Airport objects to planning application for single dwelling & pond next to Straitgate

This week, against officer recommendation, East Devon District Council refused planning application 24/1278/FUL Construction of a new dwelling and associated landscaping | Land Adjacent Upper Spilsby Exeter Road Ottery St Mary – on an area of land adjacent to Straitgate Farm – for two reasons, the second of which was: 

2. It has not been demonstrated that the development would not attract wildlife to the area which could result in a health and safety hazard to users of Exeter Airport contrary to Policy TC12 (Aerodrome Safeguarded Areas and Public Safety Zones) of the East Devon Local Plan, 2015 to 2031 

Exeter Airport’s Airfield Operations and Safeguarding team had objected twice to the application, firstly in July 2024 stating: 

The development is situated within an area of higher ground in the Type A airspace. The creation of new permanent water bodies risks the increase of bird activities within the airspace.

The applicants commissioned a Technical Note in response to Exeter Airport’s objection – pointing to the larger body of open water left by Aggregate Industries at nearby Rockbeare Quarry, and also pointing to the company’s plans for Straitgate Farm approved at appeal. The Technical Note stated: 

The application site is also adjacent to an approved quarry application site (Figure 8). Exeter Airport concluded that the proposed quarry does not appear to conflict with safeguarding criteria subject to a number of conditions (refer to Figure 9). This is despite the creation of ‘ephemeral waterbodies and species-rich wet grassland to be encouraged in low-lying infiltration areas’ (refer to Figure 10), which are more likely to attract conflict species, such as gulls, geese and other waterfowl than the proposed ponds at the application site. 

Nevertheless, Exeter Airport maintained its objection, stating: 

The development is located within the aerodrome safeguarding area in a position on high ground located within the type A airspace. Due to the development's location and AMSL height any potential increase in bird activities cannot be supported and must be mitigated by way of a wildlife management plan. 

 Exeter Airport has received and reviewed the provided assessment of Birdstrike. While this is accepted as an assessment of potential risk it is not accepted as a wildlife management plan and as such maintains its holding objection till a wildlife management plan is submitted to negate the potential risk of increased bird activities in the airspace. 

This is supported as stated in the provided report by ASAN3 as a building development that has manmade landscaping features that have the potential to attract flocks of birds and/or large birds. 

The report makes note of DCC/3944/2017 planning application for Straitgate Quarry as a reference in the area. Straitgate Quarry has a robust provided wildlife habitat management plan (WHMP) including planning conditions of routine site visits, onsite pumping equipment and no new permanent bodies of water to be created therefore can not be used as evidential reasons for the creation of new permanent water bodies within the area. Also, of note straitgate Quarry is situated at lower ground level to proposed development. 

While as report has stated the development is low risk in creating a risk of birdstrikes action must still be taken to negate all risk to aircraft within the area due to the potentially fatal consequences. The aerodrome is happy to provide reference and contacts to assist in the creation of the required Wildlife Management Plan.

Is Exeter Airport holding individuals seeking permission for dwellings to a higher standard than international quarrying conglomerates? 

Exeter Airport did not maintain an objection to Aggregate Industries’ plans for Straitgate Farm, which also sits directly below the landing approach for the Airport, despite the planned creation of water bodies for surface water management and restoration.

       

To allay the Airport’s original concerns, Aggregate Industries commissioned a Wildlife Habitats Management Plan for the site. Nevertheless, Planning Inspectors, in granting permission, conditioned that the site can only be quarried if:  

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

The reason for this was set out in the condition in its draft form (20): 

To prevent the site becoming attractive to flocks of birds that may lead to an aviation hazard in the interests of public safety and in accordance with Policy M20 (Sustainable Design) of the Devon Minerals Plan. 

Of course, the area of potential open water that would be introduced by quarrying Straitgate Farm is many times greater than what was proposed by planning application 24/1278/FUL.

‘Multinational companies such as Holcim believe they are above the law’

Holcim – the parent company of Aggregate Industries, and the ultimate beneficiary of any winnings at Straitgate Farm – is in the news again, for all the wrong reasons: Kenya: Nightmare at Bamburi Farm:

#Kenya: Swiss-owned cement company @Holcim & US-owned security company @G4S, working alongside a special police unit, have been accused of torture, rape, and assault against local villagers in Denyenye, Kwale county.

In this powerful and hard-hitting investigation, journalists… pic.twitter.com/ezAm939nJh

— Coalition for Human Rights in Development 🌎 (@RightsinDevt) November 15, 2024

These serial reports of abuses on and around Bamburi Farm have prompted calls for redress by the KMA, the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, Berlin-based Transparency International, and the international Coalition for Human Rights in Development. 

These groups are preparing a formal complaint about the multinationals Holcim (Bamburi) and G4S (Allied Universal) and their collusion in these brutal attacks to the OECD in Paris. 

“Multinational companies such as Holcim believe they are above the law and they can commit violations without facing any repercussion,” says Faith Kivuti, Africa regional facilitator of the Community Resource Exchange. “But it’s time to hold them accountable. The OECD complaint against Holcim and G4S is an important step in this direction.”

In news elsewhere:

   

Last year, a @Holcim employee started asking questions about the potential mistreatment of wastewater at the company’s Louisiana facility. Then they fired him. @IlluminatorLA https://t.co/raTuaSdESa

— Concrete Change (@Concrete_Change) October 21, 2024

What does the South West Aggregates Working Party talk about?

According to the South West Aggregates Working Party Annual Report 2022, published in December 2023, an Aggregate Working Party is: 

A technical advisory group of mineral planning authorities and other relevant organisations who work together to produce data on aggregate demand and supply in their area and to provide advice to mineral planning authorities and to the National Aggregate Co-ordination Group.

Cornwall Council provides the current Chair of the SWAWP. Minutes of meetings and annual reports can be found here. 

