Friday, 13 October 2023

Mineral extraction scheme causes birdstrike concerns at RAF Fairford

We have previously posted about RAF Fairford and the threat of birdstrikes from nearby mineral works.


No wonder the MOD expressed concern over a nearby quarry proposal 21/0032/CWMAJM at the former RAF airfield at Down Ampney in the Cotswolds, 3 miles south west of RAF Fairford. 


The development proposed entails the stripping of topsoil, the extraction, working and storage of minerals, and the phased restoration of the site. 
Each of these activities have the potential to create an environment that would be attractive to those large and/or flocking bird species hazardous to aviation safety. 

The applicant has acknowledged that aircraft passing close to the application site, approaching or departing RAF Fairford, are likely to be at altitudes of less than 1,000ft above ground level and would be within the range of altitudes where 90% of birdstrike events take place. 

The applicant and the MOD have conducted pre-application discussions. Through these discussions the MOD has made clear that restoration of the site which results in the creation of open water would be unacceptable as those waterbodies would likely provide an environment attractive to those large and/or flocking bird species hazardous to aviation.
Despite the MOD's concerns, officers recommended approving the scheme, to extract 6.5 million tonnes of sand and gravel over 13 years with a phased restoration scheme using imported infill, and, last month, the proposal was given the green light by Gloucestershire County Council, 9 votes for, 2 against – subject to the prior completion of a S106 planning obligation to secure the implementation of a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan. 

Here in East Devon, aircraft also fly less than 1000 ft above Straitgate Farm on their landing descent to Exeter Airport.


For Aggregate Industries' scheme at Straitgate, a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan was also stipulated, with planning inspectors conditioning that: 
Of course, where Straitgate differs to the Cotswolds scheme is that restoration will not involve imported infill; Aggregate Industries will just dig a hole, and leave it. 

We have previously posted – given that water bodies are intended at Straitgate – that Aggregate Industries’ plans for the site are incompatible with the Inspectors’ planning conditions. 

This is even more concerning given the scale of Aggregate Industries’ (unintended) ponding problem at the company's nearby quarry at Hillhead.
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So, the EA isn’t always right

Silverdale is a village in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire. For years the nearby landfill at Walleys Quarry has been the subject of thousands of complaints about the stench emanating from the site, possibly caused by the unpermitted dumping of plasterboard waste.

In 2021, a mother won a High Court battle against the Environment Agency for failing to properly regulate the site, which was accused of emitting hydrogen sulphide that risked shortening her son's life. However, the EA successfully appealed. Legal action is ongoing. 

Walley’s Quarry Ltd bought the site from Lafarge in 2016. 

Last year, Walleys Quarry Ltd won a High Court injunction against protestors, but also withdrew an appeal against a nuisance abatement notice issued by Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council. 
As part of the settlement, Walleys Quarry will pay Newcastle-under-Lyme £400,000 towards the cost of responding to the appeal and £60,000 to enable the council to continue monitoring levels of hydrogen sulphide in the community. 

Cllr Martin Hamilton, Newcastle-under-Lyme’s chief executive, said the agreement was “hugely significant”, while Nigel Bowen, Walleys Quarry’s CEO, said his company was pleased to reach “a level of mutual understanding and agreement” with the council. 

Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, a former Supreme Court Justice, led the mediation process. In a statement, he said: “Walleys Quarry Limited acknowledge that the site has been the source of community complaint and the council acknowledge that Walleys Quarry Limited have improved their operational practices such that odour emissions have recently reduced significantly and best practicable means are currently in place.” 

The Environment Agency reports weekly on odour emissions from the site, measuring against WHO annoyance guidelines. In the last six months, the Agency produced 25 reports, each time including measurements from four locations. During this period, “just eight” of the 100 reporting figures exceeded the WHO’s guidance levels by 10%, Walleys Quarry says, and none exceeded 20%. 
However, it now turns out that that the EA has been under reporting emissions:
Local MP, Aaron Bell, who has previously raised concerns about the site, said the community had been "badly let down". 

