Aggregate Industries has assured Devon County Council that any derogation of surrounding drinking water supplies and stream flows caused by its proposed quarry at Straitgate Farm would be covered by a Section 106 legal planning agreement – notwithstanding the fact that to date AI’s legal assurances for alternative water supplies have been found "unfit for purpose".
A year ago, the Environment Agency sent renewed guidance to Devon County Council which "consolidates and revises our requirements for conditions and obligations." On the S106 issue:
Although impacts to private water supplies and stream flows are considered unlikely, the applicant shall submit draft text for a Section 106 agreement to Devon County Council. This shall include Cadhay House Spring, Cadhay House mediaeval fishponds, Cadhay Bog and Cadhay Wood Stream. It shall be based upon the principles described in section 2.8 of the July 2017 Regulation 22 responses report. Additionally, in the case where a period of investigation is required into adverse impact to a private water supply, the agreement shall provide for a temporary water supply during the period of investigation. The Section 106 agreement shall include a monitoring management and mitigation strategy. This strategy shall include an outline of possible mitigation measures which could be put into place in different circumstances. In its water quality provisions, the S106 agreement shall include pH.
The issue is, Aggregate Industries has problems complying with S106 agreements – here and here being two examples. We previously wrote:
If AI can't be bothered to fulfil its Blackhill obligations, what hope is there for Straitgate? What hope for people who lose their drinking water supplies? What hope for people whose supplies become contaminated? What hope for timely action, when the last three hydrological monitoring reports for Blackhill have either been submitted late or not at all, when surface flows haven't been measured since 2011? What use is the wording below, if AI doesn't comply with Section 106 agreements?
Devon County Council's recent monitoring report for Hillhead details another S106 that has not been complied with, this time for planning application DCC/4067/2018. The S106 can be found here. The monitoring report details the "CURRENT NON COMPLIANCE":
4.17 There exists a Legal Agreement to widen Clay Lane. The requirement was "within 2 months of the date of issue of the Planning Permission DCC/4067/2018 for the widening of a 400-metre length of Clay Lane to allow for two-way vehicular movements associated with existing mineral operations granted on 30 October 2018 submit Highway Authority details pursuant to section 278 Agreement."
In other words, Aggregate Industries agreed to supply details before the end of 2018. It’s now 2021.
This is plainly not a company that can be trusted to respond in a timely manner if drinking water sources were to be corrupted from quarrying activities at Straitgate.
Failure to fulfil this S106, however, has not stopped Aggregate Industries from making another planning application for Clay Lane. Application DCC/4189/2020 proposes the construction of a new asphalt plant – with a 27 metre high hilltop smokestack that is "contrary to relevant landscape policies [and] grounds for refusal" – which "will generate approximately 108 HGV movements per day":
3.5 It is proposed to construct a new access off of Clay Lane. Following the widening of Clay Lane, (as permitted by planning permission ref: DCC/4067/2018), HGVs will be able to access the A38 without the need to pass any residential properties.
As if the original S106 wasn’t incentive enough, DCC Highways advised:
I would however suggest the widening scheme in Clay Lane be conditioned so as the works would need to be completed prior to commencement of this proposal.
Last week, Aggregate Industries claimed the s278 drawings have now been submitted, and argued:
... we believe the concerns over granting additional development in this location prior to the widening of Clay Lane can be satisfactorily dealt with by a condition which prevents the development from commencing prior to the completion of the consented Clay Lane widening works.
Yet another condition that can obviously be broken at will.
