Chris Huhne

Huhne slams County Council for ‘lack of common sense’

Eastleigh MP and cabinet minister Chris Huhne has formally objected to Hampshire County Council’s ‘crazy’ plans to extract gravel from Hamble Airfield.

In an official representation to the Planning Inspector, Mr Huhne, Hamble’s local MP, has urged the independent adjudicator charged with examining Hampshire’s Minerals & Waste Plan to ‘listen to local residents’ and ‘take a common-sense approach’ by removing the Hamble site from the plan for sharp sand and gravel extraction.

The Eastleigh MP made the comments following the publication of controversial draft Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan by the County Council. The Plan, which is a blueprint for the county’s needs for the next 20 years, is set to be submitted to the Secretary of State in the spring. Members of the public have until December 19 to comment.

In the plan it is proposed to extract up to 1.25 million tonnes of sand and gravel from the site.

In his representation, Mr Huhne argues that the plan to extract gravel from Hamble will ‘irreparably damage the village’s character’ and ‘cause the local economy great harm.’ The MP, who has campaigned alongside residents against gravel extraction in Hamble since 2006, also cites concerns about the impact on the infrastructure of the area, noise & air quality issues, and the proximity of the proposed site to local schools and community facilities.

The links between the home-builder Persimmon and the Conservative Party have also been highlighted in the document, with Mr Huhne stating that he remains ‘concerned’ at the pattern of Persimmon’s political donations and ‘apparent conflicts of interest at the Conservative-led County Council’.

As previously reported, Electoral Commission records show that Persimmon’s founder and life president Duncan Davidson has made four personal donations to the party totalling £32,000 in the past ten years, and Persimmon’s own accounts show a donation of £10,000 to the Conservative Party.

Mr Huhne, commenting on his representation, said, “I would urge all local people who are affected by these proposals to put in a representation to the Planning Inspector and object to the Hamble Airfield site being included in the Plan.” “It is clear that this plan is not sound, and this may be residents’ last chance to make their voices heard, and stop this crazy proposal.”

 

To view Chris Huhne MP’s full representation, please download from the link below:

Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP Hamble Gravel representation