Quarry plans are refused (From Gazette Series)

Quarry plans are refused

12:03pm Friday 12th October 2007 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

VILLAGERS in Wickwar and Charfield are celebrating after a quarry's planning application to extend working hours was refused.

Councillors turned down proposals by Cemex to increase the production of ready mix concrete and operations of its coating plant at Wickwar Quarry at a planning meeting yesterday.

The decision was made despite strong recommendations from South Gloucestershire Council's own planning officers to approve the applications.

Officers said there was no technical evidence the extended hours at the quarry would have an effect on nearby village life and warned refusal on those grounds would not hold at an appeal.

But councillors said the sheer size of public opposition and claims the quarry was already intruding on the community was sufficient reason to turn the quarry's application down.

Cllr Clare Fardell said: "I have never in my whole time on this committee seen so many objections to one application saying so many different reasons why it should be rejected.

"And I am bewildered by the difference of opinion from our own technical officers and the people who live near the quarry.

"While we are being told by so many residents how noise from the quarry is disrupting their lives, our officers are saying the quarry's working hours would not have a detrimental impact on residents.

"I just can't believe that all these people are lying."

A motion by Cllr Pat Hockey to reject both proposals on the grounds of potential impact to the residential amenity was approved with eight voting for, two against and no abstentions.

The decision was met with a round of applause by about 30 villagers who packed out the council office's public gallery.

Nearly 300 people from Wickwar and Charfield had made formal objections to the application.

They also raised money to commission an independent report by Atkins to scrutinise the council's noise surveys.

Wickwar Residents' Action Group campaigner Colin Baker told the Gazette it was a "fantastic result" for the community.

He said: "Residents in Wickwar, Westend and Churchend are extremely happy with the outcome.

"The result brings a happy end to a very long and hard campaign which most of our village had become involved in. We simply couldn't afford to let them win.

"Our thanks go to the planning committee who must have spent an incredible amount of effort reading through the correspondence and survey reports for what was a very complicated case.

"They illustrated their understanding by the pertinent questioning during the planning meeting."