Results from a previous monitoring exercise between 2017 and 2019 were "also clearly now incorrect", the Conservative MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme claimed. 

"Given that the EA relied on these results to justify to me why they would not install more monitoring - before eventually realising the stink was so bad they would have to - the community was particularly badly let down in this regard." 

He said the error had "dented public confidence" in the agency and he would be raising the issue in the House of Commons. 
We absolutely recognise the distress, the concerns and for many of you the anger that you feel at this situation and we are sorry that this has happened. What we have been doing as soon as we confirmed there was an issue, the EA spoke to the UKHSA so they could understand the implications of this and make sure between us we were given the best possible information to health partners so they were able to give the best possible advice to you. 

I also want to acknowledge that for many of you in the community trust in the EA was already low and this will have absolutely dented confidence further. What we wanted to do and what we are endeavouring to do and will continue to do is to be as open with you as we possibly can about what we know and about what we are doing.
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Tungsten West ‘faces fight over ending cap on lorries’

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Plans submitted to quarry land at Hatfield Aerodrome near St Albans in Hertfordshire

Brett Aggregates Ltd have submitted plans to establish a new quarry on land at the former Hatfield Aerodrome, including new access onto the A1057, aggregate processing plant and other ancillary facilities, together with the importation of inert fill material to restore the mineral workings, SADC Ref: 5/2023/1745; HCC Ref: PL/0232/21. 

The proposals would involve the winning and working, together with processing for sale, of some 8 million tonnes of sand and gravel over a period of around 32 years. 

This week, St Albans City & District Council lodged their objection to the plans to Herts County Council. 

Why is this interesting? 

It was only last year – following a nine-day public inquiry – that the Planning Inspectorate refused the company’s previous application to quarry the site, citing harm to the Green Belt, character, appearance and amenity of the area. Naturally, campaigners welcomed the decision. 

In their objection, SADC wrote: 
St Albans City and District Council previously expressed concerns over the proposal for a quarry at this site and the further information provided is not considered to have addressed these concerns. Having noted the changes within the current proposals, it is not considered that the concerns of the Council have been overcome, and as such the Council raises formal objections in respect of this application. 
One of these objections related to non-compliance of a S106 agreement: 
1. Section 106: The need for the original Section 106 to be complied with and for the Ellenbrook Country Park – outstanding for more than a decade – to be established. 

EDIT 1.11.23 Hertfordshire County Council refuse Ellenbrook Quarry plans
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Wednesday, 27 September 2023

TPO on Straitgate trees confirmed

Aggregate Industries’ consultants had previously recognised that site entrance works and deep-dig road construction at Straitgate Farm could cause the loss of two majestic 200 year-old oak trees, writing: 
the works will potentially interfere with the root protection areas of Trees F, G... and it is likely they will be damaged by the development and need to be felled. 4.1  
They produced a photomontage to show the result:
 
The Planning Inspectors, in their report permitting mineral development at Straitgate Farm, conditioned that all trees outside the mineral working area "shall not be felled, lopped or topped or have their roots damaged", and that specifically trees F and G, either side of the permitted site entrance, "are worthy of protection and should be retained". 

East Devon District Council agreed with Aggregate Industries’ consultants that the proposed works could damage trees F and G, and in March of this year issued a provisional Tree Protection Order 23/0014/TPO, as we posted at the time. 

Today, EDDC has confirmed the TPO, providing these trees with permanent protection, because: 
The trees contribute to the amenity and character of the area and they are considered under threat from development and the impact of heavy machinery and vehicles.
Aggregate Industries – seeming to confirm the trees were indeed at risk – objected to the TPO:
... on the grounds that it is not necessary and that the mechanism for protecting these trees is already secured by condition 6 of the Appeal Decision for sand and gravel extraction at Straitgate Farm and that the only works that may impact on these trees are those that are necessary to implement a planning permission.
However, EDDC were of the view that: 
The detailed plans submitted by Aggregate Industries show both trees being retained but then states that tree F (named as T3 in TPO) and tree G (named as T2 in TPO) ‘will be monitored and only removed if necessary’. This is somewhat ambiguous and raises concern that the trees may not be given the full protection during construction if it’s considered that the trees can be removed ‘if considered necessary’. 