David Jarvis Associates, re-awarded the contract to provide ‘Technical Secretariat’ services to the South West Aggregates Working Party, says: 

There are a total of 9 AWPs in England covering London; the South East; the South West; the East of England; the West Midlands; the East Midlands; the North West; Yorkshire and Humber; and the North East.

 What sort of things does the South West Aggregates Working Party discuss? 

While it seems there’s little discussion on individual sites, Straitgate Farm did however merit a mention at the January 2023 meeting: 

10. Straitgate appeal decision – update by EH 

EH gave a brief update on the Straitgate appeal decisions, both of which had been allowed. This followed a refusal, against officer recommendation, of an application for the extraction of 1.5mt of sand and gravel at Straitgate. 7 reasons for refusal were cited and all were defended by DCC at inquiry. However, the inspector found that the application was in accordance with mineral planning policy and there were no unacceptable adverse impacts. The decision notice has 53 conditions. DCC estimates that the Straitgate operations will contribute approximately 2 years’ worth of sand and gravel supply to Devon’s landbank. JW& will circulate a copy of the appeal decision for those interested. 

Events surrounding Straitgate Farm and other sites in the South West seemingly caused a flap at the Minerals Products Association, who – concerned about too much "support for localism" by planning committees – made this comment at the June 2024 meeting: 

The MPA has noticed that over the last 12 to 18 months, a number of sites have been issued with decisions by planning committees which are counter to officer recommendations. Similarly, a number of allocated sites have been refused permission. Those refusals that go to appeal tend to get costs awarded against them. These approaches reflect a worrying trend and cast doubt on the value of the local plan process by demonstrating support for localism at the expense of a regional overview. 

However, Devon County Council did not have costs awarded against it at the Straitgate appeal – despite Straitgate being allocated as a Preferred Area in the Devon Minerals Plan, and despite the Council’s refusal being against officer recommendation. Gloucester County Council on the other hand did have costs awarded against it, as we posted here. SWAWP minutes from February 2024 state: 

The Bow Farm Appeal in Gloucestershire had been allowed; as a result of this, it seems likely going forwards that for climate change to carry weight in the determination of a planning application, it will need to be included in a development plan policy. Any such policy is likely to include a requirement for provision of a carbon assessment.

Issues surrounding the Straitgate planning application were the cause of another discussion topic at the SWAWP, after a Freedom of Information request was made to Devon County Council in January 2022, in relation to spurious landbank figures, as we posted about here and here. The FOI request, which was eventually only granted in part after a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office, was: 

Please provide copies of all correspondence between Devon County Council and aggregate companies between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 concerning the Devon sand and gravel landbank, and concerning Devon reserves of sand and gravel...

The request eventually produced this response in August 2022, which was in turn disclosed to the Straitgate Public Inquiry. SWAWP discussed the issue in November 2022: 

9. FOI Update EH gave a short presentation on a FOI matter which had affected DCC earlier this year. A summary will be circulated separately from the minutes. However, the matter generated concerns amongst members who thought that there could be significant ramifications from it as operators need to be confident that data which they supply to authorities can remain confidential. PH referred to the standard statistical rule that data should be combined with a minimum of three operators. However, he noted that the BAA encourages its SME members to be as open as possible and he queried whether major problems would result from publication of operator data. SD suggested that the BAA and MPA might wish to make clear that data supplied to authorities is unlikely to remain confidential. PA commented that he was more concerned about the potential for financial viability assessments (fva) to be made public as a result of FOI requests as it was essential that these viability assessments should be protected by confidentiality rules. This had actually happened in one case following an FOI in connection with an LAA which led to forced disclosure of an fva despite assurances from the mineral planning authority that the fva would remain confidential. KP added that GCC usually managed to resist FOI requests, often by pointing towards data that is already in the public domain. However, this is something which industry may want to consider further. CD acknowledged industry concerns on this matter but pointed out that survey returns are critical to the functioning of MASS, especially at the moment in the absence of AMRI. She hoped, therefore, that operators would continue to submit returns as required. CD also noted that a similar situation to that experienced in Devon had last occurred in Staffordshire in 2012, hopefully indicating that it is a rare occurrence. MR and SD agreed that this was something that industry should be aware of and consider addressing at corporate level. 

SWAWP also discussed the UK Supreme Court’s decision to rule in favour of Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group in their fight against oil drilling plans in Surrey. Greenpeace described the decision as "game-changing": 

This decision should mean that any new fossil fuel projects in the UK must consider all emissions, including those from burning the fuel, not just from getting it out of the ground. This could change how future oil and gas projects are approved across the UK.

Draft minutes from the October 2024 meeting state: 

In terms of the Finch case, DP advised that the MPA’s stance is that this should not have the same application to minerals as they are distinguishable from fossil fuels on the basis that they will not automatically generate a release of CO2 when they are used. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that some authorities are taking a very cautious approach and requiring consideration of downstream effects. DP suggested that the best approach is to acknowledge the Finch case in EIAs but not to overplay it as it does not necessarily apply to every development. A climate change assessment would usually be included in most applications anyway. Government guidance on the Finch case is expected in the new year. EIW had recently attended a useful webinar on Finch, link available here. CH had had some initial discussions with Devon CC regarding Finch and the Council acknowledged it may not be possible to assess scope 3 emissions when aggregate was being produced for multiple sources. The suggested approach was to explain that the Finch case had been acknowledged and considered. 

