they are only just big enought for one car. They are clearly mad if they think that distroying our village is a feasible option and I will be deaply upset and distressed if this happens.

I spend a great amount of time with work and my family in this area of Norfolk and would be deeply upset if I found that the whole place had been turned inside out. Due to the nature of my work I occasionally have to spend 2 or 3 years at a time living within 3 miles of this site and my whole family, 6 of us, could potentially be affected by this. PLEASE STOP these plans NOW!!

I was born and for most of my life lived in London,however I joined my parents in Norfolk and feel in love with the village of Pentney, although I now live in King's Lynn I regularly visit Pentney (twice a week) I feel that it is still my home. After hearing of the proposed plans, I feel disgusted and very upset. WHY??? all because of a few greedy people! STOP!! this happening to a beautiful, historical piece of the counrtyside.

Where do they propose to gain access to this from the A47. Dont we already have enough accident blackspots on the A47 as it is without adding to the nightmare deaths we are seeing.This is just an incredible NO NO! all round causing major issues for all.

Our MP, mister Bellingham has been noticeably silent on this matter. I don't think I've heard or read a single statement from him on this subject. A subject which directly affects his costituents, the people who voted him in to represent them. Why is mr Bellingham keeping quiet on this? Why isn't he standing up and supporting the seemingly overwhelming view of his constituents? Isn't that what they voted him in to do? Questions must be asked, and answers must be given. Where are you mr Bellingham? Why are you keeping a low profile and staying silent? Which sid of the fence are you sat on?

After seeing who is behind the project it has not suprised me in the slightest ! after all could you get a more IGNORANT, MONEY GRABBING, UNCARING person who couldnt give two hoots who he exploits or about anyone but himself and his own financial gain !

Also why should these sites be so close to village settlements, and not where they cause minimal disruption? The simple answer of cause is money. Less money spent on infrastructure like road networks makes it cheaper and easier to extract the raw materials!

Strong link with ancestry and history of village.Line of distant relatives buried at Pentney Church

I think this is disgusting. Nothing on this scale should ever get the go ahead without a full public consulatation, especially when its on the doorstep of local villages!

i think this quarry idea is horrible. you shouldn't destroy such a tranquile village just for a quarry and many people may have to move because of health reasons i think its abismal to do this !

On this mornings ''Country File'' BBC 1 Sunday 20th April 08 the whole programme was devoted to Norfolk and the desperate need of potatoes and land to grow the crop. Why then could the threatned fields in Pentney not be used for the growing of the humble Spud instead of stones and sand.

Yes, got to agree with Jimmy, 50 messages against this pit proposal so far, not one for it? I would like to here from the people who want this to go ahead, are they just city share holders or locals with genuine reasons. I know the EEC has created a lot of problems for British farming, but surely this land is still workable. So silent minority, it would be nice to get some input here, lets here from you.

A typical example of the zeitgeist - destroy history, habitat and quality of life for short term gain that will be short term use. What will be left for our grandchildren?

Thanks to the effort put in by Sam Knox the plight of the villiage is now getting widespread coverage and support in the media and hopefully maybe a good result will be achived at the end of the campaign to Save Pentney.What I'm wondering is where are the entrys on the forum from local landowners/farmers in support of the campaign to save the villiage...

I was born in Pentney and lived there for 50 years,playing my part in the life of the community. I am appalled at the suggestion of desicrating the village. The roads will not support the heavy transport that will be necessary if this becomes a quarry site. Full marks to all efforts to prevent this from happening.

As a fairly recent incomer to the village [ June 2005] I have enjoyed the fairly peaceful life here. I live on Back Lane. This idea is awful

I want to stop the quarries plan to dig up Pentney, because it will spoil my nanny, grandad's & aunies village.The church where my mummy & daddy were married and me & my brother were christened would be put in danger. It makes us all feel sad about it.

I am fighting hard to save my home, as it will be the closest to the workings if this is aloowed to happen. I came here 45yrs ago as an adult and enjoy the peace and quiet and the lovely people in the village (with a few exceptions). The people who started this train of events have absolutely no qualms about the damage this could bring to the folks of this village who only want their lives to be calm and peaceful. They should be ashamed of themselves, and I only hope they will withdraw from this horendous scheme, but I fear this will not happen.

The whole of this area is blighted by quarries - surely we must all get together to get it stopped. So may villages will be effected by it.Why are the landowner doing this? Can the landowner not see how it is effecting everyone - do they care or they just in it for the money? I feel the whole of Norfolk ought to band together and say enough is enough. We need to see the lovely countryside back to farming.

