To be fair, it’s not just Aggregate Industries that breaches planning conditions – the whole industry is at it.
Quarrying has a bad name – it is the most unpopular form of development… twice as many people would be prepared to support fracking in their area rather than a quarry. It's hardly surprising when quarry companies flout planning conditions.
We’ve posted about AI breaking S106 water monitoring agreements. We’ve posted about AI operating asphalt plants without planning permission. We’ve posted about AI running bagging operations without planning permission. However, it’s not just AI.
Just last week, the Environment Agency attended with police to issue a stop notice at a quarry in Hertfordshire that was operating more than 3x the number of HGV movements permitted. Elsewhere, other companies breach conditions for mud on the road or operating trucks without sheeting.
At Straitgate Farm, AI is wanting permission to dig down to the water table – without leaving the typical 1m unquarried buffer to protect surrounding private water supplies.
This would be subject to a planning condition. But what’s the chance that AI would stop digging when it gets to the water table?
Here are some examples of how much notice the industry takes of planning conditions and water tables:
County councillor for the area, Steven Bridgett, said: “The head of planning has been contacted about this numerous times and her department has failed to act. These residents have had no basic water supply for in excess of 13 months. A county council spokesman said the site was being investigated. He added: “The investigations identified that planning conditions were not being met and parts of the quarry had been excavated below permitted levels. Formal enforcement action was subsequently taken by the council.”
Had the council taken its enforcement responsibility seriously, the breach of the water table would not have arisen, he said. The breach, with possible consequences of polluted water leaching off the lands into water courses and either affecting other private land owners, the public water supply or the natural environment, was “of serious consequence”. Quarrying has now ceased, KQL has surrendered the license and left the property which, the judge said, includes two very deep lakes dug by KQL “with no regard to the planning permission”.
The first notice claimed that the sand was being extracted at a depth below that specified in the planning permission. This meant that it breached the level of the water table and allowed freestanding pools of water to be formed within parts of the site. The second notice stated that the mineral was being mined outside of the defined area covered by the permission and the council alleged that this involved an area of approximately two hectares.
Galway City Council informed councillors late last week that it has initiated legal proceedings against Lackagh Quarries over a breach in the water table at its Coolough/Ballindooley site.A report circulated to councillors by the local authority late last week said that the company had quarried to a depth of 2.48m (10ft) below the 15-metre Ordnum Datum levels approved in the planning conditions.
The DoE say the quarry owners breached their planning permission and may have damaged the lake's water supply.
Development was not considered to be compliant with the condition at the time of the site monitoring visit… It would appear that mineral extraction has progressed below the winter water table.
Evidently you can’t trust mineral operators. On groundwater, AI's Sustainability Report 2013 claimed:
But locally, at Blackhill, AI failed to comply with a S106 agreement for water monitoring – for years.
So why should people trust AI with planning conditions? Or the Council to enforce them for that matter?