Planning staff retention was another issue raised at the SWAWP. Minutes from November 2022 state: 

EI-W explained that it would be useful for attendees of other groups, such as the Planning Officers Society (POS), to share updates with the AWP. EI-W is part of a POS working group looking at the issue of recruitment and retention of staff within the public sector minerals planning arena. The working group is gathering evidence and is looking at potential solutions to this issue. This concern was echoed by other members; indeed, it had been raised as a matter for discussion at a recent BAA meeting. PH referred to a course on mineral planning for mineral planners run by IQ. Details of this course will be circulated to members. AG commented that whilst recruitment was a big issue, SCC had benefitted from running its own graduate scheme and had recruited Ellie Maxwell this way. EH added that at DCC, 5 members of staff were at different stages of an apprenticeship which seemed to be working well. 

With regard to land won sand and gravel in the South West, the SWAWP 2022 Annual Report states: 

In 2022, sales of land won sand and gravel in the region totalled 2.75mt, a slight decrease on 2021’s sales figure of 2.92mt and dropping below both the 10 year sales’ average of 3.03mt and the 3 year sales’ average (2.80mt). Dorset continued to be the main production area with a sales figure of 1.21mt, accounting for just over 44% of the region’s sales. Sales in both Devon and Wiltshire were down compared with 2021 with Wiltshire experiencing quite a significant drop down from 0.69mt in 2021 to 0.46mt in 2022. Gloucestershire’s sales figure rose to 0.56mt from a low of 0.45mt in 2021 (which represented the second lowest level of sales in the past 10 years and less than half the decade’s highest level of sales which was achieved in 2019 (0.91mt)). 

Permitted reserves in the South West at the end of 2022 were 18.79mt representing quite a drop from the 2021 figure of 21.18mt and amounting to another all-time low across the region. When based on the average of 10 years’ sales, this reserves’ figure generates a landbank of just 6.2 years which is less than the NPPF’s minimum requirement of at least 7 years for sand and gravel and, as was the case last year when the landbank was 6.9 years, continues to be a cause for concern. Once again, of the sand and gravel producing authorities within the region, Dorset maintained the highest level of reserves at 10.4mt (though down from 2021’s 11.2mt) whilst Wiltshire holds the lowest with just 1.43mt representing a landbank of just 2.7 years based on the 10 year sales’ average. 

As far as things stand currently, in October 2024, the MPA provided a forecast to the SWAWP for the aggregates market in the South West: 

NEW! MPA MINERAL PRODUCTS MARKETS FORECAST - 2024-26, GB Sales volumes of mineral products in Great Britain have fallen more sharply than expected in the first half of 2024, leading to significant forecast downgrades for the year. With no recovery over the summer, ready-mixed concrete is now expected to decline by 12% compared to 2023, sand and gravel by 8%, and mortar by 13%. These adjustments reflect a postponement of the expected market recovery, now shifted from late 2024 to 2025. Smaller revisions have been made for crushed rock and asphalt, which are projected to drop by 3% this year. A return to growth across all mineral product markets is expected to begin in 2025, but from a lower base than originally predicted. This is likely to be driven by a gradual rebound in the housing market, and demand from major infrastructure projects which is expected to continue supporting the market in 2025 and 2026. DP added that sand and gravel sales endured a steep 13.8% decline in 2024H1 compared to the same period in 2023, while sales of crushed rock dropped by 2.3%. The MPA had also recently produced its annual survey report and this revealed that replenishment rates were less than 50% which was a particular issue for sand and gravel. Multiple reasons had been suggested for this – it wasn’t solely the fault of the planning system as most applications were ultimately granted – including a lack of applications being submitted. 

Of course, the MPA has been shouting about replenishment rates of sand and gravel since at least 2010, as we posted here.

Aggregate Industries subjects another community in the UK to years of uncertainty

Residents around Straitgate Farm have been subjected to years of blight from Aggregate Industries’ quarry plans for the site, first lodged in 2015 and still not implemented as we approach the end of 2024. 

Now it transpires that the company has subjected another community to extraordinary delays, this time near Banknock in North Lanarkshire, where plans were first lodged with the local authorities 12 years ago to extract 350,000 tonnes of hard rock per year from Tomfyne Farm, Banton over a 21-year period. 

It’s almost as if Aggregate Industries just couldn’t care. 

Last month, the headline in the Falkirk Herald read "Falkirk area villagers rocked by quarry concerns as 2012 plans resurface": 

According to online planning documents from September this year, there has been a “protracted period of discussions with a number of parties” connected to Tomfyne and Cowdenhill which have only recently been concluded and which led to the long delay in bringing matters to a close on the proposed application all those years before.

Aggregate Industries’ planning application 12/00729/FUL Tomfyne Farm, Banton, North Lanarkshire G65 0RJ can be found here.

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for October

In February 2023, Aggregate Industries agreed to provide monthly updates by email to include what the company has done over the previous month relating to implementing its planning permission to quarry Straitgate Farm, and what it is planning for the following month and future dates – as we posted at the time. Previous updates supplied by the company can be found here. 

Aggregate Industries today provided the following update for October: 

Apologies for the delay but no new updates this month.

This followed the company’s September update: 

There is nothing new to report this month but we continue to work on the preparation of the remaining schemes required by condition.

Aggregate Industries won permission to quarry Straitgate Farm on 5 January 2023, and has until 5 January 2026 to implement that permission. There remains an extensive list of conditions and schemes that must be approved by Devon County Council before any soil at Straitgate can be removed.

US campaign group demands concrete change in the construction industry

Concrete Change is "a dedicated campaign demanding concrete change in the construction industry":

The landscape for cement procurement and development is facing tectonic shifts, with unprecedented public funding and demand for cleaner construction materials across the world. This rapid shift toward low-carbon materials will drive the next 40 years of cement production. Companies who fail to scale up low-carbon cement alternatives risk losing market share, creating a risk for investors, our health, and our climate. 

Their sights are set on Holcim – the parent company of Aggregate Industries:

 

Lower Hare Farm, Whitestone: Judicial Review – Pre-commencement Conditions

Before any soil can be removed at Straitgate Farm by Aggregate Industries in relation to its permission to quarry the site, a number of pre-commencement conditions must first be discharged by the company and approved by Devon County Council.

