VILLAGERS opposed to a new quarry near Rugby have taken their fight direct to Warwickshire County Council headquarters.
Residents and parish councillors from Bourton-on-Dunsmore and Draycote handed over a petition with 240 signatures, more than 200 letters of protest and a 32-page rebuttal of the county’s proposal to quarry up to three million tonnes of sand and gravel from an area which straddles the B4453 ‘straight mile’ to the south of the A45.
The proposed site is nearly half the size of nearby Draycote Water reservoir and roughly equivalent to 110 international rugby pitches, and has been identified as the number one option for sand and gravel development by the county’s Minerals Plan for 2017-2032.
The protesters’ rebuttal, drafted with the help of an independent minerals planning consultant and an independent geologist, warns of increased flood risks and damage to the environment.
Leading the delegation to Shire Hall was Coun Barbara Walker, chair of Bourton and Draycote parish council.
She said: “There has been an overwhelming response from our communities to the campaign to have the Bourton site removed from the Minerals Plan.
“We believe the plan is flawed and has not properly assessed the risk of flooding, both locally and downstream in Birdingbury, Marton and Eathorpe.
“Also, the hugely damaging and harmful consequences to the environment from pollution, dust and noise have not been properly evaluated. As the draft plan stands, these will continue for at least 25 years, blighting our health, our villages and rural way of life.”
Campaigners, operating under the slogan Kill The Quarry, Not Our Villages, hope to attract the support of former Rugby MP Jeremy Wright, who is now MP for Kenilworth and Southam and also the Attorney General.
The county council’s deadline for responses to the proposed quarry passed on Friday (December 4).