Chalk Pit Quarry

There have been a number of incidents with quarry lorries. The following is a typical experience: "I live in Purley and today was driving back from Oxted when I met a lorry coming down from the quarry at speed. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid him. As he had a large lorry I also couldn't pass and he forced me to reverse around a blind bend so he could pass. I reported the incident to the police and they suggested I contact the council."

Any incidents with lorries should be reported to WPC Moira Cocks who is the Tandridge Casualty Reduction Officer and can be contacted at cocks1262@surrey.pnn.police.uk

Background

The Oxted chalk pit has an old planning consent for unlimited extraction of chalk originating from an interim development order in 1947 which was "modernised" in 1997 by adding certain controls such as times of operations, access design and protection of the public highway.

In 2006 the Environment Agency issued a waste disposal licence to Southern Gravel for importing 100,000 tons a year of inert materials including construction rubble. This conflicts with the planning consent in as much that the consent restricts infilling of the quarry to clean soil or natural minerals (such as chalk) but excludes construction rubble.

Complaints from residents began in June 2007 at a time when the railway bridge at the southern end of Chalkpit Lane was closed for repairs and traffic had to divert through Gordons Way and other residential roads. The hope then was that the opening of the bridge on 14 August would alleviate some of these problems. But it is now seen that the main cause of the problem was not the diversion but the sheer scale of HGV movements and the inconsiderate behaviour of many drivers. At their peak there were 80 separate lorry movements a day.

A number of meetings were held with County Councillors and Highways officials to discuss the problems and to explore the options available to eradicate or at the very least alleviate the nuisance caused by the lorries. However, Surrey County Council's view was that there was very little that could legally be done to stop operations at the quarry. They said that the best that could be done would be to introduce traffic calming measures to reduce the speed of the lorries.

Current situation

On 7th March residents, supported by local councillor Martin Fisher, presented a petition of over 420 signatures to the Local Committee, a joint committee of District and County Councillors. The petition called for the committee to consider the following proposal;

1. A temporary one way system northbound is made in Chalkpit Lane from just south of the northern entrance to the quarry. As this section (0.4 miles in length) is a steep uphill climb with two hairpin bends it will not increase the speed of the traffic and does not affect residential properties in the road (apart from one) which are all south of this section.

2. Mindful of the concerns of Woldingham residents, we suggest that the exit onto The Ridge is made no left turn for HGVs.

3. We also suggest that a designated lorry route from the A25 to the quarry is from the new A25 Tandridge roundabout along Barrow Green Road and Chalkpit Lane and that the whole of this route has a 30mph speed limit. We are concerned for the safety of the large numbers of horse riders who egress from Tandridge Priory Riding stables onto Barrow Green Road.

4. We request that Surrey Police are active along the entire route in enforcing the 30mph speed limit and other traffic regulations, such as the use of mobile phones while driving and the mounting of pavements.

5. We request that the Environmental Agency is proactive in enforcing the 100,000 ton infilling limit at the quarry.

The Committee discussed the proposal and agreed to visit the area of the proposed route so that non-local councillors could acquaint themselves with the area and to report back to the residents within 8 weeks.

A date for the follow up meeting was set for Wednesday 7th of May.

Latest news

On the 8th of April Surrey County Council issued a press release announcing an imminent planning proposal from the quarry operator

'The operator of the Chalk Pit Lane quarry has indicated that it will be submitting an application to create a new haul route through the quarry in order to alleviate traffic problems in Chalk Pit Lane and other Oxted roads.

As part of that process, traffic consultants were commissioned by the operator earlier this year to carry out a traffic survey to the north of the quarry and on the nearby B269. The survey was submitted to Surrey County Council's Transportation Development Control Section and, after an initial assessment it has been agreed that work should continue to the next stage. Pre-application discussions will now commence between planning officers at Surrey County Council and the consulting firm of Gerald Eve, which has been appointed to deal with this application.

Nick Skellett, leader of Surrey County Council, said: "The establishment of a new two-way haul road within the quarry away from the existing public road has the potential to reduce considerably the current problems with HGV movements experienced in Chalk Pit Lane and other Oxted roads.

"The new haul road appears to offer a more acceptable solution for those residents living near to the quarry, in that Chalk Pit Lane can continue to be used two-way throughout its length by local residents. Further, by ensuring HGV traffic exits onto the Ridge only in the eastwards direction, residents in Woldingham Village should not be affected."

The planning process will take into account all views from both people in Oxted and other parts of Tandridge, and the final decisions will be made by the County Planning & Regulatory Committee once the planning application is submitted. The planning application will have to satisfy planning policy requirements, including the protection of the local landscape, ecology and residential amenity.'