Anyone interested in that process might want to note Item 7 of Devon County Council's Development Management Committee agenda for Wednesday, 23rd October, 2024, concerning a short report produced by the Council relating to the approval of two controversial planning applications (DCC/4101/2018, DCC/4293/2022) for a waste disposal site at Lower Hare Farm, Whitestone, EX4 2HW, and the judicial reviews that followed, filed by Whitestone Parish Council in connection with the discharge of pre-commencement conditions. 

In the Whitestone Parish Council minutes, (more details here, here, and here), it was claimed: 

The DCC seem to have entered wholeheartedly into the spirit of the NPPF and determined that “7 phases” has the same meaning as “3 phases”, that working from West to East is exactly the same as working from North to South, that “inert soils” are exactly the same as “engineering fill” also known as quarrying, mining, demolition and construction waste, that a gradient of “1 in 5” is exactly the same as a gradient of “1 in 10”, etc, etc. 

The Parish Council submitted a judicial review claiming the decision to discharge certain pre-commencement conditions was unlawful on a number of grounds, including: 

the decision to grant approval to carry out further development not authorised in the original permission by way of discharge of condition was ultra vires; 

and:

the Council erred in law by asking whether submitted details were ‘acceptable’ rather than considering whether the submitted details met the requirements of the conditions;

Devon County Council conceded on both of those grounds, and says in the report: 

4.4 In the light of this claim for judicial review, the following steps have been implemented within the Council’s Planning team: 

 • training has been provided to the County Council’s planning officers on procedural requirements for the discharging of planning conditions; and 

 • the relevant officer’s report template has been amended to require clearer consideration of the requirements of the EIA Regulations and the need to consider whether the submitted details meet the requirements of the condition.

The full report can be found below:

 

EDIT 29.1.25 Permit 'likely' for new countryside landfill site

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for September

Aggregate Industries has this week provided the following update in relation to implementing its permission to quarry Straitgate Farm: 

There is nothing new to report this month but we continue to work on the preparation of the remaining schemes required by condition.

‘Dust from lorries has damaged my eyesight’

Aggregate Industries has a history of failing to control dust – as we have previously posted.  

Last year, we posted about the company’s site in Chelmsford and the complaints about dust. At the time Aggregate Industries said: 

We have taken a number of proactive measures to help alleviate the problem. 

Seemingly those measures have not solved the problem:

'Dust from lorries has damaged my eyesight' https://t.co/PAZtTjEhbN

— BBC East (@BBCLookEast) September 23, 2024

An employee who has quit his job has blamed health problems caused by an ongoing issue of lorries kicking up dust and debris. 

Dave Brown, who was described as "part of the furniture" at New Again Auto Reconditioning in Chelmsford, said his eyesight was "gradually going". 

Gary Wray, owner of the car repair firm in New Street, uploaded a YouTube video to his website, Dusty Chelmsford, pinning the blame on Aggregate Industries, whose lorries are "regularly overloaded with no covers". 

The construction supplies company, which pledged to address the problem last year, said: "[We have] invested in extensive improvements at our Chelmsford site." 

It added that Chelmsford City Council’s environmental health team had visited the site and welcomed the changes that had been made. But it acknowledged there was "still room for improvement". 

Dave Brown said he had been suffering eye irritation caused by the dust.

The website Dusty Chelmsford – A blog about air pollution claims: 

The dust from the Aggregate Industries depot is so thick, it can be seen on this satellite image, discolouring trees and bushes, south and west of the depot. The smudge across the map extends to reach two schools in the area, and that is just the pollution that can be seen from space! 

and asks "Are you a whistleblower?" 

If you have inside information about Aggregate Industries, Holcim Group, or any other information as to why government agencies seem so reluctant to do their jobs, you can contact us in complete confidence.

 

One year later, and still no significant improvement. Local businesses continue to suffer due to @Aggregateuk It’s frustrating to see the same issues persist into 2024. #SupportLocal #BusinessChallenges #TimeForChange pic.twitter.com/YjDVs4XS7Y

— Dusty Chelmsford (@DustyChelmsford) September 9, 2024

Venn Ottery bridleway – a community benefit left by AI – still closed

 

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". 

The Footpath Report for Newton Poppleford & Harpford Parish for the Annual Report 2024 noted: 

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.

Aggregate Industries’ parent: the cement company that paid millions to ISIS

As far back as 2016, we have been writing about how Aggregate Industries' parent company Holcim – previously known as LafargeHolcim, a conglomerate formed by the merger of Swiss-based Holcim and French-based Lafarge – was accused of financing terrorism in Syria. 

The case is now tied up in the French courts, as we posted earlier this year. 

This week, The Guardian published this story:

 

For the @gdnlongread, I wrote about the French cement giant Lafarge, which decided, back in 2013-14, that it was a good idea to pay ISIS millions of dollars so that it could keep making and selling cement in Syria.

You read that right.

A short 🧵:https://t.co/HEOiyLmBQu

— Samanth Subramanian (@samanth_s) September 17, 2024

If an ongoing criminal case in France convicts Lafarge of crimes against humanity, it would be huge: the first time a firm anywhere has been found guilty on this front.

The factory is no more; it was bombed by Turkey earlier this year. [6] pic.twitter.com/PInBiOWvP9

— Samanth Subramanian (@samanth_s) September 17, 2024

Mineral supply ‘approaching cliff edge’ – warns MPA, yet again

The Mineral Products Association – the trade body representing Aggregate Industries and friends – claims there are diminishing reserves of UK-sourced minerals, and has yet again urged the Government to take action. The MPA claims: 

... for more than a decade the rate of consumption – mainly for construction – has not been matched by the rate of approval for new planning consents for quarrying, due to a ‘broken’ mineral planning system that often allows local interests to be prioritised above national need. 

