It was standing room only at Bengeo School when local residents attended a public meeting to find out more about the application for gravel extraction and our campaign against it.
Hertford residents once again showed overwhelming support for the Stop Bengeo Quarry campaign mounted earlier this month against proposals for a quarry just 320 metres from the local primary school and only 30 metres from some houses.
Libby Mountford, the Chair of Governors at Bengeo Primary School reiterated how important it was for residents and parents with children to object, and confirmed that the school is objecting to the proposal on the grounds of health issues and road safety. She urged everyone to write their letters of objection
County Councillor Andrew Stevenson once again showed his support for the campaign by addressing residents and answering questions.
He said that the application and accompanying expert reports raised a large number of questions and he would be asking the various departments at the County Council to respond to these questions. The questions include public health, pollution of groundwater, highways impact ,environmental impact and the sheer proximity to the well established urban area of Hertfordshire County Council.
Where appropriate he would expect them to seek external expertise from organisations not connected in any way to the applicant.
Residents also heard from members of the campaign committee about specific points of objection, which include:
– Dust levels and the effect that silica particles generated by extracting gravel have on health.
– Traffic and road safety issues caused by 100 lorries entering and leaving the site six days a week.
– The impact that a quarry will have on the local environment and landscape.
– Water levels on the proposed site behind BengeoNurseries and the likelihood of flooding if the quarry gets the go ahead.
Further information on these areas is available on this website.
East Herts District Councillors Paul Phillips and Michael McMullen also expressed their support for the Stop BengeoQuarry campaign. However, members of the audience also expressed their disappointment that East Herts District Council had not opposed the quarry proposal, and compared this unfavourably with the Council’s strong opposition to previous gravel extraction schemes.
Anyone who wants to object to plans needs to do so by 2nd May.
