Chalkpit 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 smurthwaite3672@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.

The Current Situation

Operations at the Oxted Quarry increased significantly last year and many more Heavy Goods Vehicles began accessing the site. Local residents and members expressed concerns and the Local Committee considered the matter on 7 May 2008. A further independent study has now been carried out and an Investigation Report has been produced for consideration by the Local Committee.

The Investigation Report recommends a staged approach including widening the quarry access, signalising Chalkpit Lane close to the bridge arch, providing traffic calming along Chalkpit Lane and re-routing outward HGVs via an improved Barrow Green Road. The estimated cost of these measures exceeds available budgets. It is therefore recommended that the measures be progressed subject to the availability of funding in the future.

The investigation report does not recommend proceeding with the one-way proposal for the northern section of Chalkpit Lane or the haul road leading on to The Ridge.

To view the whole report click here