Surrey sand and gravel extraction proposals

Surrey County Council has identified potential mineral extraction sites in the Weybridge riverside floodplain. This is to help meet its targets for gravel and sand extraction. 

Hamm Court Farm (PMZ21) has been earmarked as a preferred site, and Surrey is considering detailed plans for extraction and processing there. Elmbridge Borough Council has some concerns about the plans.

Two potential but currently non-preferred sites are Broadwater Farm (PMZ23)  and Desborough Island (PMZ22) -- areas which are of high landscape importance and amenity value to the local community.

The status of the gravel plans is now in question because of a recent reduction in the Government's Surrey mineral allocation (see panel below)

Weybridge concerns

Local people and community groups are deeply disturbed at the possibility of losing local green open spaces to gravel extraction. Weybridge Liberal Democrats are committed to protecting green open spaces in Weybridge. In an area of increasing urbanisation our green spaces are of critical landscape and amenity value, so any proposal to extract gravel would be unacceptable.

The land at Broadwater Farm and Desborough Island is not only of very high amenity and landscape value but is strategic floodplain. The aquifers in the underlying gravel allow a considerable flow of water (visible by the water rising in the fields when the river is running particularly high) which is essential to moderating flood risk. This would be lost if gravel extraction was followed by inert backfill. Surrey recognises some of these issues: see report Extract - PMZ22 & PMZ23 assessments

Elmbridge Borough Council concerns

Elmbridge Borough Council has made recommendations about the Hamm Court Farm (PMZ21) "preferred site" plans. This followed Cllr Miles Macleod raising concerns about a number of aspects relevant to EBC and Elmbridge Residents. Hamm Court is directly adjacent to Weybridge and the Wey Navigation, and access would be via the A317.

Gravel extraction would not only have a big impact on residents of Hamm Court, but would affect traffic and have an impact on Weybridge residents, and also cause potential disturbance visitors to the national Trust Wey Navigation. There would be a danger of pollution of the waterways from the extraction works and processing plant, and a risk of noise pollution. In local discussions with Surrey, SCC had stated that the area of wet woodland adjacent to the Wey Navigation would be excluded from the site, but this is still in the plans.

The proposal to create a new traffic light controlled junction with the A317 (on the single carriageway Weybridge approach) could cause major disruption of traffic flow. As other councillors noted, it only takes a brief blockage in traffic there to cause gridlock back into Weybridge town centre.

The formal Elmbridge Borough Council response incorporated points relating to these concerns, stating that Elmbridge Borough Council:

(f) recommends that the portion of the Hamm Court Farm Site in the South East corner, which contains wet woodland, be removed from the designation and that no operational activity take place in this area; and

(g) recommends that policy MC15 Transport of Minerals should be applied to the Hamm Court Farm Site to ensure that the potential adverse impacts on traffic and congestion in Weybridge is prevented.

Download the Elmbridge BC submission

We are hopeful that this preferred zone will not be exploited. We would like to see it removed from the preferred list. Note that Surrey officers, in Hamm Court Farm (PMZ21), conclude that because of amenity impact and transport issues, they are "of the opinion that the zone should not be considered for inclusion in the MDF" [Minerals Development Framework]

See the Panel (right) for more links to Surrey documents.