It is noted as stated by the Objection, that the trees are protected by Condition 6 of The Appeal as they are shown as being retained on the plans (albeit with the caveat of ‘will be monitored and only removed if necessary’). However, with the conditions being only short-term and the rather ambiguous wording, it is considered that TPO will therefore help ensure long-term protection and that they are appropriately managed by current and future owners. 
Given that even Aggregate Industries’ own consultants recognised the risk of harm to these trees, there must now be a big question mark over the deliverability of the site access plans. 

TPOs allow the potential for "unlimited fines" in the case of damage: 
Section 210(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 provides that anyone found guilty of these offences is liable, if convicted in the magistrates’ court, to a fine of up to £20,000. In serious cases a person may be committed for trial in the Crown Court and, if convicted, is liable to an unlimited fine. Section 210(3) provides that, in determining the amount of fine, the court shall take into account any financial benefit which has resulted, or is likely to result, from the offence.
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Thursday, 21 September 2023

Could Holcim ever be a ‘CO2 hero’?

Holcim – cement conglomerate and parent company of Aggregate Industries – has been entertaining members of the press at its new Innovation Hub in Lyon, which the company has apparently set up to "showcase its sustainable building solutions and serve as a co-creation lab to accelerate low-carbon, circular and energy-efficient building worldwide."

Remarkably, somebody has come away thinking Holcim is a CO2 hero. How – given that the company has annual CO2 emissions more than many countries – could that possibly be?

Has Holcim dramatically cut its CO2 emissions to net zero – rather than just talk about it? Not according to its 2022 Sustainability Report, where we find Holcim pumped some 78 million tons of CO2 (scope 1 emissions) into the atmosphere in 2022 alone. Holcim claims: 
We reduced Scope 1 emissions to 562 kg CO2 net per ton of cementitious materials, which represented a decrease of 2% on a like-for-like basis versus the prior year. 
Of course, continued progress at that rate and the game’s over. 

Dig a little deeper though and we find that the press at Lyon were briefed by Nollaig Forrest, Holcim’s new chief sustainability officer. Her background is not in science, climate or sustainability, but – according to this article – in "communications and corporate affairs at multiple industrial companies". It’s clearly important to Holcim, with such glacial progress in emission cuts, to at least tell a good story. 

So how did Holcim persuade this journalist of its hero status?


Towards the end of his article, the author in question writes this paragraph: 
What strikes me most about Holcim is how a company can go from villain to hero by embracing the future. When I spoke to Jenisch, [Holcim CEO] he was adamant that the concrete industry wasn’t anything like the tobacco or car industry, fleeing from its responsibilities. And Holcim itself is a future-oriented company, he said, that wants to do its part. "Now that we know the harmful effect [of CO2], we are fully on it," he said. "We are part of the solution." Though the past is "interesting," he said, "it’s more important what action we take now. This is where we want to be part of. It’s more important that we accelerate climate action, with speed and transparency. We don’t want to be greenwashing." 
So, embrace the future, forget about all the damage caused by your past emissions and providing climate reparations for affected communities, keep selling cement at more than 0.5 tons net of CO2 for every ton produced, and become a CO2 hero. Easy. 

But let’s unpack that paragraph above.  

Holcim's CEO claims the concrete industry isn’t fleeing from its responsibilities, however that is exactly what Holcim is doing in the case of Indonesian islanders seeking proportionate compensation from the company for damage to their livelihoods due to repeated flooding as global warming has driven up sea levels, arguing that the company is responsible for 0.477% of global industrial emissions from 1950 to 2021. A spokesman for Holcim said: 
We do not believe that court cases focused on single companies are an effective mechanism to tackle the global complexity of climate action. 

