Warwickshire residents urged to watch or listen to inspection for Barford Quarry

Warwickshire residents are being urged to watch or listen to an inspection being on the future of a mineral quarry in Barford.

For the last five years Barford Residents have been campaigning against the Warwickshire County Council's Mineral Plan to open a large sand and gravel quarry on the edge of the village.

Residents are concerned that if the quarry goes ahead it 'could expose villagers and school children to the risk of inhaling of particulate dust' which they say could cause permanent damage to their lungs.

The campaigners said it would also permanently destroy the existing agricultural land, destroy ancient hedgerows, and scar the landscape.

There were also concerns about the amount of extra traffic the quarry would create.

A Government Inspector will hear the argument from both sides of the debate at an inspection to be held on October 20 and October 21 at 10am.

The debate will be held virtually online due to Covid-19.

Campaigners have said that the Inspectors Office can record the number of people watching, so they are hoping as many people as possible will listen/watch the inspection.

The Inspector will also be considering the other five proposed sites and then later make his judgment.

Those that wish to observe the hearing will need to click on the link to the dedicated Examination website which can be found at https://warwickshire-consult.objective.co.uk/portal/warwickshire_minerals_plan_examination_websiteThe MP for Warwick and Leamington, Matt Western, has supported the Barford residents’ campaign for more than a year, securing a debate in Parliament and presenting a national petition urging the Government to step in and halt the proposals.

Mr Western said: “For me, the proposed quarry has wide-reaching negative implications for public health and environmental protections.

"The quarry near Barford and Wasperton is the only site in the minerals plan in such close proximity to a residential area, and it simply isn’t needed.

"The basis for which the site was proposed was predicated on overinflated figures for housing demand.

"I’ve submitted my objections to the county council’s plan and will be speaking at the hearing, to do all I can to halt this quarry from going ahead.”

Malcolm Eykyn, one of the committee members said: “We have worked tirelessly for the last five years raising awareness about the proposed quarry threat as well as raising substantial

funds to help fight our cause.

"We sincerely hope that the Inspector listens to our concerns and removes the site from their plan which will otherwise permanently scar this 'Barford Valley' and risk permanent scarring of residents lungs”.

Back in March the villagers raised £15,000 in less than two weeks to raise vital funds to provide professional advice to prepare the best case to take to the Inspector.

Oxford University’s wealthiest college St. John’s owns the land near Barford and Wasperton.

The college has requested that Warwickshire County Council include it in their minerals land allocation plan which will allow a developer to extract sand and gravel from the 220-acre site which borders Barford.

For more information go to: http://www.barfordresidents.co.uk/latest-stop-the-quarry-updates/