Hills Quarry Products have removed the concrete processing plant from its plans for a huge quarry near Clifton Hampden, but anti-quarry campaigners say they are not convinced and that Hills could re-instate the concrete plant at a later date if given planning permission.
Bachport (Burcot and Clifton Hampden Protection of the River Thames) spokesman Giles Baxter said: “Although Hills has removed the concrete plant, the fact that the proposed area for the plant site remains on the plans suggests that the company will seek to reinstate the plant at some point in the future under permitted development rights. In other words this is a purely tactical move by Hills.”
The county council’s draft Waste and Minerals Plan calls for a 40% increase in the annual production rate for sand and gravel to over 1 million tonnes to support house building over the next 15 years.
Mr Baxter added: “Since Oxfordshire county councillors voted in favour of the draft Waste and Minerals Plan last month, the Government has revised its future housing requirements downwards, fundamentally undermining the applicant’s case that the quarry is needed to meet additional demand. This quarry is not needed.”
As a result of the decision to remove the concrete plant from the plans the county council has called for another round of consultation. The public has until 2nd November to send in their comments. It’s not now expected to be discussed by the county’s planning committee until early in the New Year.
Views on the plans can be sent to: mary.thompson@oxfordshire.gov.uk and the Bachport website is http://bachport.uk/
