Aquifer Issues Highlighted
Our new video highlights the threats posed to the town's water supply should the aquifer become contaminated by the proposed quarry in Bengeo.
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Aerial Photo Opportunity
We would like to invite you to join us at the Wick Field/Sacombe Road playing field on Sunday 12 March 2017.
This is our last chance to show our opposition to the quarry application in Bengeo Field.
We are hoping that you can come and join us briefly to raise some further publicity before the HCC Committee meeting. The plan is:
11-11.15am aerial photo in the Wick Field – we will stand in the shape of letter NO, other photos will be taken on ground
11.15-11.45 walk to the Lonely Oak tree to put a stone in the circle around the tree.
Please wear red for stop and green for tree/field if you can. See you there! Please share....
HCC Public Health Response
The County Council's Public Health Service have responded to the applicant's resubmission of plans for a quarry north of Bengeo.
County Councillor Andrew Stevenson reacted to the letter, commenting: "I think that this official letter from the Director of Public Health , Hertfordshire opens up the whole question of air quality as a risk yet to be quantified. It is helpful in setting the scientific background requirements that would have to be satisfied as a pre-requisite. It is clear that the applicants have not yet satisfied the pre-requisite requirements and it would seem to require a lot of work for them to do so. This is yet another reason why it is simple unacceptable to locate a quarry operation so close to an urban residential area and a primary school."
The Public Health Service's response by Professor Jim McManus, The Director of Public Health, came after an earlier an earlier response was criticised for its language. In a letter dated 31st January 2017,...
CPRE Remain Opposed Despite Changes
The Campaign For Rural England have restaed their opposition the the proposed quarry north of Bengeo, despite the resubmission and further information provided by The Applicant. They also highlight an error in the submitted ‘revised contours’ plan which shows the area of the proposed flood mitigation pond.
» Read CPRE's letter of objection...
Traffic & Road Safety Response
The Stop Bengeo Quarry Campaign has now submitted their formal Traffic & Road Safety Response to the County Council.
The document addresses some of the Highways issues raised by the quarry application, including traffic volumes, site management and Rights Of Way.
» Read our Traffic & Road Safety Response...
Highways Recommend Refusal
The County Council's Highway department has recommended that planning permission for a quarry north of Bengeo be refused due to issues with the proposed entrance.
Wadesmill Road junction with Revel's Farm entrance
In their letter of objection, the department states: "The access arrangements as shown on Drawing No 131124/A/04 C are unacceptable from a highway safety point of view as the proposed right turn lane conflicts with the access serving Revels Croft Farm to the north of the proposed access".
Their notice continues: "... the proposed right turn lane would give rise to conditions prejudicial to highway safety in relation to traffic accessing Revels Croft Farm. A Stage One Safety Audit is required in support of any revised junction layout ."...
Campaign Stall Attracts Hundreds
Hundreds of people visited our stall at Hertford Market on Saturday 18th February. Local residents and shoppers stopped and shared their concerns with fellow campaigners and councillors who were there throughout the day. Visitors to the stall expressed concern about how close the quarry would be to a school and residential areas. One man said he had only just moved to Hertford, and if he had known about the plans he certainly would not have come to the area. Local people were also unaware that their water supply comes from the Wadesmill Road boreholes.
Local Councillors lending their support on the day included Cllr Andrew Stevenson (Hertfordshire County Council), Cllr Michael McMullen (East Herts District Council), Cllr Sally Newton (Hertford Town Council) and the Mayor of Hertford, Cllr Linda Radford.
Photos
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Campaign Stall on Hertford Market
The Stop Bengeo Quarry Campaign will have a stall on Hertford Market this coming Saturday 18th February, from 9am to 4pm. Members of the public and supported will have an opportunity to discuss the revised Bengeo quarry proposal, the current public consultation, the campaign's response, and the preparations for the HCC Development Control Committee, currently believed to be 22nd March.
We will also be joined at 11am by County Councillor Andrew Stevenson.
Download our new campaign leaflet below.
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Landscape Survey Update
In January we launched our Bengeo Field Landscape Survey to find out more about how people use the land north of Bengeo.
By the end of the first week of February we received a total of 331 responses. The highlights of the survey are as follows:
over 95% of respondents used the Bengeo Field in the past 18 months
nearly 41% use the public footpath across Bengeo Field at least once a week, and additional 28% use it at least once per month
over 72% of respondents rate the view across Bengeo Field as "very special and distinctive" and "would like it to be preserved for future generations"
while majority of respondents using the Bengeo Field live locally, we also had responses from people who live more than 10 miles away
Update 2/3/17: The survey is now closed...
Summary of Applicant’s Amendments
The main amendments the developer proposed in response to the objections and comments on the original quarry proposal are:
Amendment of the restored landform to address the concerns of the HCC landscape officer – the overall amount of gravel to be removed is said to be reduced from 2.6 million tonnes to 1.75 million tonnes in the new plan, i. e. reduced by 0.85 million tonnes or 33%.
Reduction of the overall period of the development from 15 to around 10 years.
However, the area affected by the excavation remains the same and the landscape would still be permanently damaged. Any effective use of the byway would be removed for 5 or 10 years, at least, not to return in the same form.
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