And as far as accelerating climate action, we only have to look at this tiny corner of East Devon, and subsidiary Aggregate Industries' plans for an unsustainable multi-million mile haulage scheme for Straitgate Farm, to tell us all we need to know. But NGOs backing the islanders’ action also claim the company is not doing enough to cut its emissions: 
There is some support for this position from a new report by Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor, which ranked Holcim high relative to most of the other 23 companies studied for its net-zero ambition and transparency, but said its strategy only had moderate integrity because it hinges on energy intensity targets, low-quality renewable energy certificates and extensive use of carbon capture storage and usage. 
Finally, when it comes to "we don’t want to be greenwashing", Holcim appears to have put a brake on its Twitter account, but this was one of its last tweets. Greenwashing? You decide.

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Holcim ‘received EU emission allowances for idle cement plant’

Holcim, the parent company of Aggregate Industries, is one of five cement companies to have received €88 million in free EU emission allowances – according to research by the Oil Price Information Service – despite plants sitting idle or only emitting relatively small amounts of CO2.

As Global Cement reports, the companies would have been able to sell the permits or use them to subsidise emissions costs at other plants. 

Nice work if you can get it.

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Tungsten West warns of insolvency risk

Tungsten West’s market capitalisation has fallen from more than £120mn in April last year to less than £5mn. The shares were down 35 per cent following Thursday’s announcement to 2.44p. 
Tungsten West last month applied to the Environment Agency, England’s environment watchdog, for the final permits that it needs for the processing plant. There had been concerns from local residents that the plant would generate nuisance, low-frequency noise. [Neil Gawthorpe, chief executive] said he was “confident” of securing the permits. 
Provided the permits are secured, Tungsten West would need to raise £25mn of debt and £35mn to £40mn of equity to bring the mine back into production by 2025, according to Gawthorpe.
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UK construction orders slump

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Sunday, 3 September 2023

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for July & August

Aggregate Industries has provided the following updates of what the company has apparently achieved over the last two months in relation to implementing its permission to quarry Straitgate Farm. 

In July: 
Nothing to update this month other than to report that following the third letter to owners of the PWSs in June we now have 26 of the 39 properties identified wanting to be part of the monitoring scheme.
In August: 
Just to confirm there are no updates for August.
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Thursday, 17 August 2023

Tungsten West resurrects secondary aggregates plans for Hemerdon Mine

Having been dropped last November, Tungsten West has resurrected its plans to increase sales and HGV movements of secondary aggregates from its tungsten and tin mine at Hemerdon near Plymouth: 
To deliver the Project economically and sustainably, the Company will produce secondary aggregates, a by-product from mining which, once sold, will provide an early revenue stream and reduce the storage of barren rock and associated opex at site.  

To enable the delivery of the aggregates business, and to optimise the core tungsten and tin business, the Company has submitted a section 73 application to vary the tonnage cap associated with the existing permission for 50 truck movements per day from the site. Traffic and market studies carried out in conjunction with the application highlight that the Company can plug a gap in the market for high-quality, secondary aggregates in Devon with a minimal increase in overall heavy vehicle traffic. Tungsten West has actively involved the local community, local councils and regulatory bodies in the process, participating in regular discussions and offering a direct line to the Company for all stakeholders. 
In addition, after the previous operator caused low frequency noise disturbance and sleep deprivation to the local community, Tungsten West has submitted a new permit application to the Environment Agency following plant modifications and noise trials: 
The Company has worked closely with the Environment Agency and Devon County Council throughout the entire permitting and noise trial process and anticipates the decision regarding the permit approval to be forthcoming within the coming months.
...Tungsten West has initiated a further evaluation of the financing structure of the Company, whereby spending priority has been given to activities relating to planning and permitting, environmental compliance and funding, as these are essential to the continued progress of the Project.   

