Hamble Airfield quarry: council planners explain they had no choice but to retreat from Cemex fight

Hampshire County Council’s regulatory committee refused planning permission in May 2024 for Cemex’s Hamble Airfield proposal due to flood risks, highway mitigation issues, and a late objection from Natural England over air quality.

All three reasons for refusal were based on the applicant’s insufficient information at that time.

However, at the recent session of the ongoing Cemex appeal, the head of development management, Lisa Kirby-Hawke, gave reasons why many of these concerns had since been addressed.

Mrs Kirby-Hawke said that during the appeal, Cemex was able to provide additional information and resolve the issues raised over flood risk and air quality.

But the council’s concerns over highway mitigation were still outstanding when the council published its statement of case.

However, she said that further information submitted has addressed the issue.

Mrs Kirby-Hawke said: “We essentially had a position in front of us that we could no longer resist the appeal because the evidence was showing us that the reason for the refusal had been addressed.”

Many residents had questioned why the council’s stance on the Cemex application had changed from refusal to no longer maintaining the reasons for refusal.

However, the planning manager clarified that the regulatory committee’s role ended on the day of the decision and there is no constitutional requirement to report back to the committee.

This, she noted, is standard procedure for all planning appeals.

She added: “There are a number of appeals that the regulatory committee has made, and we’ve never reported back to the committee because there’s no constitutional requirement for us to do so.

“Having said that, I did brief the chairman of the committee as our case evolved.”

In response, councillor Prad Bains highlighted residents’ anxiety over the potential green light for the quarry and their disappointment with the council’s handling of the situation.

Councillor Bains said: “The overwhelming unanimous consensus from local residents remains as clear today as it was during the first conversation I had about this application, that this quarry is not in the right place.”

The appeal will hear the closing submission at the last meeting on Friday, July 4.

A decision could be expected in the autumn.