Agenda item

A Wiltshire Council consultation on potential sites for sand and gravel extraction commenced on 5 August 2010. Although the consultation was not included on the agenda as an item, the matter of initial site options for the aggregate minerals site allocations was considered at this meeting as a matter of urgent business, because the consultation had arisen as a significant issue in the community since the agenda was drafted.

The Chairman invited comments from representatives of the groups present and then individuals.

A representative spoke from The Mile Elm Sand Stoppers. Points raised included the following:

·         Turnout at the meeting indicated how serious the issue was taken in the community

·         The group was set up to raise awareness of the consultation and had quickly established 1200 members

·         Anger was in the main directed at landowners

·         Concerns regarding proposed quarries at sites C6 and C7 – threat to outstanding natural beauty and agricultural productivity of the district, a danger to children at the nearby John Bentley School and to rare wildlife, as well as deterioration in the quality of life of all Calne residents

·         Plans for the group after the consultation period ended.

The Area Board was presented with a petition signed by 1,404 people. The petition was received by the Chairman and passed to the Democratic Services Officer for verification, before it would be put to the relevant Cabinet Representative for consideration, Councillor John Brady (Cabinet Representative for Economic Development, Planning and Housing).

A representative spoke from Stockley to express his concern and objection to the proposed quarrying at Mile Elm and Stockley/Broad’s Green. The proposed quarries were seen as a threat to the outstanding natural beauty and agricultural productivity of the district, a danger to children at the nearby John Bentley School and to rare wildlife, as well as to the quality of life for all residents of Calne Community Area.

A representative from Hilmarton and Goatacre Group Improving Safety (HAGGIS) voiced concerns regarding traffic on the A3102, which had doubled in the previous two years. He commented that while Wiltshire Council were not planning new landfill, private businesses could submit applications for landfill sites and there was the need to object to this happening too.

Individuals spoke to endorse the points made before and draw attention to the impact of further HGVs on air pollution and on traffic in the Community Area. The number of people who attended the meeting and related meetings was celebrated and the need to continue this work was identified. Landowners estimates of the amount of sand available at the C5 site once the buffers were pushed out were questioned.

The item included a question and answer session, which covered the following main issues:

·         The consultation as a statutory duty would not be put on hold because of the recent Government spending review. It was a process that Wiltshire Council had to go through once landowners had put sites forward. The only uncertainty was the implication of a forthcoming localism bill, but Wiltshire Council would not stop the consultation due to revenue reasons

·         The consultation process – the next step was for feedback from the consultation to be looked into and detailed site appraisals would take place in early spring. Preferred site options would be identified in late spring and these would be taken to Committee meetings and then to Full Council. Further consultation would run in late spring/early summer, with recommendations to the Secretary of State for examination in public, to be adopted mid 2012

·         If a procedural error had been identified, it should be flagged up in the consultation and corrected alongside the site appraisals

·         Wiltshire Council had no plans for further landfill sites

·         The North Wessex Downs was an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and there would be a negative impact to tourism revenue for the town of Calne and the surrounding area if quarry developments were to proceed. The majority of the C1 to C7 areas were visible from the North Wessex Downs AONB – Wiltshire Council was a member of the Council of Partners, the accountable body for the AONB, and it was confirmed their view had been fed into the consultation

·         The Area Board did not feel in a position to submit a formal response to the consultation, in order for members to take part in Cabinet decision making at a later stage in the process, however the Chairman assured the meeting that all points put forward would be fed into the consultation and the concerns of the electorate and strength of feeling in the room had been registered

·         The role of the Calne Community Area Partnership in the consultation - the Partnership was independent to the consultation. If the Partnership felt that this was an issue, they needed to speak to local people and submit a response to the consultation. The use of the Partnership and the hub as a vehicle for disseminating information would continue to be looked into    

·         The consultation was not on the agenda for this evening because the Community Area Manager had not received any correspondence from the community, partner organisations or Officers prior to or at the agenda setting meeting

·         Communication - some people knowing about the consultation at parish meetings and other people being unaware of it taking place

·         Extension of the consultation – the consultation had already been extended from 30 September to the end of October. The period of consultation seemed to be short given the nature of the subject. Councillor Hill agreed he would ask for an extension, however this might not be feasible, given the legal framework for the consultation

Councillor Scott underlined the importance of having such groups and the need for concerned groups and individuals to continue to submit a response to the consultation. Comments could be written down and left at the meeting (please find attached to the minutes) or submitted online through the Wiltshire Council website. Councillor Scott stated that Wiltshire Council was interested in all feedback on how we could improve consultation with local people. This would be useful for the next round of the process. `