Therefore, in order to prioritise these activities, a proposed cost reduction programme will need to be implemented, including a further approximate 25% reduction in staff costs via redundancies, reduced hours and resignations. In line with this, the Company has initiated a collective consultation process with staff and expects to announce the results of this exercise in September 2023. In another move to manage liquidity, the Company is in the process of agreeing deferred payment plans and restructuring supply agreements with a number of creditors.
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Sunday, 13 August 2023

Holcim accused of human rights violations and environmental damages in Uganda


Holcim’s subsidiary in Uganda is accused of inaction in the face of complaints spanning a seven-year period and retaliatory measures against community members who raised due diligence issues.
The parent company of Aggregate Industries claims: 
Holcim operates according to the highest standards of governance, ethics and integrity with zero tolerance for any breaches across its business worldwide.

It's not only the community that has issues with Holcim's work practices in Uganda:
 

According to BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson: 
A worldwide and deadly pattern of work-related accidents has harmed and killed many Holcim workers. Apologising for this latest disaster in Uganda, on top of the others, is no longer sufficient. Instead of lavish dividends and compensation to its management at the expense of decent jobs for workers and compensation to the families of those who died on the job, Holcim should justly compensate all of its workers who have been injured or killed on the job, eliminate any kind of abuse of subcontracted and third-party workers, and exercise due diligence in the selection, management, and compliance of contractors.
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Sand & gravel sales in decline again

Sales of sand and gravel in Britain have fallen 7.3% over the last 12 months, according to the MPA. 

The trade body representing Aggregate Industries et al. report that various factors have contributed to the decline in demand:
Construction materials cost inflation may have slowed from a peak in mid-2022, but the cumulative effect of high costs and higher interest rates over the past 18 months continues to weigh heavily on the financial viability of projects and on housing affordability. Additionally, labour constraints throughout the construction supply chain have contributed to the overall challenges faced by the sector.

Meanwhile, the CPA reports that the construction sector is entering an "acute" recession: 
The construction industry is expected to experience an acute recession this year driven by double-digit falls in the two largest construction sectors: private housing new build and private housing repair, maintenance, and improvement. The CPA forecasts construction output to fall by 7.0% in 2023...
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Ready-mix concrete batching plant at Hillhead approved

Material won from Straitgate Farm is to be processed at Hillhead Quarry near Uffculme. Earlier this month, an application by Aggregate Industries seeking prior approval of a ready-mix concrete batching plant at Hillhead was approved by Devon County Council.  
It is proposed that the ready-mix concrete batching plant is located within the current processing/stockpile area of Hillhead Quarry. It is understood to be 16m in height. It would be used for the treatment and utilisation for sale of minerals, the majority of which, at least 75%, would be extracted from Hillhead Quarry.
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Straitgate concerns raised in Feedback Report for Draft East Devon Local Plan

Last month, East Devon District Council issued a Feedback Report which summarised key matters raised by organisations and the public in response to the Draft East Devon Local Plan.

The report was considered at the Strategic Planning Committee meeting on 21 July. EDDC said: 
Over the coming months the feedback received will be assessed and plan refinement and redrafting will need to take place before moving onto subsequent stages of plan making.
Unsurprisingly, the recently permitted quarry at Straitgate Farm featured in the report, including: 
Policy 22 - Ottery St Mary and its future development - General issues 

Recently approved new quarry off Exeter Road will generate heavy industrial traffic that will impact on road capacity/speed/safety as will the associated new animal crossing. This should be taken into account before increasing road usage from new residents

LP_Otry_09 - Land at Thorne Farm - Preferred Allocation 

Safety concerns around potential conflict between quarry and housing traffic 

Quarry – with the quarry now agreed, there are severe concerns about how the quarry operations will cause water pollution. This proposed site is directly below the quarry site, so there could be a major safety concern. 

