Tell me more about the HCC minerals & waste plan
Purple Haze
What's this about?
Hampshire County Council recently released its 'Hampshire Minerals & Waste Partial Plan Update'.
The relevant bit for us is on page 187 of the revised plan. In summary: 'Purple Haze is considered to be the best option for a quarry to supply sand and gravel for West Hampshire'. . . 'For restoration, [subsequent to excavation], if the site is not used for non-hazardous waste landfill, inert waste fill would be used to agreed levels'.
The Purple Haze plan
Proposed land use: Extraction of soft sand, sharp sand and gravel. Total mineral resource: 7.25 million tonnes of soft sand and 0.75 million tonnes of sharp sand and gravel (3.4 million tonnes will be available in the Plan period). Restoration: If the site is not used for non-hazardous landfill, inert fill will be used to agreed levels. The site will eventually be used for a combination of deciduous woodland planting, heathland, nature conservation areas, enhanced recreational areas and public open space, linked to the Moors Valley Country Park. Reason for allocation: The site is considered to be the best option for continuing a local supply of soft sand, sharp sand and gravel for this part of west Hampshire. The site is allocated in Policy 20 (Local land-won aggregates) and Policy 32 (Non-hazardous waste landfill) of the Plan.
Bad impacts
A quarry at Purple Haze would have all the bad impacts described on this website. 'Restoring' it means partially filling the very big hole in the ground left after extraction of millions of tonnes of aggregate. Material remaining on site after excavation would not be sufficient to create even the low-level landscape promised by the quarry developer. As a result, infill material needs to be imported. The Plan allows this infill to be non-hazardous waste or inert waste. A quarry + waste adds up to the disaster for community and biosphere that we illustrate on this website.
What is inert waste? Inert waste is defined by the Landfill Directive as material that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations. Inert material will not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm human health. The big issue for Purple Haze is that a mixture of inert waste and materials remaining on site after excavation cannot provide the soil conditions necessary for establishing the restored habitat promised by the quarry developer. Expert opinion confirms this. It also demonstrates that resulting water-flow effects would wreak havoc with the surrounding environment.
What is non-hazardous waste? Non-hazardous waste includes any rubbish or recycling materials that cause no harm to human or environmental health. This waste can be from business or household producers. This can include general household waste like paper, food, sanitary, bathroom rubbish and mixed recyclables (including glass), disposable vapes, bulky waste (skip loads), garden and grounds waste and business wastes including any that come from industrial or agricultural sources. It also includes healthcare wastes (including PPEs) that are soiled but pose no threat to human or environmental health. Non-hazardous waste can be offensive and typically attracts rodents and scavenging birds like seagulls. Non hazardous waste can be inflammable, sometimes where a fire is triggered by biological heating within the waste pile. The nearby Blue Haze landfill site operated by Veolia for HCC has suffered all the issues of offensive waste. The problem for Purple Haze, priceless natural habitats and community need no explanation.