Winchester Planning Board approves five-year permit for Manning Hill gravel pit, requires corrected site map

The Town of Winchester Planning Board voted April 6 to approve a five-year earth-excavation permit for a gravel pit at 840 Manning Hill Road, approving the permit on condition that the applicant corrects the site map to match the application.

Charlie Lawrence, the applicant, told the board the pit has been in use since the 1950s and that the property owner allowed the prior permit to lapse. The board accepted the application as complete, opened a public hearing, and after discussion closed the hearing and approved the permit by a 6–0 vote. Neal Stetson moved to accept the application and later moved the motions to close the hearing and to approve the permit; Margaret Sharra seconded the final approval.

Board members noted a discrepancy between the application, which lists 9.25 acres of proposed excavation, and the graphical site plan, which appears to show about four acres. The board required the applicant to amend the map so it matches the application before the five-year permit is issued. The chair also noted a letter from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services indicating the pit is exempt from AoT requirements.

The board recorded other routine business: it approved the March 16, 2026 minutes with grammar edits (6–0 with one abstention) and set its next meeting for May 4. The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m.

The permit approval is conditional on the map update; no additional conditions or permit details beyond a five-year effective period were recorded in the minutes.