Last Friday I met with many residents on Hamble Airfield a site that many of you will know as the proposed location for a gravel quarry that I have been fighting to oppose alongside the people of Hamble.
The planning application, submitted by CEMEX, a building materials company, will be decided on at a hearing very soon - a date I will share as soon as it is agreed - and is facing considerable local opposition from residents, schools, the fire brigade and myself as the Member of Parliament. The recent consultation received over five thousand responses and constituted an overwhelming opposition to the application making strong cases for dismissal.
The campaign is entering a critical phase and I would like to invite all residents to join me at the hearing to show their opposition and to stand together against this application.
In order to facilitate the hundreds of anticipated attendees, I have today written to the leader of Hampshire County Council and the Chair of the Regulatory Committee, to request that they hold the hearing at a venue which can accommodate all residents who wish to attend,
It is vital for Hamble that this application is not granted. Health, pollution, congestion and safety concerns aside, this quarry will severely damage the community in ways which cannot be accounted for by economic assessments and health and safety audits. Hampshire County Council need to realise that this quarry is not just unsuitable for the area and unwanted by residents and that it will cripple the entire peninsula and it must be stopped.