Blog Extraction site decision will help the environment and...

18th November 2009

THOUSANDS of road miles and the associated pollution will be saved every year following the decision to allow sand and gravel extraction at Downton Manor Farm, say bosses at New Milton Sand and Ballast.

On October 27 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government approved planning permission for the construction of a new access, environmental bunds, the extraction of 810,000 tonnes of sand and gravel and subsequent infilling for restoration with inert waste at Downton Manor Farm, Milford on Sea.

The local business says that will mean an end to it having to haul 100,000 tonnes of Mendip Limestone every year from Somerset to the New Forest, keeping lorries off the road and reducing NMSB's carbon footprint dramatically.

The decision was the culmination of a prolonged and rigorous process that commenced on August 10, 2004, when the planning application was first submitted to Hampshire County Council. It then involved two public inquiries, one in 2007, a subsequent high court challenge, and another one in 2009.

Hampshire County Council fought against the application and said that there was no need for the mineral in the county, preferring supply from quarries situated at Fawley and Blashford, and further arguing that gravel should not be dug from the green belt. In addition, two local pressure groups, “DAMAGE” and “HERITAGE”, represented themselves very well in the process. They argued in favour of the county's objections and said that the development would harm tourism and the local economy and would blight the lives of Milford on Sea residents.

A planning inspector found in favour of the planning application at the 2009 public inquiry based on four main grounds:-

That the Hampshire County Land Bank for sand and gravel supplies was deficient of the minimum target of seven years' reserves and there was therefore a need for the mineral that could not be met from another site.

The provision of Downton Manor Farm minerals would reduce the harmful effects of heavy goods vehicles travelling through congested areas such as Lymington, Lyndhurst, Highcliffe and Christchurch and from Somerset.

That the present reserves of sand and gravel were in the ownership of too few companies and there was a need to maintain a competitive local market in which workings are not in limited ownership.

That there was a need for this mineral in order to make more “secondary recycled” aggregates available through blending.

The inspector further concluded that the site could be worked without causing harm to the local community, its economy or tourism and that as the permission was time-limited and therefore temporary, it was acceptable development for a greenbelt because it had no lasting effect.

Commenting on the decision, Michael Badcock and Trevor Poole, Joint Managing Directors of New Milton Sand and Ballast, said: “This is great news for the people of Walkford, Highcliffe and Christchurch and for all the villages along the route from the Mendip Hills in Somerset to our area. This now means that we will not be forced to haul 100,000 tonnes of Mendip Limestone every year into the Milford on Sea area to satisfy its demand for construction materials.
It is also good news for the people of Milford on Sea, as their local gravel will be worked by a long-standing, professional, family-owned local business, which has an excellent track record in community involvement. We intend to set up an active community liaison committee to make sure that local people have their say in how the site is worked, and will endeavour to accommodate their wishes wherever possible.”

They went on to say that the decision secured the jobs of their workforce at the Caird Avenue site and was the most carbon-friendly way of supplying the needs of the local community.
It is anticipated that preparatory works will commence on-site shortly so that extraction of minerals can commence in the summer of 2010.