County Council Planning Officer Felicity Hart has recommended that councillors refuse the planning application for the proposed Bengeo Quarry.
In her 47-page report to the Development Control Committee, the planning officer highlights a range of reasons for recommending refusal, including:
- Inappropriate development of the Green Belt
- Impact on landscape
- Workings outside the area identified by the County Council as preferred for gravel extraction
- Highways issues
- The current landbank of gravel exceeds that required by law
- Inadequate Health Impact Assessment
On behalf of the Campaign, Aska Wisniewska-Pickering commented: “It is absolutely fantastic news about the HCC Planning Officer’s recommendation to reject this awful proposal to have a quarry just on the edge of Hertford. What is important now is that the HCC Development Control Committee make the final decision to reject it. ”
Constituency MP Mark Prisk also welcomed the news: “I am pleased that HCC’s planners have rejected this application. They have made it clear that the application breaches several key policies and that with existing resources in hand there is no need for this scheme to proceed. I hope this will now mean that the planning committee will now also reject the application, reflecting the strong views of our community in Bengeo.”
The Development Control Committee will meet at County Hall on Wednesday 22nd March at 10am to discuss the application and make a final decision. The meeting is open to the public.
» Read the Planning Officer’s Report here
This item was updated at 18:11 10/3/17 to include comments by Mark Prisk.