Following the post DCC willing to agree YET ANOTHER extension with AI, Devon County Council has uploaded a multitude of additional documents – supplied over a month ago by Aggregate Industries for its planning application DCC/3944/2017 to quarry Straitgate Farm.
These documents, including some correspondence dating back to 2017, were presumably too sensitive at that time for public eyes.
So, in date order, here is some of that correspondence so that others can see what has been going on behind the scenes.
14 August 2017, Devon County Council to Aggregate Industries:
Clearly, your proposal to carry out works in the highway is, as admitted in your own application documentation, likely to have a detrimental impact on the oak tree within the hedgerow known as "Tree H."…
The issue, however, is whether Devon County Council as Highway Authority, in entering into a s.278 agreement with Aggregate Industries for works within the highway would knowingly be sanctioning works that would damage the property of a third party.
It is clear that the size of vehicles involved in the application render a ‘no dig’ solution inappropriate for the depth of road construction that would be required. It is also clear that the Section 278 works for widening and construction of the carriageway are likely to result in damage to the tree and its potential demise. The tree in question is in the ownership of a third party and the highway authority is aware that he is opposed to any damage to the tree. He considers it to be in relatively good health, a view that is shared by the district council’s tree officer. In these circumstances the highway authority would not be in a position to enter in to a S278 agreement unless this matter is resolved. I would strongly suggest that you contact the owner of the hedgerow and tree and try to reach agreement before you proceed further with this application or come back to us with a proposal that might be acceptable which does not impact on third party assets or possessions.
13 September 2017, Devon County Council to Aggregate Industries:
… you need to provide sufficient information and a detailed Stage 2 safety audit of the proposed cattle crossing or of the scheme to include the proposed cattle crossing to enable the Highway Authority to properly assess the safety and network impacts which should include the potential for queueing traffic. This cannot be left to a determination by the District Council with relation to any subsequent planning application for a new crossing, as the any grant of permission for the quarry could lead to your tenant using the existing farm track and field gates without the need for any separate permission. We therefore conclude that any increase in animal or farm traffic crossing this road is a direct consequence of the current planning application and needs to be assessed as a part of the highways impacts.
Note: East Devon District Council is now in the process of assessing Aggregate Industries' planning application for a new livestock crossing with a Stage 1 RSA that bears no relation to the cattle movements required.
6 October 2020, Devon County Council to Aggregate Industries:
We still do not appear to have resolved the issue of the cattle crossing in any final way since that time and my last advice from Mr Tompkins was that negotiations were ongoing with the tenant….
This application has now been with the County Council for nearly three years [now almost 6 years, not forgetting the previous pulled application of 2015] and the uncertainty for the local community is a situation that the County Council as Mineral Planning Authority can no longer accept by continuing to request further delays in the determination due to a lack of the information we have been asking Aggregate Industries to provide.
I must advise you that any extension of the determination date will now be limited to a reasonable period of time for you to do this work. The County Council will not be requesting a further extension of time beyond the end of this year and if the information is not provided in sufficient time for a determination at the meeting on 27th January, then it is my advice that the County Council is likely to proceed to determine the application as it stands and in the absence of the clarification we have requested on a number of important points.
I regret that we find ourselves in these circumstances, however, the guidance in Paragraph: 002 Reference ID: 21b-002-20140306 of the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that no application should spend more than a year with the decision makers.
Although this "planning guarantee" may be superseded by agreed extensions of time, I believe that the age of this application is such that we shall have to proceed to a determination unless you decide to withdraw it and re-submit with all new and updated material which although it would require yet another formal consultation would at least clarify where we are with the status of the documentation and the dates.
5 March 2021, Aggregate Industries to Devon County Council:
Please find attached our final submission of additional information in respect of the above planning application. We would now ask that our application is progressed to the next available committee and confirm our agreement to a time extension until the 31st July 2021 in order to achieve this.
11 March 2021, Devon County Council to Aggregate Industries:
Additional information is required to determine the associated application at Straitgate Farm reference DCC/3944/2017… I am writing to ask you to formally agree to extend the period for the determination of your application until 30 September 2021. You have indicated this will give you adequate time.
Make of all that what you will.
On 6 October 2020, Devon County Council told Aggregate Industries: "the County Council will not be requesting a further extension of time beyond the end of this year." On 11 March 2021, the same council wrote: "I am writing to ask you to formally agree to extend the period for the determination of your application until 30 September 2021."
Any concerns about local people suffering "consultation fatigue" have plainly been cast aside.
