Bold Heath Quarry - update

I attended council planning meeting re Bold Quarry at St Helens last week along with members of Bold Heath Residents group.

The news isn't good as the scheme was not turned down on a majority vote as it was on the last occasion but councillors have opted for a site visit before making a decision.

The Bold Heath Residents group need to obtain professional consultancy advice if they're to be as effective as they are able to be in stopping the development. I don't think that St Helens council will consider an appeals route if it's not seen as being viable

I give a brief outline of what I think transpired at the meeting:

The developer has applied for planning permission several times in the past but has been turned down mainly on the grounds of ambiguities in the application details (ie insufficient infill material available during the time scale of operations) and on health grounds. The proposal includes the quarrying of sandstone to a certain depth and the infilling with waste building material. The developer has had previous permission to quarry on this site.

Opponents have argued on grounds of increase traffic, pollution noise and health issues (silicone dust) and water table problems in relation to the quarry being used as landfill site.

At other attempts in the past the developer has not been able to prove that there would be sufficient infill as mentioned above. However according to council officials advising the meeting the regional Waste DPD plan is indicating the need for more landfill space for inert material (do images of the second crossing come to mind!)

One of the main arguments used by opponents in the past has been the dust issue. There is a potential for crystaline silica dust, if unchecked, to be spread widely in the area. Inhalation of such dust can cause silicosis a health condition which is of course irreversible.

Ironically, officials argued that the provisions attached to the present permission that the developer had does not have the level of safety checks and enforcement re the dust that the current proposal has. Thus voting against the proposal would mean that the existing permission that the developers have would have fewer safegaurds than the proposal currently before the committee. (The quarry however has not been worked for some time)

In their arguments opponents discussed the situation in the local geographical area in relation to airborne pollutants and the relative poor health of residents in the wider St Helens and Halton communities although no direct causal inferences were expressed.

However recent reports had indicated the need for a precautionary approach with regard to any future activity which would increase the possibility of increased pollution. (e.g. a study of people's health in Halton 2001 suggested that,’… whilst monitored levels of pollutants meet national standards knowledge of impact of long term exposure to low levels of pollution from airborne and land contaminants is limited. Based on the precautionary principle it is sensible to both monitor pollution levels carefully and to seek cost effective ways to continue to reduce them to the lowest practicable levels”. Halton Health Study Lancaster University 2001p8)

Notwithstanding these arguments an officer from planning stated that the standards set by the St Helens authority re air quality in the Bold Heath area is not being exceeded!!

The argument in relation to seepage into the water table of toxins from landfilling material even inert material when mixed with existing contamination in adjacent agriculutural land was countered by officials who talked about the EA's ongoing monitoring of this problem.

At least one councillor wondered whether any 'health advice' could be provided regarding the particular issue of airborne pollution. This was not specifically responded to by officers.

If you are able to offer support to the Bold Residents Group in any way please let me know.