Deposit Draft Local Development Plan - Rhondda Cynon Taf

5.79. The identification of safeguarding areas for the above minerals in RhonddaCynon Taf does not carry any presumption that planning permission wouldbe granted for their extraction.5.80. There are also significant constraints to the extraction of the minerals fromwithin these identified safeguarding areas. These include firstly theproximity to residential areas, which is discussed in further detail in policyAW15. There are also designated sites of landscape and natureconservation within them, which, in line with national policy, wouldprevent extraction of the minerals. These designations are identified inthe LDP Constraints Map, with other policies within the LDP affecting theirextraction. There are also areas within the safeguarding zones that havebeen previously worked, where the quality and extent of the remainingmineral may not require their safeguarding. Further investigation in theselocations would be required.5.81. Strategic work is currently being undertaken to identify the quality ofresources of minerals throughout Wales, and in particular Rhondda CynonTaf, where the current safeguarding zones are considerably widespread.This is in order to consolidate the resources that have the greatestimportance for future safeguarding.5.82. It is necessary to identify buffer zones around these resources to safeguardtheir boundaries from land uses which may sterilise them or hinder theirextraction. Permanent development and land uses that would beconsidered unsuitable within the safeguarding area and the buffer zonewould include residential development, hospitals and schools, or where anacceptable standard of amenity should be expected. There should be nonew mineral extraction within the buffer zone. Dormant quarriesthroughout the County Borough would benefit from this safeguardingpolicy of the specific mineral.5.83. The Council recognises the need to consider alternative sources of sandand gravel rather than continuing to rely on marine dredged sources tosupport future economic development in Wales. These resources generallylocated in small pockets across the southern edge of the County Borough.5.84. Pennant sandstone covers approximately 70% of the surface area ofRhondda Cynon Taf. The deposits are generally centrally located runningnorth to south. Previous studies to establish the quality of the depositsand refine the potential safeguarding areas to the most importantdeposits, have determined that their quality was in the main uniform.5.85. Deposits of the high purity limestone in Rhondda Cynon Taf are confinedto small areas close to the M4, with the slightly broader outcrop ofcarboniferous limestone cutting through and adjoining it to the south.5.86. The proposals map shows the primary and secondary coal resource areas,(as identified by the British Geographical Survey) as one safeguarding zone,as they both benefit from the same safeguarding considerations. Theprimary resource includes the thicker, closely-spaced coals, with thesecondary resource area having thinner, more widely spaced coals. Theseareas are mainly located on the edges of the South Wales Coal Field, in theSouthern and Northern areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf.Preserving Our Heritage, Building Our Future 61