Aggregate Industries has launched two planning applications for Devon in recent weeks. We have posted about them here and here. DCC/4132/2019 seeks to import some 200,000 tonnes of subsoils and clays as part of a revised restoration scheme at Marshbroadmoor at Rockbeare in East Devon. DCC/4146/2019 seeks to continue to work secondary aggregates at Lee Moor, near Shaugh Prior on the outskirts of Plymouth, until 2050.
The Marshbroadmoor application has already run into problems. Exeter Airport has objected and Natural England had something to say about the sand martin habitat that AI wants to destroy.
This week, the Environment Agency also raised concerns – about both applications.
On the revised restoration proposal at Marshbroadmoor, with regard to "obtaining an appropriate environmental permit", the EA says:
The applicant should however be aware that part of the site is currently being restored via an existing CL:AIRE declaration while the remaining part has already been restored in line with a recently surrendered environmental permit. The existence of the current CL:AIRE and the Environment Agency’s view that part of the site has already been restored could impact on our ability to agree to any new environmental permit on the area covered by this planning application. The applicant is therefore urged to seek appropriate professional advice prior to progressing their plans for this site.
Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments (CL:AIRE) is a respected independent not-for-profit organisation established in 1999 to stimulate the regeneration of contaminated land in the UK by raising awareness of, and confidence in, practical and sustainable remediation technologies.
On the proposal to continue to work secondary aggregates at Lee Moor, the EA has objected:
The previous use of the development site presents a high risk of contamination that could be mobilised during operational phases and pollute controlled waters. As the planning application is not supported by an appropriate risk assessment, it does not meet the requirements set out in paragraphs 170 and 178 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
