The following is an update from County Councillor Adrian Collett

The bad news is that R Collard have been given permission to tip on the Sandhurst Road site for another 10 weeks.  The slightly better news is that this has been strictly limited to 10 weeks and some of the conditions have been tightened up to try to avoid a repeat of some of the problems we had before.

R Collard had planning permission to tip inert soils in the River Valley site to the east of Sandhurst Road for 18 months which ran from 30th September 2010 to 30th March 2012.  18 months was the period calculated to allow them to import enough materials to construct a causeway across the large lake, in order to divide it into two lakes, and to fill in the bottom of the lakes to make them shallower, so that they would be suitable for recreational activities.

Before their operations came to an end on 30th March they explained to Hampshire’s planning officers that the state of the economy had resulted in a downturn in the number of construction projects in the area, meaning that they had not received enough materials to complete the job.  They asked for a further 10 weeks to be agreed by exchange of letters, as permitted under planning rules.  The planning officers said no – if they really wanted another 10 weeks they would have to apply for a new permission so that residents could make their views known so that the issues could be properly considered in view of the serious impact this operation has had on so many lives.

A number of residents did make objections including mud, dust and debris being deposited on the highway; large vehicles from the development driving at excessive speed causing vibrations to neighbouring houses and endangering local children; concerns that the volumes of traffic generated from the extension period will cause congestion and noise, and so on.

I sent in a full set of objections after discussing the issue with fellow local councillors Stuart Bailey, Graham Cockarill and John Keane.  I have set these out in full in the attached document.

This application was considered on Wednesday by the County Council’s Regulatory Committee in Winchester.  I am not a member of that committee, but I went along to fight for the best outcome I could get for local residents.

You will see from my objections that I had argued that Collards should to required to use the substantial amount of materials they already have on site to finish off recontouring the lakes to make them safe. It was however clear that the committee were not going to refuse to give permission, as Collards had stated that once soils have been tipped into the lakes they cannot later be moved around as they become waterlogged.  The planning officers advised the committee that this was correct.

I therefore changed tack and pressed for the best possible set of conditions to control what happens here and, while I did not get everything I asked for, I’m pleased to say that a number of improvements were made.  These include:

• The tipping will be strictly limited to 10 weeks and no further extensions will be given.

• The start time has now been put back from 0730 to 0800 each morning, and this includes not switching on the generator before 0800.  Finishing times will remain 1800 Mon – Fri and 1400 on Saturday.  No working on Sundays or bank holidays.

• In the event that the wheel wash facility is out of order, then importation of materials must now cease until adequate alternative facilities have been provided.

• The hard-standing area between the wheel wash and the exit shall be maintained in a clean condition to the satisfaction of the Planning Authority, so that the wheels do not pick up new mud and dirt after they have been washed!.

Three representatives of the applicant were there including Will Fleming, the site manager.  They were questioned by the committee about a number of aspects of this operation and they gave a number of assurances.  This will strengthen our hand if we have further serious problems during the coming 10 weeks, as the committee will now expect to see effective action to sort those problems out.

Another 10 weeks of this is not a welcome prospect for any of us – it will certainly mean many lorries on Sandhurst Road and Cricket Hill Lane throughout this period.  I’m sure that we will see a return of the so-called “staining” of the roads and there will be dust.  The improvements to the planning conditions will help a little, but the real improvement will be when the 10 weeks is over and it will stop for good!