I am from East Winch where we are also fighting a monstrous proposal for a silica quarry. I certainly echo all the messages of support for Pentney here. Also I would like to add that on top of the health issues, which affect everyone, babies, young children, the elderly, women carrying the unborn, wildlife and our pets, there is the fact that many families have re-located. If these quarries get the go ahead many of our sons and daugters may not want to bring our grandchildren to visit us in an area soaked in cancer causing silica dust. Ours live in Surrey and Sussex, these mining companies will be directly responsible for keeping families apart. Then there is the fact that our properties will be virtualy worthless. You can't even sell up and move away! It is also everyone's absolute right to pass on to their children a financial inheritance that hasn't been substantially de-valued or wiped out entirely by any council or any company. Tourism and business will be substantially affected. Pubs, caravan/chalet parks, restaurants etc. why would someone choose to socialise and holiday in a place where there will be major health risks and traffic jams from the lorries and trucks going to and from the sites? Constant noise from these vehicles and associated machinery will be unbearable with the constant hydraulic brakes and reversing alarms sounding on and off all day. It will not exactly attract holiday makers! The residents of course will be suffering from this all day, every day. Even indoors with the windows closed these sounds are perfectly audible, just sitting in the garden or having a barbeque on a nice day will be a thing of the past. I could go on, I have gone on a lot further in a long letter of objection to the council. These quarries MUST NOT be allowed to go ahead. Everyone must make their voice heard by writing to object, and this does NOT have to be on their official forms. I have had an email this morning from the planning dept. confirming that personal letters of complaint with your own chosen headings to describe each point, will be counted, registered and put forward to the relevant committees. If anyone is concerned about, or just doesn't like the forms for whatever reason, simply pick up your pens and let them get snowed under with our objection letters! Good luck Pentney!

It is appalling that the Government is even considering the destruction of our peaceful villages and beautiful surrounding Norfolk countryside to fill their quotas. Just compare the profits of quarrying and waste/landfilling against the permanent damage to the health of the residents and extermination of the indigenous wildlife. NO THANKS !!

This is the most ridiculous idea ever its much to close to the heart of the village.I was born here 50+yrs ago and enjoy the peace and quiet that is Pentney. I cannot believe that people who have always classed themselves as residents would want to bury all the village at once. So leave Pentney as it is Quiet Peaceful and Scenic please.

Unfortunately the damage has already started. Although we knew nothing about the extent of local quarrying until approximately four weeks ago, we now know of a substantial quarry which has gone ahead without resident's knowledge 400m north of East Winch village. This is painfully obvious when you look on www.multimap.co.uk and type in PE32 1NP. Mineral companies are targeting silica sand in the area, which has been described by WBB Minerals as "A mineral of national importance". According to the Report On Carcinogens, 11th Edition, Silica, Crystalline (Respirable size) "is known to be a human carcinogen". We have also become aware of planning being approved for a subtantial site to the 600m west of East Winch, at Grandcourt Farm which went through unopposed in 2004, again without local resident's knowledge. The act that brought all this to our awareness was Norfolk County Council's document for Mineral Allocation sites, where 3 million tonnes of silica sand could be mined in close proximity to the village from the land to the east of Grandcourt Farm (known as MIN 40) which will reduce the buffer zone between the village and the other quarries down to almost zero if this is granted the status of a "preferred site". One vigilant and proactive resident spotted the council notice whilst walking his dog, attended a meeting with the council and was granted an extra month for us to object to the MIN 40 proposal. If not for his timely intervention, this site too could already be a done deal/preferred site. In conclusion, although MIN 40 is only at the proposal stage, we already have an active quarry to 400m the north of the village and planning granted for the one 600m to the west. Local tracts of land have been falling like dominoes all around us, and officials appear to have rubber stamped these huge deals without so much as a whimper. We as local residents and taxpayers, have been the last to know. The Report On Carcinogens, 11th Edition also states: "The link between human lung cancer and exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica was strongest in studies of quarry and granite workers" and also "Residents near quarries and sand and gravel operations are potentially exposed to respirable crystalline silica." In our politically correct day and age when you are not allowed to touch a burglar whilst he is raiding your home on the shoulder for fear of being prosecuted for assault, and little girls aren't allowed to wear religious symbols to school for fear of offending somebody, somewhere, British taxpayer's human rights are still fair game to be trampled at will. This appears to be at odds with the Government's statement on the cover of their 2007 budget document, "Building Britain's Future: Prosperity and Fairness for Families." The people of East Winch stand to lose not only their DEFRA spnsored conservation walks and beautiful scenery and local wildlife but also their health and potentially their very lives to respiratory illnesses caused by silicosis and cancers. WBB Mineral's slogan is "Working Together for Mineral Solutions". Is this isn't stopped, a large number of people in East Winch, West Bilney and neighbouring villages face the "final solution". Don't let this happen to us! And don't forget the unique wildlife that will be destroyed such as our local Skylarks, much of which is on the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (which means it should be protected by the Government). They have been present at every Proposed Mineral Allocation Site I have visited so far. It reminds me of the tale of the Goose that laid the Golden Egg, when the farmer tires of waiting for a single golden egg being laid every day, he finally kills the goose and reaches inside to get them all, only to find there are none. Is this ethical, is this sustainable, is this justifiable? The answer is "blowing in the wind".

