It
so very nearly happened. In 2005, RWE
npower, which operates Didcot
A power station, proposed to fill the Thrupp and
Bullfield Lakes, known to them simply as lakes
E and F, with pulverised fuel ash (PFA).
This is the fate that has befallen all of the other
Radley lakes and gravel pits, save one small one. While
many of these pits were the result of relatively recent
working, the two threatened lakes, which are accessible
from Thrupp Lane, are much older and date back to the
1950s and have since become inhabited with a profusion
of wildlife.
While the
power station operators intended to restore the land
to a natural state, this would have taken many decades
and would not have included water areas apart from a
'wetland area' that would have been little more than
a shallow bog. The results of such 'restoration' can
be seen across the railway line to the east and, while
some interesting woodland has been established around
the filled lakes, the lake surfaces, which consist of
a few inches of topsoil laid on top of the sterile ash,
are areas of relative desolation. In their defence,
Power Station operators claim that ash-fill sites may
eventually become
preferred habitats for some species of orchid. While
it is true that orchids such as Dactylorhiza
are more tolerant of the resulting conditions than many
other plants, there are already eight
known species of orchid around the threatened lakes
and most of these will be destroyed by the proposed
operations. Even if conditions are perfect, orchids
do not appear spontaneously. The orchid seeds have to
come from somewhere. The in-filling will not only involve
the destruction of the entire existing site, but the
lakes will be fenced off for many years (mainly because
of the hazardous nature of the PFA slurry) and there
will be no public access.
The reason,
RWE npower say, is that the PFA needs to be disposed
of. Why is that? PFA, particularly if it is rendered
carbon-free (but even if it is not), is a valuable
material that can be used used in the manufacture of
building materials such as concrete, cement, grout
and general fill. Indeed this represented Didcot's
own Best Practice policy under the Cleaner
Coal Technology Programme, under which they claim
to be already exporting the ash for reuse. So why did
they continuing to dump so much of it into Radley's
lakes?
In these times
of environmental awareness and when we are all being
constantly berated to recycle our waste, you would have
thought that RWE npower could have reviewed its policy
and expedited its recycling options. It also seemed
strange that one operator was busily dumping one excellent
building material into the ground, while another has
been busy extracting a different material (sand and
gravel) with very similar applications from the same
land. It should be no surprise if, in a few years time,
they will be wanting to recover the buried PFA!
These lakes
and their surroundings have become an important part
of the locality, not only for the wildlife but also
for people, who come, from near and far, to fish, walk,
cycle, observe its wildlife and simply to enjoy the
place.
The
Oxfordshire Local Biodiversity Action Plan listed
the Radley Lakes complex as an Ecologically Important
Landscape (EIL) as well as a County Wildlife Site (CWS,
which, actually it wasn't at the time). Thus it ought
to have been entitled to some protection!
The following
is a blog of the campaign history.
[Update
16 June 2005]
Didcot
Power Station operators apply for license to dump ash
at Radley. See News Item.
[Update
21 June 2005]
It
is confirmed the the Power Station Operators have applied
for detailed planning consent to fill lakes
E and F. This includes some variations to the original
consent, but nothing that will save the lakes from destruction.
Further details to follow.
[Update
19 July 2005]
The
planning application goes to public consultation. See
News Item.
[Update
06 October 2005]
The
planning application is put in abeyance. See News
Item
[Update
31 January 2006]
Didcot
submits a new application which proposes "leaving"
the Bullfield Lake (F) and filling only the larger Thrupp
Lake (E). See News Item
[Update
17 February 2006]
The
new planning application goes to public consultation.
See News Item.
[Update
13 April 2006]
Save
Radley Lakes delivers a 40 page Objection supported
by nine separate reports (totalling 341 pages, including
4 page covering letter) to Tony Crabbe, Deputy Chairman
of the Oxfordshire County Council Planning and Regulatory
Committee, who are planning to meet on May 22 to decide
the matter.
[Update
08/05/2006]
Save
Radley Lakes forwards a supplementary objection
on conservation grounds to the effect that the proposal
is contrary to the Oxfordshire Local Biodiversity Action
Plan.
[Update
11/05/2006]
Save
Radley Lakes forwards a supplementary objection
on grounds that the site is geologically unsuitable
for the type of disposal being proposed. This objection
is supported by a new report on the Hydrogeology
and Geology of the Radley Lakes.
[Update
18/06/2006]
Save
Radley Lakes forwards four further supplementary
objections addressing Npower's restoration claims, pollution,
flooding and detriment to local assets. The updated
flooding objection is supported by a reissue of SRL's
Flood
Risk Report
[Update
03/07/2006]
Oxfordshire
County Council Officers release their report recommending
granting permission for the proposal to go ahead. See
News Item. However, in addition,
the report recommends a large number of conditions,
28 in all, that the applicant will have to comply with.
These include (i) a deadline of 31/12/2015 on the filling
operation; (ii) restoration to begin immediately and
to be completed within 5 years; (iii) removal of security
fences upon completion of restoration; (iv) long term
aftercare provision (v) provisions that will effectively
end further PFA dumping into any of the remaining lakes,
dug or undug, at Radley for ever.
There
is one chink in the recommendations, which is that they
constitute a departure from the Development Plan in
that they, in the opinion of the Officers', contravene
Oxfordshire Structure Plan Minerals Policy WM3, which
will require that the matter be referred to the Secretary
of State for the Environment.