Between 2014 and 2023, for every 100 tonnes of sand and gravel used in Great Britain, an average of 61 tonnes of new permissions have been granted. 

The MPA asserts "this situation is not sustainable in the medium term". Mark Russell, Executive Director at MPA, declared:  

Our survey shows the availability of essential minerals is fast approaching a cliff-edge.

 

RESERVE JUDGEMENT: The Govt needs to take urgent action to address diminishing permitted reserves of domestically-sourced minerals that are essential for #housing and #infrastructure - new report.

Read the full story: https://t.co/ji8p2Cn4Ph@RTPIPlanners #essentialmaterials pic.twitter.com/PaT8fp5F1X

— Mineral Products Association (@MineralProduct) September 11, 2024

But it’s not the first time the MPA has been shouting about replenishment rates of sand and gravel.

In 2018, the MPA warned:

A steady and adequate supply of aggregates needs to be planned, monitored and managed, all of which require support and strong direction from central Government...  Demand for land-won sand and gravel continues to outstrip the amount of new reserves being permitted, with the 10-year average replenishment rate decreasing to 53%.  

In 2013, the MPA warned: 

The Mineral Products Association is calling on Government to increase its efforts to overcome inertia in the planning system, in order to ensure a steady and adequate supply of aggregates which are essential to the construction industry and the economy. Permitted reserves of sand and gravel are in serious decline and planning authorities are putting too much effort into reducing potential future supply rather than getting on with the business of adopting robust mineral plans. Average replenishment rates of aggregate reserves (i.e. the rates at which production is being replaced with new permissions) are continuing to decline. Only 43% of sand and gravel reserves have been replenished in the last 10 years to 2012...

In 2010, the MPA warned:

Long term trends in replenishment rates show that long term average sand and gravel replenishment rates have not been at parity for at least 10 years… In 2010 crushed rock long term replenishment stood at 67% over 10 years, and for sand and gravel, 49%. 

And yet, miraculously, there are no shortages of sand and gravel in the UK.

In actual fact – by the MPA’s own figures – rather than "fast approaching a cliff-edge", the replenishment rate at 61% has actually been improving, and at less than 100% may reflect no more than the long-term decline of sand and gravel sales – sales in Devon being a prime example.

Aggregate Industries’ parent draws climate criticism

Holcim's $30 billion New York spinoff of its North American business has come under fire from an environmental group that said the major cement maker was doing too little to tackle climate change. https://t.co/pKUjZEt7hg https://t.co/pKUjZEt7hg

— Reuters Science News (@ReutersScience) September 19, 2024

The Swiss-based company has failed to cut direct emissions from its plants or spend enough to reduce materials or energy waste, said Industrious Labs, a U.S.-based environmental nonprofit. 

Industrious Labs, which is part of a campaign called Concrete Change to reduce the sector's environmental impact, gave Holcim a grade of "D" - the second-lowest rating - for its sustainability performance. 

It said the spinoff, due to take place in the first half of 2025, hides mounting costs and a failure to adapt to growing demand for cleaner cement. 

"Markets are brutal and don't reward incumbents which are slow to respond to customer demand," Nachy Kanfer, a partner at Industrious Labs, told Reuters. "We see multiple net zero cement projects under way, and Holcim is being left behind."

Does @Holcim’s $30 billion North American spin-off account for its hidden liabilities?

Holcim’s North American facilities have mounting pollution problems that the company is hoping to offload to investors. Don’t be left holding the bag! Learn more: https://t.co/J9ZPouiKop pic.twitter.com/wlRyS2oBbh

— Concrete Change (@Concrete_Change) September 19, 2024

‘We’re still in the 1970s with cement’

‘We’re still in the 1970s with cement’: Norway plant to blaze carbon-free concrete trail https://t.co/uHTkdqGbin

— Guardian Environment (@guardianeco) August 12, 2024

Council set to defend Hatfield quarry refusal despite costs

Following our post on the subject last year, this news from July: 

Hertfordshire County Council has signalled its intent to defend its refusal to grant permission for a quarry on the site of the former Hatfield Aerodrome – despite a previous appeal costing it almost £150,000. 

Brett Aggregates lodged an appeal against the council’s refusal to grant planning permission for its latest application earlier this month. 

A 10-day Planning Inquiry has already been scheduled for November – where a Planning Inspector will review the decision issued by the council, in January. 

And that comes just three years after the county council defended its refusal of “substantially similar” plans for the same site at a previous inquiry.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has now learned that costs incurred by the county council during that last inquiry, in November 2021, amounted to £147,421.84...

EDIT 24.9.24 Hertfordshire County Council withdraws reasons for refusal. Councillor Rose Grewal, Executive Member Planning provided the following statement: 

As Welwyn Hatfield’s Executive Member for Planning, I, along with the Joint Administration, am deeply disappointed by Hertfordshire County Council’s (HCC) decision to withdraw the reasons for refusal ahead of the upcoming planning inquiry into the proposed mineral quarry at the former Hatfield Aerodrome, citing prohibitive costs and a low chance of success defending the appeal.   

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council has continued to strongly oppose the proposal, raising concerns about the detrimental impact on public amenity, inappropriate use of the greenbelt, increased risk of land contamination and traffic impacts.     

Since refusing planning permission for the quarry in October last year, HCC have failed to build a robust case in defence of its decision. By choosing to withdraw the reasons for refusal, HCC has effectively chosen not to defend its original decision, meaning the views of the community and wider public interest will not be represented at the inquiry.   

Ellenbrook Country Park is a cherished green open space for our community and an important site for nature conservation. HCC’s decision is a significant blow to those who have fought tirelessly for many years to protect the site.   

