Horn Lane industial site liaison meeting March 2015
A quick note on a recent meeting with the businesses and residents, held at Aggregates’ (formerly Yeoman Aggregates) offices on the industrial estate, chaired by yours truly. Angie Bray MP and Julian Bell were also in attendance.Although Hansons have planning permission for their new larger plant, the conditions for permission have still not been agreed, nearly a year after approval was agreed. Conditions on anise shielding and pollution monitoring are still not resolved.Dust levels were low in the early part of the year (rain in the greatest dust suppressant ever invented). Dust levels have risen since the end of February with drier and slightly warmer. The source of dust still remains something of a mystery. The skip operator (J. Simpson, the successor to Gowing and Pursey) is not thought a significant problem as they’re handling about a quarter of the material in previous years. The access road to the site is the major source of pollution (the skip operator does not use this road), but it is used by several businesses and Crossrail vehicles. The responsibility for dealing with pollution on the road rests with the Council. There is confusion as to who owns the road, there being a complicated web of leases, mostly leading back to Network Rail. Angie Bray has written to them to ask for clarity on who is responsible.There have previously been complaints about a loud tannoy and other noises from the Hansons site. No incidents were raised at this meeting, although our hour in Aggregates’ office was interrupted two or three times by loud external announcements coming from a location no one could identify.The Council had a scheme to warn and fine drivers running car engine whilst stationary in Horn Lane. Putting aside its relevance to the pollution issues, it does not appear that any fines have actually been issued. The exercise was presented as an ‘educational’ initiative.It is still not clear who is responsible for enforcing lorries ignoring the weight limit on the railway bridge. Nor is it clear why the Council can’t end the confusion and take responsibility for enforcement.There was feedback from a meeting with Environment Agency organized by Angie Bray. The EA are concerned about the Horn Lane site as it’s putting the country at risk of incurring EU fines for pollution. One snippet from the meeting was Hanson stating that the Horn Lane site was their second busiest in London. As they have planning permission to operate for six full working days a week, that’s perhaps not surprising.
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