[Update
10/07/2006]
Oxfordshire
County Council Planning and Regulatory Committee give
their approval for RWE npower to fill Thrupp Lake with
PFA from Didcot A Power Station. A black day for Local
democracy and the planning system. See News
Item.
[Update
12/08/2006]
The
Radley Lakes are designated a County Wildlife Site.
Unfortunately this new status offers no protection from
RWE Npower. See News Item.
[Update
03/09/2006]
The
planning application is referred to the Secretary of
State for Communities and Local Government, Ruth Kelly,
for a decision on its determination. See News
Item.
[Update
19/09/2006]
The
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
issues a Holding Order under article 14 of the Town
and Country Planning Act preventing Oxfordshire County
Council from granting consent without her authorisation.
See News Item.
[Update
16/10/2006]
The Secretary
of State decides not to call-in Radley Lakes Planning
Application, and the Holding Order is lifted. See News
Item.
[Update
10/11/2006]
Radley Lakes
featured in 6-page article in the Ecologist. See News
Item.
[Update
17/12/2006]
Application
made to designate the Radley Lakes a Town Green. See
News Item.
[Update
11/01/2007]
Oxfordshire
County Council finally issued planning permission to
RWE npower to destroy the lake. However there is still
hope. See News Item.
[Update
16/02/2007]
Following the
occupation of the Sandles property adjacent to the lake
by "homeless environmentalists" and their
subsequent eviction at the hands of the goons,
things start to get nasty. Clearance
work has now started at the Lake (See Also The
St Valentine's Day Chainsaw Massacre) and is expected
to continue until the end of the month. Meanwhile the
local people are fighting to get their lake back...
[Update
18/02/07]
250
people participate in march to protest at destruction
of lake.
[Update
22/02/2007]
Public
Inquiry into Town Green Application announced.
[Update
03/03/07]
Green
MEP, Caroline Lucas, visits lakes.
[Update
10/03/2007]
Protest
rally in Abingdon followed by march to the lakes.
550 people take part.
[Update
02/04/2007]
Public
Inquiry into Town Green Registration gets underway
[Update
05/04/06]
Schoolchildren
deliver petition to 10 Downing Street
[Update
05/04/2007]
Public
Inquiry adjourned until June
[Update
21/05/2007]
Planning
permission granted to Waste Recycling Group to use extra
space at Sutton Courtenay Landfill Site, which is situated
right next to the power station, for household waste,
without exhausting possibility that it should take PFA
as well.
[Update
21/05/2005]
Oxfordshire
County Council's Planning & Regulation Committee
approve RWE npower's proposals to comply with the Conditions
Precedent but required that 3 outstanding proposals
be returned to the Committee for consideration at
a later date and not delegated to officers.
[Update
17/06/2007]
Tony Juniper,
Director of Friends of the Earth, visits the Radley
Lakes, denounces npower for power station operators
for their lazy and careless attitude to the problem,
and calls on Oxfordshire County Council to reverse their
decision. See News Item.
[Update
24/06/2007]
Radley Lakes
Town Green Public Inquiry sessions concluded. See News
Item
[Update
16/07/2007]
Oxfordshire
County Council's Planning & Regulation Committee
resolve to approve, in principle, the details submitted
under the remaining conditions precedent,
subject the Council Officers and Committee chairman
being satisfied that the proper process had been followed
in relation to Environmental Impact Assessment. See
full story.
[Update
28/08/2007]
Rejecting
claims that an Environmental Impact Assessment was needed
for additional works proposed to meet certain conditions,
Oxfordshire County Council finally approves all of RWE
npower's submissions under conditions
precedent thereby finally granting full permission
for the development to proceed.
[Update
21/09/2007]
Npower
start work.
[Update
16/10/2007]
Inspector
recommends rejection of application to register lakes
as a Town Green. See News Item.
[Update
25/11/2007]
Inspector's
report questioned by top QC. Registration decision
postponed to New Year. See News
Item.
[Update
14/01/2008]
County Council
rejects Town Green application. See News
Item.
[Update
11/02/2008]
Save Radley
Lakes launches fund raising appeal in support of judicial
review. See News Item.
[Update
18/02/2008]
Npower announce
that they have no need for Thrupp Lake in the short
term, and may not need it at all. See News
Item.
[Update
29/02/2008]
Radley Parish
Council announces intention to launch Judicial Review
of town green decision. See News
Item
[Update
21/04/2008]
Radley Parish
Council applies to the High Court for leave to undertake
the Judicial Review of Oxfordshire County Council's
decision of 14 January, and applies for Stay of Proceedings
to allow negotiations with the landowners. See News
Item.
[Update
23/04/2008]
Oxford City
Council and the Lord Mayor of Oxford add their support
to the campaign. See News Item.
[Update
21/07/2008]
Oxfordshire
County Council gives permission to WRG Ltd to stockpile
400,000 tonnes of PFA on the Sutton Courtenay landfill
site. See News Item.
[Update
03/11/2008]
All is set
for a High Court hearing of the Town Green Judicial
Review in February 2009. See News
Item.
[Update
17/12/2008]
RWE npower
announces that Thrupp Lake is no longer required for
ash disposal and set out their vision for an environmental
legacy for Radley. See News Item.
[Update
18/12/2008]
The Radley
Lakes are saved! See News Item
for an update of the events of yesterday and for an
account of what it all means.
[Update
27/05/2009]
Northmoor
Trust appointed to manage Thrupp Lake. See News
Item.
[Update
28/05/2009]
Radley Parish
Council decides to end judicial review. See News
Item.
|