We now call upon the developer, ARC, to honour the original Section 106 agreement made in 2001, when permission was first granted for the Hatfield Aerodrome development. By completing the outstanding establishment works and supporting the Ellenbrook Trust we can seek to ensure that the remainder of the Country Park is preserved for public benefit.

Hertfordshire County Council has withdrawn its reasons for refusal ahead an inquiry into plans for a quarry on the site at Ellenbrook Country Park. https://t.co/1zXMfgmCRS 👇 Full story

— Welwyn Hatfield Times (@whtimes) September 24, 2024

 

Campaigners against controversial plans for a quarry on the site of the former Hatfield Aerodrome say they now want to focus on getting the best outcome for residents. 

Groups still have some hope that the county council’s refusal of the application could be upheld by the Planning Inquiry, scheduled to begin on November 19. 

However, they do not expect to fight against the proposals at the inquiry themselves, amid fears that they could end up liable for costs that could reach £1m... 

In refusing the application earlier this year the council’s development control committee pointed to eight reasons. 

These reasons included the impact on the Green Belt and on residential amenity, as well as well as biodiversity, public access, the highway and groundwater. 

But on Tuesday committee chair Cllr Terry Hone pointed to legal and planning advice that had suggested that these reasons would not ‘stand up’ at a planning inquiry as well as the risk of potential costs that the council could face at the inquiry. 

Although estimates of these costs were not made public at the meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that they are between £500k and £1m.

EDIT 20.11.24 Inquiry opens into controversial quarry plan 

EDIT 2.12.24 Final pleas in quarry planning inquiry 

EDIT 7.12.24 Quarry developer asks council to pay appeal costs

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for August

Aggregate Industries has this week provided the following update in relation to implementing its permission to quarry Straitgate Farm: 

Please find attached copies of the written scheme of [archaeological] investigation and the water monitoring scheme which have been submitted to Devon today for approval. 

Regarding the infiltration tests I am afraid I am still waiting for internal approval on this but I will let you know once we have a date confirmed.

Almost 10 years on, AI is still struggling to produce a workable site access plan

A site meeting was held this week to discuss what impact the proposed modifications to Birdcage Lane – required to facilitate access to the permitted quarry at Straitgate Farm for up to 200 HGV movements a day – would have on Trees F and G: the two majestic TPO-protected oak trees that sit beside the lane and either side of the proposed site entrance. 

Following the submission of plans last month by Aggregate Industries for the rural single carriageway lane, Devon County Council called for a site meeting, and this week five officers from the Council, including three from highways, and one from trees, together with two tree officers from East Devon District Council, met with four personnel and consultants from Aggregate Industries, and one tree consultant representing Straitgate Action Group; 12 attendees in all. 

What has now become clear, following these new plans and the site meeting, is that almost 10 years on from submitting the first application to quarry the farm in 2015, Aggregate Industries has still not worked out how to create an acceptable entrance into the site. 

Should we be surprised? Are the company and its chosen consultants incompetent? Or does this demonstrate – and we did warn – why Aggregate Industries should never have chosen Birdcage Lane for a site entrance? Either way, it doesn’t reflect well on the company. 

Three mature oak trees abut the proposed works: Trees F and G, and third-party oak Tree H. For these trees to remain unharmed by the works – as conditioned by the Planning Inspectors – the supply of air and water to their roots must be remain unhindered. It’s not rocket science. 

As things stand, the new road designs are likely to have a high impact on all three trees. 

At the Public Inquiry in 2022, the tree consultant acting on behalf of Devon County Council wrote: 

3.3 The initial scheme was a no-dig construction method. However, this construction was considered unacceptable by DCC Highways Authority (response dated 02 Nov 2021) [CD6.33A] commenting that ‘because of the size and weight of the haulage vehicles that will use the junction and Birdcage Lane, “No Dig” solutions for new road construction are not an option for consideration’. Subsequently a metalled road became part of the amended access arrangements to effectively cope with on-going movement of heavy machinery and HGVs. 

3.4 The following arboricultural report (Chapter 3 – Landscape Soils and Arboricultural Report) [CD4.26A] acknowledges that the "no dig" construction will potentially interfere with the root protection areas of Trees F and G and moreover ‘it is likely they will be damaged by the development and need to be felled’. The report considers that trees could survive the works, if the actual roots are deeper than the excavations / disturbance required. The mitigation provided is a watching brief by an Arboriculturist at the time of the works being carried out. This is outlined in ‘Detail Area, R22/L/3-3-005’ [CD4.63A] ‘to monitor the condition of trees F and G, and only remove them if necessary’. The proposal is to remove tree H...

 The Council’s consultant concluded: 

6.2 The Appellant’s proposal does not adequately consider the significant impact upon the Notable trees F and G impacted as a result of works to the access. These trees are mature and of potential veteran status and should be re-categorised as A (high value) with the sub-category 3 (wildlife and/or cultural attributes). The buffers proposed by the Appellant through the RPAs are inadequate, particularly in the light of amendment of means of construction of the access road from ‘no dig’ to metalled, while the Appellant’s proposed mitigation of a ‘watching brief’ is insufficient to secure their protection and would not contribute or link to the wider ecological network or green infrastructure requirements.

In respect of Tree H, Devon County Council wrote to Aggregate Industries in 2017 and said: 

Clearly, your proposal to carry out works in the highway is, as admitted in your own application documentation, likely to have a detrimental impact on the oak tree within the hedgerow known as "Tree H."…  

The issue, however, is whether Devon County Council as Highway Authority, in entering into a s.278 agreement with Aggregate Industries for works within the highway would knowingly be sanctioning works that would damage the property of a third party.  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. It is also clear that the Section 278 works for widening and construction of the carriageway are likely to result in damage to the tree and its potential demise. The tree in question is in the ownership of a third party and the highway authority is aware that he is opposed to any damage to the tree. He considers it to be in relatively good health, a view that is shared by the district council’s tree officer. In these circumstances the highway authority would not be in a position to enter in to a S278 agreement unless this matter is resolved. I would strongly suggest that you contact the owner of the hedgerow and tree and try to reach agreement before you proceed further with this application or come back to us with a proposal that might be acceptable which does not impact on third party assets or possessions. 

