Further Delay On Decision Over Proposed Quarry In Shedfield

A decision on plans for a new quarry in Shedfield has been delayed even further.

For more than two years, plans have been in the works from TJ Waste for a 78,963 square metre quarry at Five Oaks Farm.

The quarry, if approved, would see the existing soft sand dug up and the site filled with 435,000 tonnes of clean inert waste and materials, such as concrete, bricks and ceramics.

On three occasions, Hampshire County Council has issued TJ Waste with a regulation 25 order, meaning there is information missing from the application.

A further public consultation period has also been held, with more than 600 residents writing in to oppose the application.

It was thought that the plans could go before the regulatory committee at the end of this month – but it is nowhere to be seen on the meeting’s agenda.

With the county council now going into its summer break, the earliest a decision could be reached on the application is September 7th.

Resident Linda Gearing said: “I would say the company is determined to go ahead with this project despite obvious objections with traffic, noise, pollution and the ecology.

“I am not convinced that any amount of legal manoeuvring is going to make up for the difference that we, as the inhabitants of the area, have to put up with.”

Wendy Greenish, chairwoman of the Wickham Society, said: “Wickham is braced for further uncertainty with the advent of the Welborne development of 6,000 houses, two miles south of the village.

“It has been agreed that all lorries accessing this site will have to travel via the M27 to reach it, in recognition that Wickham is a conservation area and not designed to cope with more lorries travelling through it.

“However, it is inevitable that a proportion of vehicles will fail to adhere to this restriction, given the limited resources available to enforce it.”

TJ Waste has previously stated that the quarry at Five Oaks Farm would fill a shortfall in the local need for soft sand in construction.

If the application does not go before the regulatory committee on September 7th, the next meeting of the board is on Wednesday October 19th.