OCC Planning Committee 12 November 2009

So the Planning and regulation Committee are to meet on 12 November 2009 at 10:30 am. The idea is that the shiny new Routeing Agreement that the officers of the Minerals Department have negotiated with Hanson can be used to persuade the elected members of the Planning and Regulation Committee to withdraw one of their objections to Hanson's Appeal.

As far as we know, the officers have never pointed out to the elected members the useful comments that are to be found in Minerals Planning Guidance 2 Annex C para C9:

(b) Lorry routes

C9. Offers are sometimes made by mineral operators to restrict their lorries to particular routes. Such schemes have sometimes proved successful but not all lorries calling at a site are likely to be in the control of the operator and in law a planning condition cannot control the right of passage over public highways. Some measure of control may result from a condition requiring the posting of a notice at the site exit requesting all drivers either to use or avoid particular routes. Highway authorities have powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to make traffic regulation orders to prevent the use of certain roads by unsuitable types of traffic for example heavy commercial vehicles. But such orders, which might restrict by weight or size, would apply to all traffic in prohibited class irrespective of its origin or destination since it would be impracticable to distinguish vehicles visiting a particular site. If there is serious doubt whether local roads can accommodate such increase in heavy traffic as the proposed development is likely to generate, then, unless improvements are made or there is convincing evidence that control of traffic is feasible, planning permission may have to be refused.

This is an authoritative statement of the traffic and routeing situation as it has afflicted the residents of Standlake, Northmoor, Stanton Harcourt and especially Sutton, and it reinforces the conclusion that the elected members were right to refuse on these grounds last November.

In particular, the problem with the proposed Routeing Agreement is that some of the operators at the Stanton Harcourt sites would be subject to the agreement, while others would not. This is precisely the context in which MPG2 Annex C para C9 considers routeing agreements impracticable.

As for flood risk, who knows? The only certainty is that the elected members of the Planning and Regulation Committee will not have been given the time and and the information they need if they are to arrive at an informed and rational decision.

The officers have always wanted this quarry, but OCC's own consultant has expressed some reservations about the flood model. Other experts say that it cannot be used to say that the quarry will not increase risk. On the basis of what is now known to remain unknown, the elected members should have no patience with any attempt to bounce them into withdrawing the flood risk objection.

Is this a correct map of the July 2007 floods?

As part of the evidence put forward by Hanson for the Inquiry later this month, Hanson have produced a map of the area showing what they say is the extent of the flooding in July 2007.

You can click on the map to get a larger image. Note that some areas have not been modelled - eg Rack End.

As you can see from the attached map - it is incorrect. We need to provide the inquiry with written evidence from local residents who witnessed flooding in areas not shown in blue on the map, to ensure these are correctly documented. The darker the colour the deeper the flooding, as you can see many areas according to Hanson are recorded as white ie no surface flooding.

If you know of any areas that were inundated, particularly your own property, please could you write to us to confirm this. Please indicate exactly where you are talking about so it can be correctly plotted on the map as evidence. Any photographs backing up your statement would be wonderful, but are by no means essential.

We need to include your letters in our documentation to the Inspector, so could we ask you to write to us as soon as possible.

Please write to Terry Kirkpatrick:
terrykp ATSIGN kirkpatrickconsult.co.uk

This is now even more urgent. OCC wants to lose this Appeal. They are holding a special meeting of the Planning and Regulation Committee on 12 November 2009 at 10:30am, in the hope that they can withdraw their objections.

They want the Committee to agree a new HGV Routeing Agreement that they think will let them withdraw the Lorry Routeing objection.

They hope they will be able to show that the quarry will not increase flood risk. If so they will ask the Committee to withdraw the Flood Risk objection as well.

If that happens, OCC will not oppose the Appeal. That would not mean it's all over. The whole thing will remain in the hands of the Inspector, and the Inquiry will go ahead. But we need your help and your evidence even more than before.

The councillors on the Planning and Regulation Committee are listed on the Agenda. You can write to yours using this link. Please tell them that Stonehenge Farm is the wrong place for a quarry, and that they should uphold the correct decision they took in November 2008.

The Witney Gazette web edition carried a story about our campaign.

What can you do to help?

We need people to put their hands deep into their pockets and contribute to our fighting fund. All donations to The Treasurer, Outrage, Greenfields, Church Road, Northmoor, Witney, Oxon OX29 5SX.

• We need people to support our fund-raising events. We are running a series of fund raising events, the first one being our Race Night - 14th November. Or you could attend or host a Pyramid Party (coffee morning, lunches, high tea, supper or dinner party), donate goods, service or skill for a promise auction, or a raffle prize for a future event.

• We need people to drop into the Public Inquiry at Northmoor Village Hall. Please put the date in your diary now - 17th - 20th November and 24th – 27th November.

The proposed gravel extraction is a huge threat to us all - the future of our rural community depends on Outrage winning at the Public Inquiry. We know having legal experts gives us the greatest chance of persuading the Inspector to reject the Appeal, but we also know there is a financial cost involved. Last year we managed to raise the £10K needed to fight the planning application – and we won. We can do it again, if everyone helps. We have estimated that there are about 2500 of us living in the area affected. If every household contributes something, we will meet our target.

Stonehenge Farm: the Planning Appeal

OUTRAGE has been informed that the Public Inquiry into Hanson's Appeal against Oxfordshire County Council's refusal to grant planning permission to extract sand and gravel from Stonehenge Farm will start on 17 November 2009 at 10am in Northmoor Village Hall. It is currently expected to last for three or four days.

