Devon County Council has received a flood of objections to an application by Tungsten West to increase lorry movements to and from their mine at Hemerdon.
The proposals, if approved, would see a total of 400 lorry movements per day at the site – 200 journeys to the site and another 200 departures from it. This is a reduction from the 600 journeys originally proposed during a public consultation exercise earlier this year.
The application has been made as part of a desire to have an aggregates business at the mine to run alongside the tungsten operation. This would see hardcore dug up during the tungsten mining sold off and transported to other locations in the South West and reduce the large mounds otherwising piling up and blotting the landscape.
The current approved route for heavy goods vehicles from the mine connecting with the A38 involves travelling through Plympton via Strode Road, Glen Road and Sandy Road.
Local MP Sir Gary Streeter, The British Horse Society, Plymouth City Council, Shaugh Prior and Sparkwell Parish Councils and scores of local residents have lodged letters of objection or raised concerns about the planning application.
South Hams District Council and The Devon Stone Federation are among a minority of respondents expressing their support for the proposal.
Sir Gary Streeter in his letter of objection says that while he supports a tungsten mine at Hemerdon he does not support “in any way” the application to facilitate an aggregates business.
Citing the basis of his objection the MP refers to existing snarling along Strode Road, particularly since the installation of the Aldi roundabout and that there are also huge issues of public safety and air quality attached to the proposed additional lorry movements.
In its objection the British Horse Society tells planners:
“The bridleway that runs along Shaugh Prior road will be even more unusable than it presently is. Currently it is not safe due to the use by high speed motorcycles and the heavy traffic on the adjacent road, and the proposed increase in heavy goods vehicle movements from the application site will further exacerbate this.”
Plymouth City Council refers its county colleague authority to the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan for 2014 – 2034 which sets out that where mineral extraction activities outside Plymouth’s boundary impact on Plymouth’s environment and local communities a comprehensive access strategy should be developed which takes heavy goods traffic more directly to the A38 avoiding Plympton’s urban road network.
Among the concerns raised by Shaugh Prior Parish Council is concern over potential additional livestock fatalities on the road, the lack of pedestrian facilities and the concern that changes in the end market destination for the aggregates could see HGVs come through their village. They call for CCTV monitoring at the exit to the mine to ensure exiting HGVs turn left out of the site.
Among concerns raised by Plympton residents are issues of noise, air pollution, proximity of schools along the route between the mine and Deep Lane End, wear and tear to the road network, increased difficulty exiting from the Colebrook Community Centre Car Park, the narrowness of the pavements alongside Peacock Meadow where people often have to step into the road to facilitate passage of prams and buggies, effect on wildlife and extra congestion on the roads.
An organisation raising little issue over the proposal is South Hams and West Devon Environmental Health Team. They feel the installation of vehicle washing facilities at the mine, with a wheel wash near the exit, will mitigate any potential dust issues.
Their submission concludes:
“Our only recommendation in addition to the proposals already offered by the applicant is for the working hours of the transport process to be altered to 7am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays, and 7am to 1pm on Saturdays, with no working on Sundays or Bank Holidays.”
Some objectors have pointed out that nothing prevents vehicles travelling past residential areas to arrive at the site before the start time and queuing for loading.
The full proposal documents can be read at planning.devon.gov.uk by searching on application number 4314/2022. Representations for or against the proposal can also be made via that site.
(Story courtesy of the Plympton Podcast)