And again regarding the 'no dig' solution: 

Because of the size and weight of the haulage vehicles that will use the junction and Birdcage Lane, "No Dig" solutions for new road construction are not an option for consideration.

What we now find – inappropriate or not for the size of vehicles involved, and no doubt because of the protection that must by law be afforded to the TPO'd trees – is that the plans submitted by Aggregate Industries are indeed predominantly for "No Dig". 

The works proposed would raise the carriageway by some 750mm – much more than the permitted plans. The drawings claim to show a "permeable carriageway construction", but the new two-way carriageway surface would be capped with 300mm of bituminous material – impervious to both air and water. The 450mm sub-base of compacted aggregate would be held within a matrix structure called CellWeb TRP; the manufacturers say "The benefits of the CellWeb TRP® system can only be maintained if a suitably porous final surface is selected" and that "All surfaces in Root Protection Areas must be porous."

Devon County Council will now have to decide whether a no-dig solution is appropriate for a public highway with up to 200 HGVs a day; apparently, the Council has never accepted such a proposal before. 

Devon County Council might of course be persuaded by the temporary nature of the permission and lane modifications, as per Condition 4 and 49, which state:

the winning and working of sand and gravel and all operations and uses of land authorised by this permission (save for any restoration and aftercare pursuant to conditions 51 and 53) shall cease not later than 10 years from the date of the implementation of this permission. 

A scheme for the restoration of the haul route and the reinstatement of the hedgerow and the lane verges shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Mineral Planning Authority within one year of the completion of the physical restoration works to the site. The scheme shall be implemented within two years of its approval.

However, what quarry ever finished in the time allocated? Mineral working at Venn Ottery – down the road from Straitgate – was permitted in 1965, and finished 51 years later. Even before any extraction at Straitgate has begun, we’ve been told the 10 years is likely to be extended. Aggregate Industries itself has already said that the site is likely to be mothballed. 

Apart from all that, the plans have thrown up a number of other problems. 

The first is that the lane is not wide enough to accommodate Aggregate Industries' plans! Yes, you read that correctly. 

We had warned Devon County Council back in 2017 that the verge to allow two-way carriageway construction was not as wide as Aggregate Industries had assumed. The company and its consultants can’t even be trusted with a tape measure. 

Birdcage Lane has a grass verge on both sides of the carriageway. 

Verges, especially on rural lanes, are not only there for wildlife and to protect the hedgebanks, they are also important for livestock and horses. S71 of the Highways Act 1980 says: 

(1) It is the duty of a highway authority to provide in or by the side of a highway maintainable at the public expense by them which consists of or comprises a made-up carriageway adequate grass or other margins as part of the highway in any case where they consider the provision of margins necessary or desirable for the safety or accommodation of ridden horses and driven livestock; and a highway authority may light a margin provided by them under this section.

Permission was granted for a minimal 1.0m grass verge to be maintained, as well as the 1.2m gravel path on the other side for pedestrians:

   

At the meeting this week, there was talk of amending the permission to allow Aggregate Industries' new plans to fit in – so that there would be no grass verge left at all.

What’s more, Aggregate Industries has only now, at this very late stage, realised that the drainage ditch along the lane must be moved. Where has the company proposed to put it? Right through mature trees and Devon hedgebanks on the perimeter of the site, and on through the centre of trees planted several years ago for the purposes of screening, alternative compensatory bat and dormouse habitat, and biodiversity offsetting. Approximately 450 square metres of trees would be lost. 

It would be the second time Aggregate Industries has had to cut down newly-planted trees – trees that were supposed to be 'compensation' for the 1.5km of ancient hedgerows due to be ripped out. 

All these trees destined for the chop are outside of the red line planning boundary. Conditions 39 and 41 of the planning permission say: 

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…. All tree and shrub planting and other landscape works implemented pursuant to this permission shall be maintained and shall be protected from damage for the duration of the extraction and restoration works, and for ten years from the completion of restoration in any part of the site. 

There are a multitude of other issues – including this major blooper: 

With the new road surface raised by some 750mm above current levels, the pedestrian footpath next to this carriageway – a condition of the permission intended for school children and other lane users – would sit even higher, at about 900mm. 

The construction of the footway would need to be against the hedgebank – measured at about 1m, and less in places – on the eastern side of the lane, and would block this field gateway:

 

Who knows if the hedgebank is strong enough to support all this material and the weight of laden HGV traffic? Both belong to a third party, whose permission has not been sought, and who has been a longstanding objector to the proposal. 

Aggregate Industries has once again demonstrated just how good it is at not thinking things through. 

Following the meeting this week, the company has been tasked with a long list of further work – some of which you might have thought should have been done before the application was determined, not afterwards – including supplying more accurate topographical surveys showing the exact position of tree trunks, hedgebanks, levels etc, supplying an accurate tree survey showing the results of tree root investigations and the actual root spread of all the mature trees to be retained, providing further information on the new drainage ditch arrangements, assessing the impact of the work on the third party hedgebank and field entrance, assessing the extent and impact of tree removal on the splay to Exeter Road, etc. 

Aggregate Industries is already halfway through the three years it has to implement the permission, granted 5 January 2023. The modifications on Birdcage Lane are but one of the obstacles the company must overcome.