These proposals are much to near to the village which will be covered in dust for long periods of the year, suffer from noise pollution all year and poor air quality. There are many other issues which I will air with the Council but if they dig a large hole they will fill it eventually with rubbish.Encourage people to complain because a lack of response does not mean agreement with the plans but it may be interpreted thus.

It sickens me to think of this project actually going through. Here in California we have to be constantly vigilant so that our lovely countryside isn't ruined, but I have never heard of anything so arrogant as this. Look at those colored blobs on the map blithely covering what is beneath them, as if nothing important could possibly be there. Unbelievable. There has been enough plundering of the earth as it is, and there aren't nearly enough unspoilt places left. Keep shouting until you are heard!

As a resident of LEZIATE we are suffering the same possible outcomes as Pentney, East Winch and many others. We must present a united front against these proposals, as it could be the sinking of Norfolk. Is this the Governments way of saving money? I have lived in Norfolk for 25years, a beautiful area to live, I will not let anyone destroy it without a fight.

This mineral extraction proposal would have a devastating effect on the village and all its inhabitants. If it went ahead with the boundaries drawn in the proposal then my house would actually be inside the gravel pit! It would also destroy the tranquility of all the inhabitants along Back Road and also a great many along Narborough Road. I do appreciate that the landowners have stated that the proposal has been drawn incorrectly by the Council and that they want to extract from a much smaller area inside the Church Farm land, but we can only go on what is being presented by the Council until it is formally amended and as such it must be opposed and halted. Keep up the good work everybody - we shall prevail!

Born & Bred in Pentney, family used to own village shop until it closed many years ago.A very happy childhood there. Please dont let the village get spolt.

We live in West Dereham and have the threat of 71 hectares of quarrying AND 71 hectares of Waste disposal threatening our village. It is almost beyond understanding. Clearly money is far more important than Norfolk residents.

SAVE OUR LOVELY VILLAGE OF PENTNEY It seems that the goverment and local authoritys of east anglia seem hell bent on destroying the counties with wind farms, and allowing the coastal defences repairs to lapse causing a large proportion of norfolk to disappear, now they wish to put gravel pits around the county destroying rurel life as it is known today all in the cause of the mighty dollar. If farmers need to make more money why do they not forget about getting money for set aside fields and instead grow crops ie wheat as there is a shortage of this as the price per tonne is rocketting. So as a resident of this village I strongly oppose the ruining of this quite rurel village and hope many many more residents will join the fight to Stop this.SAY NO TO GRVEL OR WASTE PITS IN OUR AREA

I was born and bred in the village i am now 50 and still class pentney as my home.IT was bad enough with wimpy&hovering DIGGING up the countryside near the village now you propose to do the same I DONT THINK SO.LEAVE THE VILLAGE TO THE VILLAGERS.

Here in France we are also trying to protect our typical and authentic villages from projects that threaten them (industrial or real estate). I am personally attached to such a village where a part of my family comes from. So I really do understand the protest of the people of Pentney. I hope you will succeed in preserving your very nice village.

My family goes back into the late 1800's in Pentney, and they are now turning in their graves at the very thought of this ridiculous proposal - as I am.

I thought farmers were concerned with their land and the environment. I know alot of them are having to diversify to make a living, but this is one step too far. I'm surprised Mr Cunningham can hold his head in the village

DONT DIG UP PENTNEY. I have good friends living in Pentney, is a sleepy little village and I think its a terrible proposal to even think about quarrying there. The impact on the community would be dreadful and this is such a worrying time for everyone living there.

annoymous should put away his toys and grow up. Nature's gifts were not put there to be exploilted and difiled. Some people do not appreciate what they have round here. Remember the pop song of the sixties? "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot".

