What’s the scale of Aggregate Industries’ ponding problem at Hillhead?

If Aggregate Industries is to quarry Straitgate Farm, it must do so without creating any water bodies – for aircraft safeguarding reasons – as we have previously posted. 

Is that possible? Of course not. 

How can we be so sure? You only have to look at Aggregate Industries’ Houndaller quarry at Hillhead, near Uffculme. It has the same type of sand and gravel that exists at Straitgate Farm. We recently posted that Aggregate Industries has ponding problems at Houndaller, and that the company has now been forced to apply for permission to change the surface water management plan for the site. 

Last December, Devon County Council’s Monitoring Report for the site reported: 

4.15 Since the previous monitoring visit, Phase 6 has now been worked out and is awaiting grading and topsoiling… It is understood water is ponding in this Phase and the operator would like to direct this water to Houndaller Pond, north of the farmhouse in order to complete restoration.

 And the scale of the problem? The Monitoring Report helpfully provides this photo:

AI’s archeological analysis & report for Hillhead more than THREE YEARS LATE

Aggregate Industries finds it difficult to stick to planning conditions – as we have previously posted here, here, here, here, here, here and here. 

Condition 12 for Aggregate Industries’ Houndaller quarry at Hillhead near Uffculme in Devon states: 

RECORDING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC FEATURES 

No topsoil stripping shall be undertaken in Working Phases 6, 7 and 8, as shown on drawings nos. 2285/ROMP/3C and 2285/ROMP/73D, until the applicant has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant and approved by the Mineral Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out at all times in strict accordance with the approved scheme, or such other details as may be subsequently agreed in writing by the Mineral Planning Authority. 

Reason: To ensure that an appropriate record is made of archaeological evidence that may be affected by the development in accordance with the Development Plan specifically Devon Minerals Plan Policy M19.

Why is this condition important? 

In 2016, Devon County Council’s Senior Historic Environment Officer wrote: 

…the [geophysical] survey did identify anomalies that have the appearance of land divisions and may be associated with former prehistoric or Romano-British field systems. The expansion of the quarry into these areas will destroy these heritage assets. … 

Based on the results of this initial stage of works the requirement and scope of any further archaeological mitigation can be determined and implemented either in advance of or during construction works. This archaeological mitigation work may take the form of full area excavation in advance of groundworks or the monitoring and recording of groundworks associated with the construction of the proposed development to allow for the identification, investigation and recording of any exposed archaeological or artefactual deposits. The results of the fieldwork and any postexcavation analysis undertaken would need to be presented in an appropriately detailed and illustrated report.

The initial archaeological fieldwork was completed in 2019, so where’s the analysis and report? How do we know what’s been destroyed? Devon County Council’s latest monitoring report for the site says the report should have been "completed within 3 months following the completion of fieldwork": 

Comments/ Course of Action: 

Written Scheme of Investigation entitled ‘Western Extension of Houndaller (Hillhead) Quarry, Phases 6, 7 and 8, Uffculme, Devon - Project specification for an archaeological excavation’ dated 18th April 2019 - approved on 14 May 2019. Soil stripping on Phase 6 commenced on 12 August 2019 and archaeological investigation was complete. The archaeological investigation for Phase 7 is complete, however, post-excavation analysis, reporting and archive is yet to be completed. The agreed Written Scheme of Investigation states that this will be completed within 3 months following the completion of fieldwork. The operator has confirmed that this is anticipated to be completed within 3-4 months. Therefore, this should be completed within 4 months, by 13 July 2023.

As of last week, MORE THAN THREE YEARS LATE, Aggregate Industries has still not done the work, with the Council’s Senior Historic Environment Officer, writing: 

the post-excavation assessment, analysis, reporting and archive creation and disposition has yet to be undertaken. 

What hope, therefore, for the plethora of conditions for Straitgate Farm?

Aggregate Industries tries to wriggle out of Straitgate PWS monitoring obligations

It’s started already. Aggregate Industries is trying to wriggle out of its obligations.

If Aggregate Industries is to quarry Straitgate Farm, it has a legal obligation – as detailed in its Unilateral Undertaking – to monitor the numerous Private Water Supplies that surround the site, with agreements from the various owners, for the lifetime of the development. 

Condition 27 of the appeal decision says: 

Prior to the commencement of development, a water supply monitoring scheme shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Mineral Planning Authority. etc

The obligation to monitor surrounding PWS is irrespective of whether the owners of those supplies also have the use of a mains supply. The UU states: 

"Private Water Supply Interests" means those persons who own or occupy the Private Water Supplies as listed in Appendix 7 or as otherwise notified to the Owner [Aggregate Industries] pursuant to paragraph 1.1.3 of Schedule 1 to this Deed; 

OWNER'S OBLIGATIONS 

The Owner [Aggregate Industries] hereby covenants with the Council as follows... to send an Offer Letter to Private Water Supplies Interests offering to monitor their water supply in accordance with the Water Supply Monitoring Scheme for the lifetime of the Planning Permission and thereafter in accordance with the Post Restoration Water Supply Monitoring Scheme for the duration set out within the approved Post Restoration Water Supply Monitoring Scheme... 

