CHALKPIT REVIEW TO GO AHEAD

After a blitz of letters from horrified residents, Surrey's minerals bosses have given the go ahead for next year's review of planning controls on Chalkpit Quarry. The operator, Southern Gravel, had applied for a 10 year postponement saying the existing conditions were 'entirely satisfactory'.

It's a tremendous result for people power. In the last two weeks, residents from all over Oxted have bombarded the County Council with emails and letters, detailing why a postponement should be refused and why the current situation with quarry lorries is such a nightmare.

These were not just standard letters but heartfelt, personal experiences. Some of them were quite disturbing with details of near misses, children at risk, verbal abuse by drivers and environmental damage. They painted a frightening picture of just how bad the situation is.

The County Council's refusal letter to Southern Gravel says the existing conditions are not satisfactory and that: ''.. there is extensive evidence of concern from local residents with respect to the impact of HGV traffic on the locality and many letters of objection have been received to this application to postpone.'

The letter says the Chalkpit has had a history of complaints about HGV traffic since Southern Gravel took over the site in 2006.

It's really good news that local views have been listened to click here

What happens next

Southern Gravel has until 11 June 2012 to submit a scheme of new conditions for the Chalkpit, to the County Council, for approval. If no scheme is submitted then the existing planning permission will come to an end, apart from the requirement for any restoration of the site or aftercare.

If a scheme is submitted, residents will be consulted on it and this will be a chance, at last, to get proper conditions put on the consent. OLRG will, with the help of its lawyers, draw up a response which will include the additional controls that residents want to see brought in.

All the letters have given a good idea of the controls that are wanted - things like limits on lorry numbers, size of lorries, hours of operating, intervals between lorries, speed limits, routing, environmental safeguards and, very importantly, proper enforcement of any agreed new scheme.

Please do send us details of anything you think should be included by emailing oxted.residents@btinternet.com or writing to: OLRG, PO Box 233, Oxted Post Office, Station Road West, Oxted, RH8 9EH

Residents have been campaigning for years to end the dangers posed by the uncontrolled numbers of quarry lorries. It's a miracle that no-one has been killed or seriously injured.

The Chalkpit has been very busy lately and many members have been in contact about near misses, dangerous driving and abusive behaviour. Recently, one lady had a shopping bag knocked out of her hand by a lorry which mounted the pavement and there was a close shave with a mother and toddler when the child bent down to pick something up from the pavement.

The number of lorries is uncontrolled because no condition, limiting numbers, was attached to the 1997 planning consent. HGVs travel through a heavily populated residential area which includes an infant school, a junior school and the largest secondary school in Surrey. As well as schoolchildren, pedestrians, horseriders and motorists are all at risk.

To read and listen to recent coverage of this story see the first two "headlines" on this page.

Also click here and

click here

What you can do:

Reporting dangerous driving:

Surrey Police: 0845 1252222 (note registration number)

Reporting other highways concerns:

Surrey County Council:
Ian Gray, Enforcement and Monitoring Team Leader 0208 541 9423
Alan Stones, Planning Development Control Team 0208 541 9426

Reporting incidents to do with infill, spillages, damage to local environment etc:

Environment Agency:
24hr Incident Hotline 0800 807060
(note registration number, contractor, time/date of incident, description of driver if possible)

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Oxted Sandpit out of the Minerals Plan

The Government Inspector's Report into the Surrey Minerals Plan has been published and we're very pleased and relieved that it has recommended that the Sandpit in Barrow Green Road is deleted from the Plan as a preferred site for future sand extraction. Surrey County Council has now done that.

As a result of the Inspector's decision, the County Council has also abandoned its proposal for an aggregates recycling centre at the Sandpit. If this had gone ahead it would have meant hundreds more lorries on local roads.

But while there's reason to celebrate in Oxted, residents in Nutfield, Bletchingley and Godstone are very dismayed by the report because the three new quarries proposed - two in Nutfield and one in Bletchingley - are still in the Plan, now approved by the Inspector. They are likely to face planning applications for a huge amount of quarrying, all close together in Green Belt land, with the threat of hundreds of HGVs.

To read the Inspector's report click here. For Oxted comments see paras 74 - 79.

The primary reason for the Inspector's recommendation to delete the Sandpit is that Surrey County Council failed to take proper account of the existing problems in Oxted with uncontrolled numbers of HGVs using the Chalkpit.

It's been a tough battle for Oxted and we're extremely grateful to Mr & Mrs Al Fayed for their support and for funding planning and legal advice. We're also grateful to East Surrey MP Sam Gyimah, to Oxted councillor Martin Fisher, to Tandridge District Council, to Sutton and East Surrey Water and to the British Horse Society who all attended the hearings and spoke against the Minerals Plan.

It's very disappointing that the green light has been given for such a massive amount of quarrying in Nutfield and Bletchingley. If it goes ahead, development will stretch all along the foot of the North Downs ravaging Green Belt land and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The sheer scale of it threatens to pollute the local environment over a wide area and choke the roads with heavy lorries

Mr Al Fayed summed it up when he said: 'This is excellent news for Oxted but I do feel deep sympathy for other areas such as nearby Nutfield and Bletchingley where three quarries are proposed in the Green Belt threatening widespread damage to the environment.'

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Pay and Display scrapped for Tandridge

Following the news that plans for Pay and Display in Tandridge have been scrapped, the residents group has been asking exactly what Surrey County Council will now be consulting on - a consultation about commuter parking in Tandridge is planned for the autumn.

We've received these details from David Hodge, SCC's Deputy Leader and County Councillor for Warlingham, and from Nick Skellett, County Councillor for Oxted.

'We can confirm that the Surrey Parking Team are currently reviewing parking arrangements outside Woldingham, Dormans and Whyteleafe Stations. They have a clear remit to draw up proposals that could improve current parking facilities for residents and station users. They will also consider whether parking charges are appropriate at these locations. The proposals will not include changes to retail parking arrangements and these are the only locations being investigated in Tandridge.

When they meet in September, the Local Committee will be able to decide whether to go ahead with the consultation or make changes to the proposals prior to this.'

So, parking meters may be proposed for these three locations. However OLRG has been assured that alternatives to meters will be examined, particularly in view of the fact that installing meters may not be cost effective.

We'll continue to keep an eye on developments.

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And finally: The residents group is quite large (900+ members) but bigger is better if it wants to stand a chance of being listened to. Please encourage people to join. All they need to do is email oxted.residents@btinternet.com or, if they don't have or like email, write to: Oxted & Limpsfield Residents Group, P O Box 233, Oxted Post Office, Station Road West, Oxted, RH8 9EH and we'll keep in touch by post.

Most members are from Oxted & Limpsfield, but there are others from across northern Tandridge and anyone in the district is welcome to join. The group is solely concerned with planning matters.