Although I am not a resident of West Norfolk I want to record my strong objection to the current proposals for a massive increase in the amount of mining and sand extraction in the area, particularly around Pentney. Should these plans go ahead it seems clear to me that the lives of villagers across the region will be blighted for many years to come. I have chosen to support the protests from Pentney because the mining scheme being suggested there appears to be the most extreme in its breath-taking lack of concern for the rights and welfare of residents. My personal interest is that in recent years I have researched my family history and found that my Rowe ancestors lived in Pentney throughout the 17th century. Four of my ancestors were churchwardens during that period - I do wonder if the graves of those men, and their families, will remain undisturbed? Certainly the land they owned and farmed, near the Bilney road, will disappear if these brutal mining operations are allowed to proceed.

IM LIVING DOWN HERE IN KREMENTJUG IN THE UKRAINE WHERE NATURE STILL EXISTS.IM APPALLED TO READ ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION PLANS FOR PENTNEY IS IT TO BE CARRIED AWAY BY PROFITEERS STONE BY STONE .A DISGUSTING ACT AND I WILL DO EVERYTHING TO PREVENT IT,PETE.

My wife and I support your protest 100%. Here in East Winch several of the residents have also set up a website and action group E.W.A.G. to fight the MIN 40 proposal. It may well be that all our different action groups will have to join together to fight these crazy plans. Until then good luck with your endevours. Check out our website www.saveeastwinch.blogspot.com

I spent the most happy and memorable years of my youth in Pentney village, leaving there back in the sixties to travel the world. In those days it was a quiet little place with it's lively corner pub and the most radical thing that ever happened was one guyfawks night, We decided to stick a couple bangers through a local farmers letter box, a big mistake. As we dived down behind the bank on the opposite side of the road, he swung open his door and blasted two shots from his double barrel shotgun which cut through the bramble bush above our heads! We never troubled him again but it made our evening!! I digress, this pit proposal has to be a joke, I mean really, are they that serious!? Who is behind it? Perhaps they are initially applying for that huge area knowing full well it is going to get knocked back and believing that if they are seen to compromise on size they might finally get allocated a smaller area and thus get their foot in the door with a smaller pit! Don't let them in, that's how the pit started down near the abbey. In the sixties it was small and I remember all that land on the right side of the road from the old cross went almost down to the Abbey turn off and I actually used to plough it. Now I see its all water up to the cross corner and I think there is some kind of water recreational thing there now. That's probably ok since its not affecting residents too much I would have thought, but you wouldn't want that on the edge of the village. In 2006 myself and a few others from those sixties days(most born there) decided to meet up and do a walk along the Nar from Narborough to the old abbey. It is a fabulous part of the world and at least that river is still much the same, although the deep hole that we used to swim in down the Narborough end seems to have gone. The only other change was some fishing club now owns the fishing rights (fair enough) but also seems to think it can stop you walking along it, We politely told a wellied wader, who was screaming at us from the middle of the river that we were trespassing, not to get so excited, life was too short to take it so seriously, and we continued our amble. OK, I know, I am way off subject! Put my name down as a definite NO NO !! to this horrible intrusion on to the good village of Pentney. Good luck with your fight (great having young Fry in on your side too.) With best wishes to all old friends there Phil Smyrk, Australia

I was born in London but raised in Norfolk. And my family have roots in the County going back to the 1800's. Having moved away to live and work in Manchester, I felt drawn back to this beautiful part of England's green & pleasant land, and so I returned! I would hate to think that this beautiful village might no longer be green and pleasant but instead a dust bowl thats not so pleasant! How can anybody in their right mind think about digging this pit and ruining the beautiful landscape and serenity that is Pentney! Apart from which Pentney has a history going back centuries! Norfolk is an historic rural county....lets leave it that way. POWER TO PENTNEY!

So we'll have floodlights from the quarry bathing the entire village in the harsh glow of industrial lighting. Well, I suppose that's a blessing in disguise, seeing as we've been trying for years to persuade the council to put in a streetlight or two, with no success and hundreds of feeble excuses.

I hope you don't get it! We've got industrial units being built near us - and the soundproof fencing didn't get put up because it would stop sunlight falling on the canal and prevent water weed growing.This means we're exposed to huge amounts of noise all the time. Even promises at planning can be ignored!

surely all the noise generated by the Excavators,Loaders,Lorries,Generaters,pumps Etc. the company would be breaching the legal decibel limet allowed because of how close the site is to residential dwellings???

