The decision as to whether to include Straitgate in the new Minerals Plan has been delayed until “well into 2013”.
At the Development Management Committee meeting today, the Council conceded that "the Consultation has raised a lot of significant questions which need to be properly addressed". The Council recognises that it now needs to ascertain “whether or not there are actual showstoppers to those sites going forward”. It admitted that "the trend [for sand and gravel production] obviously seems to be downwards, which is fundamental to the amount of resources that need to be identified in the emerging Minerals Plan” and “that fundamental basis of the Plan is being seriously questioned". The Council has noted the strength of opposition to the Straitgate proposal, as well as the significance of the letters from the Environment Agency and Exeter Airport, which were recognised to have "conflicting concerns".
