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Village Meeting on the Proposed Sandpit
17 Sept 2004 - The village meeting called to hear more about the proposed development of a sandpit next to Pine Woods Road was very well attended. A packed Longworth Village Hall listened to presentations from two planning officers from Oxfordshire County Council, as well as comments from members of Longworth and Hinton Waldrist Parish Councils.

The main purpose of the meeting was to enable local residents to learn more about the process used to consider planning applications for quarries and sandpits. Emma Shaw and Rob Dance from Oxfordshire County Council explained the Government guidelines for establishing an appropriate "land bank" of potential soft sand extraction sites with planning permission, and went on to describe the numerous considerations that the County Council takes into account before deciding to grant or deny a planning application.

One aspect that merited particular discussion concerns "buffer zones". Planning guidelines recommend minimum distances to be maintained between any mineral workings and residential dwellings, and these buffer zones should be 100 meters to individual residences and 350 meters to the edge of "towns, villages and hamlets." It was noted by Peter McGregor that the Longworth House development which lies to the east of Pine Woods Road comprises 13 residences housing 34 people, and clearly qualifies as a hamlet. If the 350 meter buffer zone were applied in this case, virtually the entire site of the proposed sandpit would be ruled out. However, Rob Dance was at pains to point out that buffer zones are subject to judgment based on numerous criteria, and that denying a planning application based on an overly generous interpretation of the buffer zone guidelines would risk the denial being overturned on appeal.

Following the formal presentations, the floor was open for questions. The quality of questions asked and comments made showed that many local residents had already done a good deal of research on the subject of mineral extraction in Oxfordshire and the planning guidelines that apply to it. The tone was defiant and determined - it is clear that the residents of Longworth and Hinton Waldrist are going to fight long and hard to preserve the quality of the local environment. Indeed Ed Vaizey, the prospective Conservative candidate for Wantage, said that Hanson were "bonkers" to take on the villages of Longworth and Hinton in their bid to establish the sandpit.

Written by: Martin Taylor

• Download presentation (694 KB, requires Acrobat Reader)


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