The Estate House Compton Bassett Near Calne Wiltshire Sn11 8Re

THE ESTATE HOUSE COMPTON BASSETT NEAR CALNE WILTSHIRE SN11 8RE

Jason Day Esq

Senior Planning Officer

Wiltshire Council

Bythesea Road

Trowbridge SN5 7HB

2nd August 2016

Dear Mr Day,

Ref; Freeth Farm ROMP Planning Application 16/05464 and Conveyor Application 15/05/708/WCM

I object to the above planning applications.

The site is not included in the Minerals Extraction Plan 2006-2026.

Development on this land will result in a permanent loss of best and most versatile agricultural land and will result in permanent ecological and archaeological destruction.

In my opinion, the associated Environmental Statement is materially deficient.

If consented the development will, in my view, cause dust and noise nuisance adequate to result in the common tort of public and private nuisance and the resultant dust will cause permanent damage to health.

In addition, the development would be in contravention of the Compton Bassett Neighbourhood Plan that has recently been adopted.

For the other reasons set out below, I consider that, if these applications are consented, such decision would fall within the test of Wednesbury unreasonableness.

Need

The Wiltshire and Swindon Minerals Extraction Plan 2006-2026, shows that Wiltshire does not need the limited sand yield.

The sand yield will be further limited by the required best practice exclusion zones from the 4 adjacent dwellings; the bridle way/private right of way; the Scheduled

Ancient Monument; the ancient hedgerows and the ancient woodland.

. Dust and Noise Nuisance

The site is within 10m of adjacent dwellings, surrounding 2 of the dwellings on 3 sides, which will require a best practice separation distance to mitigate the noise and dust nuisance from mineral extraction.

The site has a water table within 2m of the current land surface such that sand extraction to a depth of 4m will require continuous pumping. The noise will not be mitigated, particularly overnight such that the low frequency pumping noise will cause permanent noise nuisance and harm to Compton Bassett residents.

The site is within 1km of Compton Bassett and the proposed 3m boundary bunds do not mitigate the effects of noise and dust due to the slope of the ground (the bund height is lower than the dwellings in Compton Bassett) which will experience significant dust blow from the 1.2km open conveyor located to the South West due to effects of the South Westerly winds which blow for 73% of the year, such that the conveyor will lose around 1% of the fine sand particles (around 200 kg per day even under light breeze conditions).

Compton Bassett has a number of sensitive dust receptors: a food processing unit; an organic milk producing dairy farm; and around 20 listed buildings, including a

Grade 1 listed Church.

Dust Damage to Health As mentioned above, the Freeth Farm sand is exceptionally fine with a bi-modal particle size distribution. A significant fraction of the particles (around 35% by number) are of a size that is 2-10μm in diameter which means that the particles are easily made airborne so that they become respirable and dangerous to health if inhaled by residents of Freeth Farm and Compton Bassett, as they are likely to be over a 6 year period due to the prevailing wind direction for 73% of the year.

Loss of Visual Amenity

The site is highly visible from Compton Bassett, the conservation area, the AONB and Cherhill Down, with the top of the site reaching the crest of a hill such that the loss of visual amenity cannot be mitigated.

The visual amenity of the 4 adjacent properties at Freeth Farm will be severely affected, particularly the 2 properties that are surrounded on 3 sides by 3m high bunds as the height of the bunds will obscure landscape views from the ground floor and gardens.

The visual amenity of Compton Bassett residents will be adversely affected, including views from the Grade 1 listed Church and around 20 Grade 2 listed buildings.

Loss of public footpaths; bridleway and private rights of way

The original ROMP planning conditions require a 20 foot exclusion zone around the bridleway/private right of way and the public footpath should not be lost as it runs along an ancient hedgerow that should itself be protected.

The proposed re-route of the bridleway/private right of way is inappropriate as the route is known to be too boggy and unsuitable for heavy farm vehicles without further extensive mitigation.

Permanent Damage to Local Hydrology

The mineral extraction will cause permanent and adverse effects on the local hydrology, The mineral extraction and permanently altered hydrology is likely to undermine the foundations of 2 of the adjacent properties at the top of the hill where the sand aquifer has been removed from the mid-lower levels due to leaching of the remanent sand aquifer and shrinkage of the clay substrate under the properties due to its progressive drying out.

The mineral extraction and altered hydrology at the bottom of the hill is likely to increase the flood risk in the adjacent FRZ3 area and adjacent low lying farm land which is also listed as Grade II (Best and most versatile).

Permanent Damage to Scheduled Ancient Monument

The site impinges on a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the proposed mitigation measures have been incorrectly sized. In addition, appropriately sized mitigation measures will be required in perpetuity or until an appropriate archaeological investigation is completed.

Permanent Loss of Archaeology of National Importance

The site excavation will permanently destroy archaeology of national importance, supported by extensive archaeological evidence.

Permanent Damage to Local Ecology

The proposed mineral extraction would cause permanent loss of a number of ancient hedgerows and a parcel of ancient woodland.

The proposed mineral extraction would have a permanent impact on the local ecology: removal of 4 ponds; loss of habitat for smooth newts and great crested newts; disturbance of nesting farmland birds; removal of badger sett(s) and a potential negative impact on the adjacent Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Reserve. This latter impact has not been assessed.

I believe that the very limited social and commercial benefit of extracting a small amount of low grade sand are overwhelmingly outweighed by the temporary “6 year” damage to Compton Bassett residents and the permanent damage to Compton

Bassett Parish, which, I stress as mentioned before, is in direct contravention of the

Compton Bassett Neighbourhood Plan.

I consider that applications16/05464 and 16/05708 should be rejected for a number of legal, planning, economic and social reasons

Yours truly,

Stephen Izatt