When Aggregate Industries was previously working in the East Devon area, it was tasked with providing a bridleway alongside its quarry at Venn Ottery. It was "a condition of the S106 agreement associated with the Blackhill Plant processing permission". The bridleway was supposed to be a benefit left to the community for all the years of aggravation the company had foisted upon them. It was supposed to last for more than just a few years.
Earlier this year, in – Run-off problems at Venn Ottery. Would AI’s legacy at Straitgate be the same? – we posted not only about how the area had suffered surface water run-off problems from the quarry, but also about how this bridleway had been washed away.
Unfortunately, the bridleway had been "adopted by DCC and it is the responsibility of the authority to maintain this feature".
In January, bridleway 37 on Venn Ottery Hill had a collapse in the central section of the route caused by water run-off from the old quarry site. The resulting huge void has necessitated closure as the route is now not in a safe condition. The closure order means that the bridleway cannot be used until at least the end of August.
There is – at the time of writing – no sign of this now dangerous route being repaired. In fact, the void is so deep it is unclear how the current route could be repaired.
Aggregate Industries once claimed in answer to critics of the Venn Ottery plan, and as we have often had cause to repeat:
We shall be putting back a lot more than we're taking away.
Clearly, it was just another vacuous claim.
