(CMR) An application for a 50 feet deep commercial quarry (2,315,000 Cubic Yards) near the Meagre Bay Pond in Bodden Town may not be approved anytime soon as the Aggregate Advisory Council said there is no need for a new quarry yet.
In the agenda for the meeting held by the Central Planning Authority on Wednesday, 21 June, the AAC said, “We did not find an exceptional need to disregard the CPA Aggregate Policy strategy of deferring new quarries until the aggregate reserve reaches a 5-year supply.”
It further stated that “When the time arrives that a new source of aggregate is needed to supply the demand, all previous applicants should be given the opportunity for consideration and only the most suitable proposal/s accepted.”
According to an agenda for the meeting, Barrington Bennett and Amelia De Wood made an application for the $30 million investment.
According to the agenda, their plan is for excavation works to commence at the south part of the quarry and proceed north, with the works to be completed in 6 phases over a 3-year period allowing for approximately 6 months per phase.
Excavated material would be stockpiled on the south part of 43A 422. Although this area has been designated as a proposed quarry extension from 43A346, no application has been submitted to date. In the event that this happens sooner than anticipated, then the stockpiling would occur on the east side of the quarry adjacent to the access road.
The quarry would be later developed into a green energy using floating solar panel arrays. To address environmental concerns, a berm would be installed around the edge of the proposed lake at a size and specifications that would be determined with consultations with the Department of Environment. The goal is to prevent overflow of stormwater from the quarries into Meagre Bay Pond.
However, There is concern about the potential impact on the Meagre Bay Protected Area. The National Conservation Council (NCC) has determined that an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required for the proposed quarry.
The Aggregate Advisory Council also pointed out tthat The CPA has deferred or refused planning permission for numerous quarries, and as recently as 2018 on the same site as this application, based on the aggregate reserve
limit established in the Policy. To grant approval for an application now would seem highly inconsistent. If, in the opinion of the CPA, additional quarries are needed, it would seem prudent to consider those applications that have been deferred / refused in the past along with current applications, the AAC recommended.
The AAC said it accepts that due to population growth, the increased rate of development along with the trend to fill low-lying land and increasing elevation, the annual demand for aggregate is likely higher than 1 million cubic yards and needs to be re-established. The last review in 2021 determined that the aggregate reserve was 32 million cubic yards, and the AAC is confident that this significantly exceeds the 5-year threshold. The Council said this figure does not include aggregate importation, aggregate from the Sister Islands, nor does it include the considerable volume increase from the compacted in-ground to excavated cubic yardage.
The committee said it was also somewhat sceptical that the proposed equipment could excavate to the target depth, which is essential for productivity.
The decison taken at Wednesday's CPA meeting is not yet known.
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