Nearby quarry will be detrimental to new residents/pupils health
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Saturday, 29 July 2023

US families sue Aggregate Industries’ parent company over payments to IS

Last year, Aggregate Industries’ parent company, Holcim, agreed to pay $778 million after its Lafarge subsidiary pleaded guilty to US charges of supporting Islamic State, becoming the first company in American history to be convicted of bribing a foreign terrorist organisation. 

Previous posts covering the company’s involvement in Syria can be found here.  

As we posted earlier this year: 
Holcim – previously LafargeHolcim, the parent company of Aggregate Industries, which was formed after a "merger of equals" in 2015 between Swiss-based Holcim and French-based Lafarge – will be the ultimate beneficiary of the quarry at Straitgate Farm.   

The company changed its name in 2021, no doubt because of a number of controversies. One controversy – Lafarge’s previous support for terrorists in Syria – refuses to go away. 
This week, Reuters announced: 
Relations of a U.S. aid worker and American soldiers - all killed or injured by Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front - have lodged a legal claim against cement maker Lafarge over payments the French company made to extremist groups.
Court documents state: 
Defendants' payments aided the terrorist attacks that targeted plaintiffs and their family members...

Lafarge's support for ISIS and ANF ran deep. It operated a lucrative cement plant in northern Syria, and it decided that bribing Syrian terrorists offered the best way to protect its profits from the plant.
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Tuesday, 25 July 2023

Major incident closes B3174 Exeter Road

A major incident has occurred on the B3174 Exeter Road into Ottery St Mary. 

A Sainsbury’s lorry lies burning in the ditch near Straitgate Farm this morning, forced off the road after passing a builders merchant HGV travelling in the opposite direction. 

Clearly, as we have said countless times before, there is insufficient width on parts of this road – the main road into and out of Ottery St Mary – for HGVs to comfortably pass each other. 

It again shows why Aggregate Industries’ scheme to quarry Straitgate Farm and put another 200 HGV movements a day on this stretch of road is both nonsensical and dangerous. 

This incident occurred in the same location as the permitted cattle crossing, which is also required as part of the company's plans.





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Sunday, 16 July 2023

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for June

Aggregate Industries has provided the following update for the work the company carried out in June, in relation to its permission to quarry Straitgate Farm: 
In June the decision was taken to write a third time to owners of private water supplies who had not yet signed up to the monitoring scheme to give them a further chance to be part of the scheme. People who have already signed up were contacted to advise that visits to be undertaken as part of the preparation of the monitoring scheme would take place in the Autumn and that we would be in touch nearer the time. 

Other works related to the permission for the importation of material into Hillhead Quarry were that the widening of Clay Lane was completed and this is now open to two way traffic.
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Monday, 26 June 2023

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:
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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?
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Thursday, 15 June 2023

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. 

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.
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Wednesday, 7 June 2023

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: 
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 ?
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In other news


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.
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Wednesday, 31 May 2023

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for April & May

As we first posted here, Aggregate Industries has pledged to provide monthly updates of the work it has carried out, or plans to carry out, in relation to Straitgate Farm, as it tries to satisfy the pre-commencement conditions and obligations that are required before mineral extraction can begin. 

Aggregate Industries' Planning Manager has this week provided the first update in two months of what the company has apparently undertaken in April and May: 
As you are aware we wrote to all the owners of the private water supplies in April setting out further commitments and asked that owners who wanted to be part of the monitoring scheme to let us know by the 31 May. 
Also in May we have responded to the Tree Preservation Order proposed by East Devon DC on land at Straitgate Farm. 
In actual fact, it has been brought to our attention that not all of the owners of private water supplies were contacted in April. 

The Planning Manager subsequently informed us that the company: 
...will be contacting PWS owners one further time in June.
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Wednesday, 24 May 2023

Aggregate Industries causes more dust problems

Dust from quarries and construction sites is not only a nuisance – it's a health hazard.
   
Aggregate Industries has a history of failing to control dust – as we have previously posted. 