OUTRAGE has registered itself as a Rule 6 third party to the Appeal, the other two parties being the Appellant (Hanson) and the Local Planning Authority (OCC). Col Terry Kirkpatrick has also registered as a Rule 6 third party on behalf of the residents of Moreton. This means that Terry and ourselves will have the right to present our case in detail, to call witnesses and to cross examine the witnesses of the Appellant. It also means that we will be open to cross examination. All the parties will present their cases before an independently appointed Inspector whose job is to assess the evidence on both sides in the light of minerals planning policy and to come to a fair decision.

OUTRAGE has decided that we need - now more than ever - to employ a lawyer who specialises in environmental planning law to represent us. This will cost money and over the course of the autumn OUTRAGE will be organising a number of fundraising events. We shall need all the combined talents of our villages, all the ideas and volunteers that we can muster. If you would like to help please be in touch with us.

We have come a long way since February 2004 when Hanson first told us of their intention to apply for permission to dig up Stonehenge Farm. We have written dozens of letters, attended many meetings with OCC and the Environment Agency, participated in minerals planning consultation exercises, monitored violations of HGV traffic routeing agreements, commissioned a botanical report of the site, lobbied our MP and County Councillors, made formal public addresses to OCC Planning Committee meetings, and much else.

In all of this we have had generous support from all our six villages: Northmoor, Moreton, Bablockhythe, Standlake, Stanton Harcourt and Sutton. Your help in raising money for legal representation last year was invaluable. We have also had the strong support of our County Councillor, Charles Mathew, our District Councillors Brenda Smith and Hilary Fenton, and of all the three Parish Councils: Northmoor, Standlake and Stanton Harcourt.

So far we have managed to keep Hanson at bay. The Public Inquiry on November 17th and the following days will be the final test and we aim to give it our all. Please help us to make the best of our case. If we don't stop Hanson at Stonehenge Farm, the next 8 to 10 years will be blighted by the noise, dust, traffic of a major extraction site on our doorstep. Northmoor's quiet village road will be tunnelled under by a conveyor carrying gravel up to Linch Hill all day long. It will be flanked on one side of the crossing by a hooded shute about seven foot high into which a raised conveyor will pour gravel onto another conveyor in the tunnel below. On the other side there will be cabinets containing electrical transformers and switchgear. What was once a quiet country walk along the footpath down to the river will now run alongside the conveyor and beside pits and machinery. Riders along the bridle path to the north of the road will have a difficult and possibly frightening time crossing the conveyor. As for the risk of flooding, Hanson has not been able to give us any credible assurance that this will not be increased.

If you would like to give a donation or to help in any way, we would be very grateful.

The Outrage Campaign now has a new email address: outragecampaign@gmail.com.

Hanson has appealed against the refusal

Hanson has appealed against Oxfordshire County Council's refusal to grant planning permission to extract sand and gravel from Stonehenge Farm.

The Appeal reference number at the Planning Inspectorate is "APP/U3100/A/09/2107573/NWF". Unfortunately the service for access to information about specific planning appeals is disgracefully inaccessible to users of Macintosh and Linux-based operating systems, and even it seems to users of Mozilla Firefox on any system whatever.

Stonehenge Farm application: the refusal

We have now received a text for the motion that was passed at the Planning and Regulation Committee on 24 November 2008 refusing permission for sand and gravel extraction at Stonehenge Farm, Northmoor. The text seems to omit one word, presumably "from" as indicated below by italic text in square brackets.

The motion refers to some policies: MWLP policy PE7 and WOLP policies NE8 and NE9. "MWLP" stands for "Minerals and Waste Local Plan" and "WOLP" stands for "West Oxfordshire Local Plan". These policies are quoted here for convenience.

The motion refusing permission:
That planning permission for the development proposed in Application 07/0111/P/CM be refused for the following reasons:

1. It has not been sufficiently demonstrated to the satisfaction of the County Planning Authority that the impact of the proposed development would not increase the risk to people, property and businesses arising [from] additional flood risk.
2. That routeing agreements have proved ineffective in the past and in practice.
3. The development is contrary to MWLP Policy PE7 and WOLP NE8 and NE9.

MWLP policy PE7 (see Annex 4 - MWLP policies)

In the floodplain proposals for mineral extraction and restoration should not result in the raising of existing ground levels. Mineral extraction or restoration by landfill should not adversely affect groundwater levels or water quality, impede flood flows, reduce the capacity of flood storage or adversely affect existing flood defence structures. The developer and/or landowner will be expected to undertake any hydrological surveys necessary to establish the implications of a proposal.

POLICY NE8 - Flood Risk:

New development or intensification of existing development will not be permitted within areas at risk from flooding which is likely to:

1. impede the flow of water;
2. result in the net loss of flood plain storage; or
3. increase the flood risk elsewhere.

Within areas at risk of flooding an appropriate Flood Risk Assessment must be undertaken when preparing development proposals.

POLICY NE9 - Surface Water:

New development or intensification of existing development will not be permitted where the additional surface water run-off would result in adverse impacts such as an increased risk of flooding, river channel instability or damage to habitats, unless appropriate attenuation and pollution control measures are provided.

A result! Stonehenge Farm application rejected

The Planning and Regulation Committee today voted 8-6 to reject the Stonehenge Farm application. This came after a long debate - should they or should they not wait for the WODC Final Flood Report and the joint Strategic Flood Risk Assessment. In the end the Committee voted unanimously not to defer again, and then adjourned to decide how to frame a motion to reject. When they returned, they quickly voted by 8-6 with one abstention to reject the application.

The Committee swiftly moved on to the next item on the Agenda, and we all emerged blinking into the twilight like the political prisoners set free in Beethoven's opera Fidelio, scarcely able to believe that it really had happened.

This was a wonderful result, and OUTRAGE is immensely grateful to the many, many people who have helped to bring it about.

Of course, in the end it's just like the opera - not done till the fat lady sings - Hanson may well appeal. But for now, it's the interval, and we can enjoy what we have all along been trying to save.