I moved to Narborough 7 years ago and love the peace and quiet of my village and the surrounding ones including Pentney. I enjoy walking in the beautiful countryside we have. How on earth can a company like this get away with destroying all this. Let them go and build a quarry on their own doorstep and see how they like living with it. They are nothing more than bullies and musn't be allowed to get away with it.

I live in South Norfolk but know this area very well...I came to this region for my holidays as a child and fell in love with the county. So when I settled here 25 yrs ago it was a dream come true..yet that dream is fast becoming a nightmare because the powers that be seem intent on ruining this beautiful county. People and wildlife don`t seem to count anymore....just profit...somebody making millions out of others misery and misfortune. If you want gravel....find it somewhere else...there`s a huge sea bed less than tweny miles away...Norfolk is an historic rural county....lets leave it that way.

I'm not from Pentney, Norfolk or England for that matter but I really hate to see this sort of thing happen. Pentney is a really beautiful place that should be protected by local and national government, not sold out merely to fill a government quota. The really sad thing is that Norfolk County Council probably sees Pentney as "expendable" in order to meet that 3 million tons of aggregate target. The residents have cause for concern for a development of this scale would surely destroy the village.

I notice that only one person has expressed anything close to support for the quarry proposals. Interesting that he or she chose to hide their identity by adopting the name Anonymous. For what it's worth, I strongly object to the proposals. I'm not from Pentney, but looking at the maps, I can't help thinking the site is far too close to the village.

Thanks for setting this site up, I just cant beleive whats happening to this village, the dangers to both young and old due to increase of traffic, the wildlife that will be destroyed, the pollution that will be caused by both the dust of the site and the fumes from the lorries etc also the nouise pollution. We must all fight to keep this orginal village with the views etc. Why should Norfolk have to provide 40+ %. Come on all who live in village join the fight dont let Commercialisim win this one.

My wife and I have visited Pentney village on a number of occasions and found nothing by beauty and history in the area. What na sin it would be if the so called ''powers that be' were to let a greedy lot of developers destroy one of Englands original villages which can trace it's existence so so far back in history, right back to the Doomsday Book and beyond. We hope you are succesful in your fight to win the right to live without your lifestyles being destroyed by greed.

I have always been told that my roots are from the village, that said i hope and pray that this is not allowed to happen. anythink i can do to help i will.

Same scenarory in East Winch, why is Norfolk providing 40% of this countries product output.

Commercialisim such as this example is a blot on our society. We face a similar problem here in Montrose, Victoria, Australia, where an existing quarry in the midst of a residential area wants to expand it's operations to the detriment of local residents. This operation must not be allowewd to proceed.

i personally have no problem with a quarry,but could think of better uses than landfill. ie a place for 4x4ing or better still a motor-x track. it would give the increasing amount of youngsters and not so young somewhere to ride,rather than on the road,footpaths or tresspassing on land,etc. wasn't the pictures of the lake in the gallery on this site once a quarry???

More power to your elbow Sam, this has to be stopped. To see what we will become can be seen at the landfill at Blackborough End(a hole filled with stinking garbage that contaminates everything around it)

Its not only going to be a eyesore it is going to make the village dangerouse for our children. with lorrys coming thro the village etc even if they put a seperate road in to prevent that problem its not going to stop the smell, dust and all the other pollution this is going to cause, both my children have ahstma and this is not going to help matters.

I would hate to think that this village (our relatively new home) might be destroyed. How can anybody in their right mind think about digging this monstrosity and ruining a beautiful landscape and serenity? For those with Facebook, I've created a group. Click here to visit the Pentney facebook group.

This quarry would have a huge negative effect on the village. The people who live on Back Road would have the quarry right beside where they live. Not only would there be noise, smell and air pollution from the quarry, but in high winds the village would be covered in dust as the whole village is set on higher ground than the site. There is a public footpath, pylons, sewage pipes and a stream running along the site itself. The roads are not wide enough to take the extra traffic which would be added as a result of the quarry, and in some places it would not be possible to make the road wide enough to cope with larger vehicles.

The area designated for the mineral excavation is designated as an 'Area Of Important Landscape Quality'. The West Norfolk conservation guidelines have this to say about it.
Policy 4/6 In the Area of Important Landscape Quality shown on the Proposals Map development which damages the distinctive character or appearance of the landscape will not be permitted.

From the information I see, no thoughts or regards have been borne in mind for the residents of this historic village. This stinks of back-handers, and decisions made behind closed doors...

Please use this forum to get things off your chest regarding the planned quarry in the village. If everyone uses this space to make their feelings clear, we can then use that to show how strongly we feel as a community, and perhaps use that weight of opinion to bring the wider press on board.