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 OBLIGATIONSThe 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.
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.