Now the company’s Chelmsford site is in the news:
 

Aggregate Industries claims: 
We have taken a number of proactive measures to help alleviate the problem.
One complainant reported: 
There is just dust all over the place.

We're getting it in our eyes, we're breathing it in, it's going all over the site, everything - it's just phenomenal. 
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Monday, 24 April 2023

AI U-turns on water charges – but seeks to reduce post-restoration monitoring

In February, Aggregate Industries wrote to local private water supply owners – those people now at risk of losing their drinking water due to the permitted quarry development at Straitgate Farm – with the offer of water monitoring, and remediation in the event of derogation, reminding them: 
For the avoidance of doubt, AIUK shall only be responsible for implementing the proposed solution and not for any subsequent charges, fees or any other costs associated with the solution once implemented.
For years, Aggregate Industries has refused to commit to paying ongoing water charges should surrounding supplies be lost as a result of its works, as we last posted here. 

However, following pressure from PWS owners at a meeting last month, Aggregate Industries has backtracked and now says: 
The company has reviewed its position and, in the unlikely event that properties have to be connected to a mains supply, will now agree to meet any ongoing costs for the supply of mains water to affected properties for the life of the planning permission and the post restoration monitoring period.
Why the company has taken so long to recognise the inequity of its previous stance is anybody’s guess. 

What happens after the post restoration monitoring period? Aggregate Industries says: 
All obligations and liabilities on the company cease. 
Why Aggregate Industries thinks its liability should end at this arbitrary point in time – if the company were to cause the loss of drinking water supplies – is not clear. 

In granting permission for the development, the Planning Inspectors wrote: 
176. The suggested condition for groundwater monitoring would impose a 10-year requirement for post-restoration monitoring, however the section 106 agreement provides for this period to be agreed in writing between the parties. We have accordingly not included reference to the post-restoration period for monitoring in the condition.
However, the company made clear at the above-mentioned meeting that it intends to press Devon County Council for "a break clause", to reduce the period for post-restoration monitoring. 

What’s the problem with that? As Professor Brassington explained at the Inquiry: 
I have shown that currently it takes almost 11 years for the water to reach the Cadhay spring which means that the full effect will not be felt until after the appellant has left the site.
So how much is Aggregate Industries’ U-turn worth? Not very much it would appear.

EDIT 12.7.23 

In correspondence with Devon County Council relating to post-restoration monitoring, it has now been confirmed that "the Company intends to abide by the timescales discussed at the Inquiry."
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Tuesday, 4 April 2023

AI’s livestock crossing - needed before quarrying Straitgate - currently not permitted

Aggregate Industries has mucked up. 

In June 2021, following the submission of planning application 20/2542/FUL, Aggregate Industries secured permission from East Devon District Council for "a new agricultural access onto the B3174 Exeter Road to facilitate an efficient crossing point for the current dairy herd at Straitgate Farm".  

Mineral extraction at Straitgate Farm is dependent upon the implementation of this permission.

The Planning Inspectors, who in January granted permission to quarry Straitgate, wrote: 
109. Material to this appeal proposal is a planning permission granted by East Devon District Council (EDDC) for a new access to the B3174 Exeter Road to provide a livestock crossing incorporating holding pens. At the time of the Inquiry this permission had not been implemented… 
Condition 19 of the Straitgate permission states: 
No soil stripping in Phase 1 of the development hereby approved shall be undertaken unless the cattle crossing permitted by East Devon District Council permission ref. 20/2542/FUL has been fully implemented and brought into operation in accordance with the conditions of that permission. 
However, as it stands, 20/2542/FUL cannot be implemented. 

   

What is the red line boundary? Government guidance says: 
The application site should be edged clearly with a red line on the location plan. It should include all land necessary to carry out the proposed development… 
The red line boundary drawn by Aggregate Industries for 20/2542/FUL does not incorporate the existing gateway on the south side of the B3174, nor the gap in the trees on the north side of the B3174, as specified in the company’s supporting statement. The red line boundary does not match the detailed drawings that formed part of the application. 

