The threat from Hills Quarry Products has not gone away and Bachport (Burcot & Clifton Hampden for the Protection of the River Thames) supporters will continue their fight against plans for a huge quarry on land near Clifton Hampden.
Hills’ planning application was refused by Oxfordshire County Council’s planning committee last November but OCC planning officer Mary Thompson has told Lorraine Lyndsey Gale the county councillor for Clifton Hampden that Hills is considering launching a new planning application rather than appealing their failed application.
The company has told the county that a new application would address the grounds for refusal by including plans to reduce the number of vehicles operating at the site, although this will extend the life of the quarry.
Bachport believes this latest move by Hills suggests the company knows it cannot win an appeal and their current application is deeply flawed.
Bachport is ready to address any new proposals by Hills, and the four parish councils – Burcot and Clifton Hampden, Long Wittenham, Appleford and Culham – remain united in their view that this is the wrong place for any new quarry.
The quarry opponents say any new proposals will destroy this scenic landscape by the Thames for a generation and cause harm to the enjoyment of local residents and visitors alike.
Bachport says that following the successful application for another new quarry near Cholsey, the county’s land bank for sand and gravel is even larger than before and there is no justification for any further quarries. The existing land bank would meet supply for more than 20 years based on the last three years of demand for the material.