Braintree: Local Views "Ignored" Over Quarries

24 July 2013, 00:01

Essex County Council is being accused of ignoring the views of local people over new quarry sites.

It wants to put in or extend four sites in and around the district of Braintree, meaning 60% of the county's sand and gravel will come from that area. 

Green Party councillor, James Abbott, says the sites are all concentrated towards the southern part of the district at Great Leighs, Rayne, Rivenhall End and Rivenhall Airfield. 

They are just miles apart and Mr Abbott has told Heart it is just too much: "These are big sites, they're taking tens of millions of tonnes of gravel out and it'll be over a period of decades. 

"It's a very deep excavation, everything goes. The landscape is completely changed, any hedges, grasslands, habitats go. 

"Even if you're not concerned with that, you've then got the traffic. Because these sites are going to be concentrated in a relatively small area it's going to be very difficult to avoid impacts from these gravel lorries on the road network. 

"At peak times the A12 and the A120 are severely congested. The idea of adding extra, slow moving HGVs into that mix is completely peverse." 

A consultation on the plans has been held and many people, including the parish and district council, have objected. 

Mr Abbott says it hasn't made a difference though: "They (Essex County Council) have completely ignored local views. In fact since the process started a few years ago, they've actually added extra sites into this area. 

"It's always the same with the County Council. On major planning consultations they generally take no notice of local people. 

"Geological research shows Braintree District has a lot of gravel deposits and we've said at parish and district level we do accept Braintree District has to take it's fair share, the issue is the concentration of sites. 

"What the County Council haven't been saying is that when this process was started, they were actually offered three or four times as much gravel as they needed so they did have a choice." 

In response, Essex County Council has said: "In the case of extraction, it can only occur where the mineral is found. 

"Some districts in the north of Essex, such as Braintree, have more significant mineral deposits than elsewhere. It is also a central Essex location with good existing infrastructure. 

"This allows for the effective dispersal of sand and gravel around the County on the main road network in line with the strategy.

"All of the 207 individual responses made to the engagement held between the 17 January to the 28th February 2013 have now been forwarded to the Secretary of State who has appointed an independent Planning Inspector to hear the concerns of residents, mineral companies and other organisations. 

"The examination is expected to take place in late October."