The 8-day Public Inquiry into the appeal by Aggregate Industries against the refusal last year by Devon County Council for a sand and gravel quarry at Straitgate Farm with haulage of the as-dug material to Hillhead Quarry finished sitting on Friday. The Inquiry will be formally closed on 25 October* to allow for a 3-week consultation on the additional Regulation 22 information supplied by Aggregate Industries.
A big thank you to all those who have generously supported us, including Ottery St Mary Town Council and all those who donated via JustGiving.
A big thank you too to our legal team, Tim Taylor of Khift Ltd and Richard Moules of Landmark Chambers, and to the rest of our team – Rick Brassington, Laura Horner, Alex Meletiou and Rupert Thistlethwayte – and to those who spoke at the Inquiry, including Cllrs Jess Bailey, Roger Giles and Amanda Townsend.
A big thank you must also go to those at Devon County Council who facilitated the smooth running of the Inquiry, to the Minerals Team, and to the experts fielded by the Council – including barrister James Burton, hydrogeologists Paul Thomson and Nathan Littlewood, ecologist Chrissy Mason, arboriculturist Michael Steed, heritage expert Ignus Froneman and planning expert Robin Upton.
The closing submissions by the three barristers can be found below. There is no need to repeat the issues raised, save for these few points:
It was established that the groundwater system around Straitgate Farm is fragile and unique; that there is a risk to private water supplies, that a precautionary approach should be taken, and that alternative water supplies must be provided should there be any derogation. No evidence was presented to the Inquiry by AI to demonstrate how alternative water supplies could be provided to the 120 people reliant on the Straitgate aquifer.
It was established that there is no precedent for working down to the maximum water table where there are sensitive water receptors nearby, without maintaining a permanent freeboard or safety margin.
It was established that no testing had taken place to reliably determine the infiltration rates and hydraulic conductivity across the site. The tests that were performed were judged by the company’s own expert to be "pretty crude". It was established that no mineralogy studies have been conducted on the material at Straitgate to understand what effect the minerals have on groundwater, particularly on the pH.
It was established by AI’s hydrogeologist that some of the monitoring boreholes showed confined behaviour, making – according to SAG’s and DCC's hydrogeologists – the area proposed for extraction even more important to sensitive groundwater receptors.
It was established that AI’s flood risk model is based on an unreliable infiltration rate.
It was established that AI had underplayed the importance and number of trees that would be lost.
It was established that surveys for European protected species were out of date, and that there had been habitat changes since the survey work was undertaken.
It was established that there would be a need for a cattle crossing; it was not established how the situation would be resolved.
It was established that there is nothing particularly special about the Straitgate sand and gravel deposit. It is not, as AI had claimed, "a recognised source of high specification aggregate." It is not, as AI had claimed, a source of scarce yellow sand. It does not, as AI had claimed, contain 60% gravel.
It was established that the Preferred Area West of Penslade Cross, next door to the processing plant at Hillhead, is an area of the Budleigh Salterton Pebble Beds that has fewer constraints than Straitgate Farm, and has eight-times the resource. It was established that AI intends to seek pre-application advice regarding Penslade before the end of this year, with a view to submitting a planning application in 2023.
The Planning Inspectors’ decision is expected in the next few months.
