An Aggregate Industries’ spokesperson has now confirmed that this planning application will be i) for processing Straitgate material at Hillhead near Uffculme, ii) for site access onto the B3174 Exeter Road from Birdcage Lane, and iii) for Straitgate to be worked on a campaign basis over 10 years.
Unbelievably... AI is now considering processing Straitgate material at Hillhead - some 23 miles away - an astonishing 2.5 million HGV miles in total - equivalent to driving around the earth 100 times - equivalent to almost 4000 tonnes of CO2 - equivalent to 1% of AI's total annual process emissions; AI has obviously no thought for sustainability, climate change, air pollution, the environment, even the NPPF:
"To support the move to a low carbon future, local planning authorities should plan for new development in locations and ways which reduce greenhouse gas emissions"
Does this mean that AI has resolved its issues with the Environment Agency over its proposed seasonal working scheme that fails to leave a 1m unquarried buffer above the maximum water table to protect the many surrounding water supplies? The Letter from the EA in June said:
In our meeting with the applicant in November [How many AI 'suits' does it take to have a meeting with the EA?] we agreed only to consider this revised method of working. It was agreed that a summary technical note report was to be produced by the applicant to address a number of issues. Other than some exchanges concerning the scope of this note we have received no substantive communication from Aggregate Industries since that time. We are therefore still waiting for a robust assessment of the risks that would result from this modification to the operation.
The EA confirmed today that that position has not changed, and that they have still not received any communication, any reports, any robust assessment of the risks from AI since that meeting.