It has, however, come to our attention that various properties with PWS were not in fact sent the company’s latest offer letter in April – referenced here – contrary to what the company tried to assure us. 

One PWS owner was forced to write to Aggregate Industries earlier this month: 

Please could you provide us with the most recent letter regarding the monitoring of PWS. We only have the original one dated 2 February 2023.

Aggregate Industries wrote back: 

From checking our files I can confirm that this was not sent to you as we have your property down as already having a mains water supply. If this is not correct and you would like to be part of the monitoring scheme then please let me know and I will update our records and ensure you are included.

But Aggregate Industries’ UU – which was necessary to make acceptable in planning terms, what was otherwise an unacceptable development – makes no mention of excluding properties with PWS from the monitoring scheme that already have a mains water supply. 

Of course, it would undoubtedly be more convenient for Aggregate Industries to exclude from monitoring those properties already with access to a mains supply, to ignore those springs, wells or boreholes that could be trashed by the company’s development; it would undoubtedly be more convenient to overlook the fact that a number of local PWS owners rely on both their mains and private supply, and that others wish to maintain their PWS in a usable state for potential future deployment. 

But, whatever the reason owners might have for protecting their PWS, it’s irrelevant. Aggregate Industries' legal obligations say all PWS interests must be offered monitoring. Simple. 

This doesn’t bode well for the future, that Aggregate Industries at this early stage is already trying to wriggle out of its obligations.

EDIT 18.7.23 

Aggregate Industries has now informed Devon County Council that: 

I can confirm that all PWS owners have been offered the chance to be part of the monitoring scheme and we are not excluding people who are on mains supply.

Oh look, Aggregate Industries suffers ponding problems at Hillhead

After many years of working its Houndaller quarry at Hillhead, near Uffculme, Aggregate Industries now wants to change the surface water management plan for the site – a site with the same type of sand and gravel that exists at Straitgate Farm – as this recent Scoping Opinion request PRE/1659/2023 to Devon County Council reveals: 

The approved restoration contours, Drawing No. 2285/ROMP/4C located within Appendix C, illustrates the site falling west to east, with a low point on the south-western boundary of the site. This is causing surface water to pond within the south-western part of the site (Phase 6). Therefore, Aggregate Industries are proposing to amend the surface water management plan for the site, to include a perimeter surface water drainage ditch running northwards from the south-west corner of Phase 6 along the western edge of the site into Houndaller Plantation Pond. There will be a slight amendment to the alignment of the final land form contours for Phases 6,7 and 8, to enable surface water to be shed to the perimeter surface water drainage ditch. 3.2.3 

Of course, it’s not unusual for surface water to pond at quarries. What quarry doesn’t have water? 

Even for Straitgate Farm, Aggregate Industries’ plans positively encourage water bodies – for its surface water management and restoration plans: 

ephemeral water bodies and species-rich wet grassland to be encouraged in low-lying infiltration areas (in the base of the depressions)

In fact, the creation of infiltration areas on the eastern boundary of the Straitgate site forms an integral part of the company’s flood mitigation scheme. At the Public Inquiry the Inspectors were told by Aggregate Industries’ hydrogeology witness that standing water will remain in these areas for up to 15 days in the summer and 24 days in the winter.

However, and as we have previously posted, the Planning Inspectors stipulated – for aircraft safeguarding reasons – that: 

25. No water body shall be created within the site other than the approved weigh bridge lagoon. 

Bizarrely, therefore, Aggregate Industries’ plans for Straitgate cannot be implemented without breaking one of the planning conditions. 

As we remarked: 

This condition, which Aggregate Industries must comply with if it is to quarry Straitgate Farm, is clear and unambiguous. It is not limited by the size or duration of any water body – large or small, permanent or temporary. 

The company's inability to control surface water at Houndaller, highlights the problem: How will Aggregate Industries be able to comply with condition 25 at Straitgate ?

In other news

The company which wants to reopen Plymouth’s tungsten mine is to axe nearly half its workforce https://t.co/ewHKikzEHp

— Plymouth Live (@Plymouth_Live) June 7, 2023

For those unfamiliar with this long-running saga, the article reminds us that:

Tungsten West bought the mine out of receivership for £2.8m in 2019 when previous owner Wolf Minerals went into liquidation. Wolf sunk more than £170m into the project but suffered major problems with the plant and went into administration in late 2018 after just three years in production.