Thank you to Roger Giles, County Councillor for Ottery St Mary Rural, for providing us with DCC's webcast viewing figures for 2012. The special meeting of the Development Management Committee on 26 April, the purpose of which was to receive representations from local communities on sites being consulted upon by DCC for future sand and gravel supply in East and Mid Devon, was the third most watched webcast. The issue of minerals and particularly where they are extracted is demonstrably important to the people of Devon.
Straitgate Farm near Ottery St Mary in Devon was bought in 1965 in the hope it would yield 20 million tonnes of sand & gravel. Straitgate Action Group was formed in 2001 to oppose a quarry due to concerns over water supplies, ancient woodlands, protected species, road safety and more. After finally gaining permission for just 1 million tonnes on appeal, Holcim UK – formerly Aggregate Industries – abandoned its plans in 2025. This blog records the long path to victory.