Representatives from local councils – Cholsey Parish Council, Crowmarsh Parish Council and Wallingford Town Council – presented evidence at the Public Inquiry (held 15th-22nd July) on an application for a riverside gravel pit between Cholsey and Wallingford.
Oxfordshire County Council had refused permission for gravel extraction at White Cross Farm, a floodplain site immediately next to the Thames Path National Trail. The developer, London Rock Supplies Ltd, appealed that decision and so a Public Inquiry was held at Cholsey Pavilion.
During the Inquiry the Planning Inspector John Dowsett heard evidence from the appellant, Oxfordshire County Council, and the Rule 6 group representing the three local councils, and expert witnesses on landscape and flood-risk. There was also a site visit with representatives from all parties to view the proposals from different perspectives and viewpoints. The Inspector’s decision is expected later this year.
You can read the Rule 6 team’s Opening Statement here and Closing Statement here.
Cholsey Parish Councillor Kyn Pomlett explained why the council took part in the Inquiry.
“This tranquil stretch of river is important to our community and having objected to the application at every stage, we wanted to participate fully in the Public Inquiry. The site is not included in the Oxfordshire Minerals Plan and we firmly believe that the relatively small amount of gravel it would provide does not justify the significant harms.”
More than a dozen local residents from Cholsey and Wallingford also spoke at the Inquiry about their serious concerns of increased flood-risk, pollution, damage to the natural environment, and loss of tranquillity for those using the Thames Path National Trail and the River Thames.
In June the landowner had stacked bales of hay and straw alongside the Thames Path on the site to show what they would look like if the proposal went ahead. A four-metre-wall of bales would be one of several barriers separating the quarry from the Thames Path. The bales were for demonstration purposes and will now be removed by the landowner.