Lavant Quarry
Environmental campaigners the South Downs Society have urged West Sussex planners to protect the Downs near Chichester from large scale quarrying.
The giant Tarmac company wants to take 2 million tonnes of sand and gravel from the 115 hectare site at Lavant, north of Chichester over 11 to 14 years. Local people have seen the site worked before and hoped they’d seen the back of quarrying.
The South Downs Society is supporting local residents and wants to see evidence that the whole site is really needed. It has urged West Sussex County Council to take a hard line on traffic to and from the site and demanded the highest standards of screening, operation and restoration. The site abuts the boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park and the Society wants to ensure that views from the Downs are protected by strengthening existing tree belts and that local footpaths are kept open.
“This is a major application which is bound to mean a serious loss of amenity for local people and is a threat to quiet enjoyment of this precious part of the South Downs” said the Society’s Planning Officer Steve Ankers. “We have urged the County Council planners to take a hard line.”
21 June 2007