Aggregate Industries' Transport Assessment for its new application justifies hauling 1.5 million tonnes of material 23 miles from Straitgate to Hillhead for processing - a total of some 2.5 million miles - by saying that it's done this sort of thing before:
9.4 Prior to 2006, material from Rockbeare/Marshbroadmoor Quarry was taken to Hillhead Quarry using the B3180, A30, M5 and A38. During this period, up to 65,500 tonnes per year of material was taken to Hillhead for processing. There is no information on the rate of daily material movement. 9.5 The A30, M5, A38 and Clay Lane have historically carried materials from Rockbeare/Marshbroadmoor Quarry.
According to DCC, the amount hauled from Marshbroadmoor to Hillhead was 'incidental'. But whatever the amount, just because AI got away with being unsustainable before is not an argument to do so again. The issues of air pollution and climate change hardly received a mention ten years ago; now they should be at the forefront of any planning decision.
Let's remind ourselves what happened. AI won permission in 1995 to work Marshbroadmoor (Rockbeare) and first applied for permission in 2008 to import the material to Blackhill, on Woodbury Common. Prior to that, some of the material was transported to Hillhead, as this old supporting statement from AI details:
Crucially, however, AI never secured permission for any haulage operation from Marshbroadmoor to Hillhead. Furthermore, AI was in breach of the following planning conditions, agreed in 1995 and 1999:
But if AI wants to advertise that it's in the business of breaching planning conditions, when its new application would require a plethora of new ones, well, good luck with that.
