Gravel Extraction R.A.G.E.
R.A.G.E Residents Against Gravel Extraction
A GRAVEL PIT ON YOUR DOORSTEP?
(1) Hanson Aggregates UK Limited submitted a planning application to SCC in 2009 for permission to dig 2.4 million tonnes of sand and gravel from Milton Park Farm. This is a huge site of 57 hectares (141 acres) bounded by Manorcroft Road, the M25 Motorway, Stroude Road and Whitehall Lane. It would stretch from Manorcroft Primary School and the Egham Bowls Club to beyond Great Fosters and the former Research Laboratories of Procter & Gamble (recently acquired by Royal Holloway University of London for student accommodation). It is estimated that there would be 230 – 280 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) movements per day during an operation lasting 10 – 15 years or more. This planning application has reference numbers SCC Ref 2009/0015 and RU09/0299 (the latter being for Runnymede Borough Council). The decision by SCC is currently scheduled for 24 April 2024.
Residents Against Gravel Extraction (RAGE) Officers
Chairman: Moreton Moore
E-mail : rage@eghamresidentsassociation.co.uk
Secretary: Dr Jocelyn Boxall
Treasurer: Helen Garlick
If you would like to contact the chairman of R.A.G.E, to find out more click on the contact form button below:
RAGE is an ‘umbrella’ organisation opposed to inappropriate gravel and sand quarrying in the North-West Surrey Area. It represents the mineral concerns of members of the Egham Residents’ Association, Stroude Residents’ Association and Thorpe Ward Residents’ Association. (There are no personal members.)
It has two main functions: (a) to endeavour to inform local residents of planning applications for quarrying sand and gravel; and (b) to present, at the appropriate time, a coherent response from residents to Surrey County Council (SCC = the Mineral Planning Authority). It is not a substitute for individual written objections from residents. There are two areas of deep concern at the moment: Milton Park Farm and Whitehall Farm. Although these potential working sites may seem to be far from your house, they could nevertheless affect you. The second one, Whitehall Farm, REQUIRES URGENT ACTION FROM YOU. Please see below.’
(2) CEMEX has now (April 2021) submitted a planning application to SCC to quarry, approximately 1 million tonnes of sand and gravel from Whitehall Farm. This area shares a common border with Milton Park Farm (to the North) and is bounded to the West by the railway line and to the East by the rear gardens of residential properties in Stroude Road and Luddington Avenue. These two proposals are separate: the one does not depend for access upon the other. It is estimated that there would be 156 HGV movements per day for approximately 7 years.
The Surrey County Council Minerals Plan states that these two sites should not be worked simultaneously. If granted permission, Hanson proposes to work Milton Park Farm in a ‘dry’ operation; whereas CEMEX would quarry Whitehall Farm ‘wet’. Dry working involves inserting an impermeable clay perimeter wall around the site and pumping water out. This wall would not only dam the flow of groundwater but also it could deny a large storage volume for floodwater to go in times of flood, leading to a potential increase in flood risk to local properties. Wet working doesn’t exhibit these disadvantages, and it would produce less dust and airborne particulate matter – a hazard to human health.
Increased HGV traffic could affect residential properties in Vicarage Road, The Avenue, Thorpe Lea Road and their various side-roads. Longer queues might be experienced at the Pooley Green level crossing. Noise and vibration are also aspects of grave concern. There could also be visual intrusion in the Green Belt and surrounding historic buildings and gardens.
To register your comments on this application, please email Surrey County Council at mwcd@surreycc.gov.uk, quoting reference SCC Ref 2021/0023, OR write to Sian Saadeh, Planning Development Manager (ref. RU.21/0597), Surrey County Council, Planning Group, PO Box 478, Reigate RH2 8EF, preferably before January 25 2024. In either case you must give your name and address.
Updated: 1 January 2024
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