The permission therefore cannot be carried out in accordance with the approved detailed drawings listed in Condition 2. 

East Devon District Council has today confirmed that Aggregate Industries will need to submit another planning application:
I have written to Aggregate Industries drawing their attention to this issue and recommending that they address this issue through a further application.
Local people, councils and statutory bodies will be able to respond to a new application in the normal way. Until that application has been approved, and implemented, no digging can start at Straitgate Farm.
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Monday, 3 April 2023

EDDC slaps TPO on Straitgate trees

We posted about the roots of an oak tree earlier in the year. 


The relevance at Straitgate concerns the modifications required – let’s not call them improvements – to Birdcage Lane to allow up to 200 44-tonne HGV movements a day in and out of the site. Devon County Council recognised: 
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. 
Devon County Council Highways have confirmed that they would not accept a “no dig” construction, due to HGV vehicles that will be using the road to access the proposed development... [which] means that the works will potentially interfere with the root protection areas of Trees F, G and H and some of G15A as illustrated by Drawing R22/L/3-3-005 and it is likely they will be damaged by the development and need to be felled. 4.1 
The visual impact that would be caused by the loss of these majestic 200 year-old oaks is clear:
 

The Planning Inspectors, in their report permitting mineral development at Straitgate, wrote: 
91. The proposed site access would be located in between trees F and G. There was some debate over whether trees F and G should be categorised as A or B using BS5837:2012. In our view, both categories A and B would indicate they are worthy of protection and should be retained. 
The Inspectors imposed the following conditions: 
39 All existing trees, shrubs and hedgerows within the site and on its boundaries shall be retained and protected from damage during the process of extraction and subsequent restoration unless they are identified to be removed as part of the current phase or a succeeding phase of mineral working or restoration as set out in the approved plans. 

41 Outside the designated mineral working areas, trees shall not be felled, lopped or topped or have their roots damaged and hedgerows shall not be removed, thinned or cut back without the prior written consent of the Mineral Planning Authority. 
Earlier this week – coincidentally the same week TPOs were slapped on HS2 – East Devon District Council, having recognised the importance and threat to the three oak trees around the proposed site access, imposed Tree Preservation Order 23/0014/TPO stating: 
The trees contribute to the amenity and character of the area and they are considered under threat from development and the impact of heavy machinery and vehicles.
The legislation governing Tree Preservation Orders can be found here. The Woodland Trust says "usually TPOs are placed on a tree or wood that’s deemed to be a local amenity": 
A Tree Preservation Order, or TPO, is usually made by a local planning authority (often the local council) to protect a specific tree or woodland from deliberate damage and destruction. This could include felling, lopping, topping, uprooting or otherwise wilful damage.
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Wettest March since 1981 – and Straitgate groundwater levels not monitored

Mineral extraction at Straitgate Farm is permitted to a level down to a guesstimate of the maximum water table – the MWWT. 

It is no surprise to see that the latest version of this model is already out of date. It doesn't reflect the maximum groundwater levels recorded – as detailed in Table A.1 of Aggregate Industries’ Proof of Evidence to the Public Inquiry.

The Planning Inspectors said in their report that "the MWWT grid would be updated as necessary to reflect any higher groundwater readings."

Indeed, Condition 28 of the permission says: 
Prior to the commencement of any soil stripping on any phase of the development, a review of the Maximum Winter Water Table (MWWT) grid (being the hydrogeologically modelled surface of the maximum winter water table based on the highest recorded winter groundwater levels) shall be submitted to the Mineral Planning Authority for its approval in writing.
Have groundwater levels at Straitgate Farm exceeded the MWWT this month, given that England has had its wettest March since 1981? 

Nobody knows. 

Groundwater levels across the site are currently not being monitored – and haven't been for over a year.
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