Aggregate Industries’ Straitgate update for July

Aggregate Industries has today provided the following update in relation to implementing its permission to quarry Straitgate Farm: 

Update this month is that, as you are aware, we have met with Devon highways regarding the highway improvements and are awaiting their view on a no dig highway construction. 

I am planning to submit next week the written scheme of investigation and the water monitoring scheme. As previously I will send you a copy of what we submit to Devon. 

Finally I am hoping to get sign off for the infiltration tests next week and if so these should take place in the second half of August and I will confirm the date when I know.

Sales of sand & gravel down 10% in second quarter, report MPA

PATCHY IMPROVEMENT: Our new figures show a modest overall improvement in the sales of construction #aggregates and #asphalt in Britain for the second quarter of 2024 but #concrete sales are still in the doldrums.

Read the full story:https://t.co/Oe18aDCUVs#essentialmaterials pic.twitter.com/TU1zS1tVSO

— Mineral Products Association (@MineralProduct) August 1, 2024

All change again at the top of Aggregate Industries

No one can accuse Aggregate Industries of letting the grass grow under its executives’ feet. 

This week, the company appointed a new boss, Lee Sleight – previously Managing Director of the Aggregates division, and, coincidentally, first mentioned here only a few days ago. 

Mr Sleight is clearly happy to be the next in line to be called upon: 

It is a very proud moment for me to be chosen to lead this fantastic business.

Mr Sleight will be Aggregate Industries’ sixth CEO during the time in which the company has been trying to get its hands on the sand and gravel at Straitgate. 

Whether that says more about the turnover of bosses in this fantastic business, or just how many years the company has spent messing about trying to secure the relatively small amount of mineral on offer at Straitgate, readers can decide. 

Kaziwe Kaulule will replace Mr Sleight as MD of the Aggregates division.

‘Time to get Britain building responsibly’, says Aggregate Industries

A change of government has prompted all manner of press releases from the building industry this week. 

Both the Mineral Products Association, the trade body representing Aggregate Industries et al., and Aggregate Industries itself have responded to plans set out by the new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to overhaul the planning system and boost housebuilding. 

MPA Director of Public Affairs, Robert McIlveen, said: 

The Chancellor has wasted no time to get going, and we warmly welcome her decisions on housing and onshore wind, as well as hiring more planners. We look forward to such decisive action in other areas… 

We will be writing to key ministers in the coming days, stressing that planning reform for housing is just the first step, and that a similar approach of unblocking the planning system needs to be taken for mineral extraction, processing and freight. This is fundamental to growth, given the sector represents the largest material flow in the UK economy – over 1 million tonnes of raw materials and products every day. Mineral products make up a major part of the supply chain for housing and infrastructure, but our members face prohibitive constraints in the current planning and permitting system.

Lee Sleight, who this year became Aggregate Industries' latest Managing Director of Aggregate, said: 

As a leading sustainable building materials supplier within the UK, we are fully on board with this initiative and ready to support key areas such as house building, infrastructure and onshore wind. 

So far in 2024, the UK market has seen a concerning slowdown in both infrastructure projects and house building, with 24% less construction starts in the first quarter of 2024 compared with the previous year, and construction output in the housing sector 19% below 2019 levels in February this year. 

etc etc 

Without a doubt, the urgent steps which the Chancellor has laid out to kick-start economic growth are necessary and achievable, and we are poised ready for the challenge. However, taking house building as an example, the 1.5 million homes projected over the next five years will require vast amounts of materials.

A conservative estimate of just the concrete required for these homes could be 37.5 million cubic metres. For perspective, this equates to more than nine times the capacity of Wembley Stadium and underscores the importance of recycled materials. 

This is why it’s crucial we create a new blueprint for the Great British built environment. Aggregate Industries have ambitious plans to help achieve net zero and are adopting a circular economy approach across everything they do. 

The construction industry must responsibly embrace the Chancellor’s national mission for growth but can only achieve this by building in a circular and wholly sustainable way. This goes far beyond just minimizing waste. Effectively, we need to build new cities from the ‘urban quarry’ of our old stock, thereby conserving the precious resources of our island nation.

And, of course, no one would disagree with Mr Sleight’s apparent passion for the use of recycled materials and conserving the precious resources of our island nation – but this is the MD of the division of Aggregate Industries that has been fighting tooth and nail over the last 15 years to dig the life out of a relatively insignificant greenfield site in East Devon for precious unsustainable primary un-recycled materials, and to process them 23 miles away – a wholly unsustainable way. 

Aggregate Industries: Say one thing and do another.

Quarry companies – if at first they don’t succeed

For the second time, Brett Aggregates has appealed the decision by Hertfordshire County Council to refuse plans for an eight million tonne sand and gravel quarry on the site of the former Hatfield Aerodrome. A planning inquiry is due to start on 19 November and is scheduled to last for 10 days. 

The Planning Inspectorate refused the company’s previous application to quarry the site in 2022 – following a nine-day public inquiry – citing harm to the Green Belt, character, appearance and amenity of the area, as we have previously posted. 

Herts County Council has described the latest application as being "substantially similar" to the first.

What is it about the answer NO that quarry companies don't understand?

Quarry plan subject to second inquiry https://t.co/c48pHsvm5F

— BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks (@BBC3CR) July 11, 2024

Cumbria coal mine unlawfully approved, government says

The Government has admitted that a proposed coal mine in Cumbria – subject of these posts – was approved unlawfully, as the carbon emissions of coal from the mine should have been taken into account in the planning decision, the Guardian reported this week.

Sense at long last. How was it ever possible not to take account of the emissions from burning the coal ?!? It took a conspiracy of warped and disingenuous arguments to keep this crazy mine plan going for so long. Thank SLACC and FOE for fighting it. https://t.co/UTLbu9cPli

— Mike Berners-Lee (@MikeBernersLee) July 11, 2024