Disruption fears over marina HGVs

'Up to 7,500 lorry trips'

CONSTRUCTION of a new marina complex for Hungerford could generate thousands of extra HGV journeys through town.

Lakeland Leisure is seeking permission for the 120-berth marina with a reception area, toilets, showers, laundry facilities, café restaurant and three residential flats in a 4.5 hectare development site – roughly the size of six football pitches.

That will involve excavating around 45,000 cubic metres of ‘spoil’, according to West Berkshire Council’s principal minerals and waste planning officer, Matt Meldrum.

The developer wanted to deposit this onsite at Highlands Farm and opposite at Cobbs Farm – but this is contrary to local planning policy, which discourages the practice of land raising.

If planners insist the spoil must be transported on HGVs the most likely disposal site is a quarry in Reading.

Mr Meldrum has written to planning officers, warning the removal of 45,000 cubic metres of spoil will generate up to 7,500 HGV trips.

He noted that “local residents may object” but pointed out: “It is understood that there is already an extant consent for the development of a marina at the application site that would involve the exportation of all spoil from the site so, in essence, the current proposal would result in a net reduction in vehicle movements, and associated pollution and impacts, when compared to the permitted scheme.”

A spokesman for developer Lakeland Leisure, Stephen Rice, replied: “The route would involve the vehicles travelling along the A4 Bath Road into the town of Hungerford on their way to the M4.”

He added: “It involves travelling past residential and commercial properties. It also involves two mini roundabouts and one full-size roundabout before travelling north out of the town.”

This, he suggested, would cause a “significant amount of disruption on the local road network and would, we believe, be unacceptable”.

In addition, said Mr Rice, the amount of HGV journeys required would significantly raise carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in Hungerford and surrounding areas.

He calculated the necessary trips to an alternative disposal site at Lower Compton, dismissed as even more unsuitable, would generate 0.13 per cent on the total CO2 emitted from vehicles in West Berkshire during the whole of 2011.

Trips to the more distant Reading site would generate proportionately more.

Mr Rice concluded: “These vehicle movements would be completely contrary to the objectives enshrined within the West Berkshire Climate Change Strategy that was reviewed and published in 2014.”

And Mr Meldrum urged planners to reconsider allowing spoil to be desposited on site.

He said: “I would suggest that you will need to consider the proposed benefits of the proposed on site disposal (that of the removal of vehicle movements, and the associated pollution and implications for residents on the haul routes) against the adverse impacts associated with the consequential landraising (that of the landscape implications given that the site is located within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the potential impact (albeit temporary) on the best and most versatile agricultural land.”

The current plans can be viewed and commented upon by visiting West Berkshire Council website’s planning section and using the reference 15/02312/ COMIND