The plans for the quarry near Clifton Hampden have been thrown out by Oxfordshire County Council’s planning committee again. But the company promoting the development, Hills Quarry Products, says it’s likely to appeal the decision.
For two hours and ten minutes yesterday, thirteen county councillors debated the controversial plans. Their decision reflected the outcome of a meeting in November 2017 which rejected Hills’s original planning application. Yesterday twelve members voted against the application including the chair Jeanette Matelot. There was one abstention. No councillor voted in favour.
Almost one hundred members of the public attended the meeting in committee rooms one and two. Speaking on behalf of the objectors was the chairman of Bachport (Burcot & Clifton Hampden for the Protection of the River Thames) Ian Mason. He was supported by Bachport’s planning consultant Suzi Coyne, county councillors Lorraine Lindsay-Gale and Lynda Atkins.
They argued that the application from Hills was little different from the company’s previous application. Bachport says that there is enough sand and gravel deposits in the county to cater for demand over the next twenty years.
After the meeting Katherine Evans, the solicitor for Hills Quarry Products said: “We have a strong case and will consider appealing this decision. This is not the end of the issue to provide aggregates for future developments in Oxfordshire.”
