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STEETLEY
WOBURN BENTONITE LTD
Steetley Woburn Bentonite lost its appeal against the
refusal of planning permission for mining fullers earth at
Wavendon Heath and a High Court bid to overturn that decision.
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The planning application had serious
implications for Bow Brickhill as it was intended
to close Longslade Lane for nineteen months. Longslade Lane is
the other end of Church Road which would have meant that Church
Road became one of only two available routes for those wishing
to reach the centre of the woods or the golf course.
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| The Campaign to
Protect Woburn and District from Open Cast Mining
mounted a protest against the proposals and Bedfordshire
County Council refused planning permission for the
mining development. The presence of the protestors
was mentioned during the debate. |
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The Findings of the Appeal
The Inspector found that:
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the development would have an
unacceptable overall impact on the local landscape
and the Greensand Ridge AGLV both in the short term
during excavation of fuller's earth and in the long
term following the restoration of the site. As
a result the development would conflict with the
Policy 7 of the BSP and Policy MW16 and, to a lesser
degree, Policy MK18 of the MWLP;
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the proposals
conflict with the aim of Policy 4(ii), to protect
the CWS, and with Policy MK17, because the impact of
the excavation proposals on the wildlife interest on
the site would be significant;
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no harm has
been found to the settings of the listed buildings,
or to the character or appearance of the Woburn
Conservation Area and, on this ground, there is no
reason to withhold the grant of planning permission;
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the evidence
does not show that there is a clear and genuine need
for the extraction to take place because of any
"unique" contribution WB makes to the
paper-making industry either in the UK or
world-wide. There is adequate evidence to
conclude that if WB were to be no longer available,
alternatives to meet the need for highly efficient
retention and drainage aids exist, whether these be
in the form of alternative bentonite resources or in
the form form of synthetic products. As such,
there is no need for the development to set against
the harm found in issues i and ii above;
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there are no
other material considerations which either support
or undermine the conclusions reached on the main
issues.
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