I WAS fortunate to have been one of the people on the walk around the proposed Clearwell quarry site.

I don't believe people realise the scale of the quarry proposals and the irreversible change it would bring.

When you drive down from the Orepool Inn and look at the skyline towards St Briavels imagine the hillside in front of you being removed and instead being a gaping hole of around 100-feet.

The future restoration proposed for the quarry site would leave an empty 'bowl' instead of a farmhouse on a hill.

Passing the Bream/ Clearwell crossroads and up the hill towards St Briavels all the fields you see to the right hand-side, including the beautiful 300-year-old Longley farmhouse, will be dug away down below the road level.

The view you may currently take for granted and accept as a pleasant approach to St Briavels, Chepstow and the Wye Valley will be gone and replaced by a massive hole.

I find it unbelievable that such a proposal can be made or that the mineral planning department of Gloucestershire County Council could even consider the destruction of this highly visible historic hillside.

This is a highly travelled but quietly beautiful valley landscape. The B4228 will be a grandstand view for many years of the destruction of this landscape and it will be impossible to hide.

This route is a major approach road to the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the quarry would then run along the road to Clearwell, immediately behind Shop House Farm, then up towards Stowe on the Bigswier road down to the river Wye again.

This proposal entirely damages the setting of Clearwell village with its many historic listed buildings, church, pubs, hotels, castle and well, enjoyed by locals and visitors from all over the world.

Add to this greatly increased quarry lorry movements and you have a mix of ingredients that irreversibly destroy the landscape and atmosphere of this historic place.

As a caver, I was horrified to realise that the proposal takes the existing quarry floor down another 40ft, greatly changing the character and drainage of the site.

The proposals remove the large Longley sink hole and stream and many large ancient oak trees.

Water currently goes underground at this picturesque and impressive sink hole, and with the enlarged water catchment area increasing as the whole area is quarried, there is the likelihood of considerable surface and resurging water being sent lower down the valley to Mork, causing serious flooding. Drainage from the Clearwell iron mines and the Longley sinkhole have been dye tested and emerge into the river Wye.

This would be impossible to seal against pollution which would also be a future concern. Remember that what is quarried cannot be returned to its former state.

Both the district and parish councils have unanimously rejected these proposals, if you care about the area or even passively value and enjoy it for what it is; look at it as you drive by; see the plans in the council offices in Coleford, take a walk along the public footpath, it is both beautiful and disturbing.

Sign the online petition at Change.org, write to Gloucestershire County Council, Shire Hall, Gloucester GL1 2TH, quoting application: 14/0119/FDMAJM, to ask that they refuse the proposal or write to your MP. You could try the Royal Family, as Longley Farm is Crown-owned and they could choose to stop the quarry dead in its tracks if they wanted.

Do what you can to protect this precious landscape for future generations to enjoy as you have.

– Jonathan Wright, Clearwell.