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Land Not Sand Update March 06
Members of the Land Not Sand action group presented an update of the current situation on the proposed sand extraction near Pine Woods Road to a packed meeting in Hinton Village Hall.

It's been almost two years since Hansons presented their proposed extraction plan in Longworth Village Hall, and during this time the Land Not Sand action group has been able to conduct a great deal of research. As a result, the group is now very well prepared to present the arguments against any planning application that Hanson may submit.
Hansons themselves are being uncommunicative about their plans, but a consultant who has been working with them has apparently indicated that the planning application will be submitted in June 06.

Peter McGregor's persistent search for truth with the Oxfordshire County Council was rewarded when he managed to obtain notes of a telephone call between OCC and Hansons just prior to their purchase of the land in question, in which the OCC apparently gave the nod to Hansons that there would be no problem with the planning application. The OCC now appears to recognize that it had overlooked the presence of the 13 dwellings on the former Longworth House site, and the necessity (according to current planning rules) of providing a 350 meter buffer zone around these dwelllings -- which would render the great majority of the land acquired by Hansons unusable for extraction purposes.

Adam Ogilvie-Smith, equally dogged in his pursuit of the traffic safety experts at the OCC, had obtained letters expressing the view that a major increase in HGV traffic at the junction between Pine Woods Road and the A420 would raise serious safety concerns. The very high average speed of the traffic on this stretch of the A420 effectively ruled out traffic lights or acceleration lanes, leaving a roundabout as the only viable alternative. The cost of constructing a suitable roundabout, which would likely fall on Hansons, could make the entire project unviable.

The loud applause at the end of the meeting conveyed warm appreciation from local residents for the efforts of the Land Not Sand action group.

Other News
• Longworth School Fete
• Ten Years On - Longworth Open Gardens
• Longworth kayak paddler triumphs
Peter McGregor indicates the buffer zones
 
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