Back on the 12 July, DCC’s DMC committee resolved to make a site visit to Straitgate Farm in advance of determining Aggregate Industries’ planning application on 6 September.
DCC was getting a bit ahead of itself, because it wasn’t until the end of July that AI actually responded to the Council’s request for information on the 61 substantive points. At the time we wrote that local people:
now find themselves facing another mass of documents, and another consultation; a consultation, whether by design or not, that will begin at the start of the school holidays.
Nevertheless, DCC rushed to make the 6 September meeting, because, as we know, 'DCC’s job is to deliver Straitgate'. However, the EA raised further concerns and determination was delayed.
At the end of August, DCC was then warned by Foot Anstey and Vectos that AI’s application raised a plethora of legal and safety issues.
Regardless of this, at the DMC meeting of 6 September, the Chairman was "fairly well assured" that Straitgate would be determined at the next meeting, on 25 October. A site meeting for the councillors determining the application was arranged for Monday 23 October, meeting at County Hall at 9am, to visit Straitgate then Hillhead 23 miles away, to be back before 12 noon.
Despite the Chairman being "fairly well assured", one week later DCC wrote to AI asking for an extension of the determination date to 30 November.
At this stage, it’s therefore unclear when Straitgate will be on the agenda.
Whether an indication of the company’s ineptitude or the constraints posed by the site itself, or both, it is now well over two years since AI first submitted a planning application to quarry Straitgate Farm.
