Public Exhibition of Minerals and Waste Plan Review – 23 November 2022

While we welcome tonight’s exhibition by Hampshire County Council regarding the review of the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan, we remain unconvinced that Hamble Airfield is an appropriate site for a quarry, given its residential location and reliance on poor transport links. 

We have a number of significant concerns regarding the current planning application made by Cemex in respect of extracting gravel from the Airfield, and await clarification on various matters, this information having been requested in March.  We are also working closely with MP Paul Holmes and Eastleigh Borough Council to ensure that the Parish Council and community’s concerns are raised and considered at the very highest levels. 

We understand that the formal consultation on the Hamble Airfield planning application is likely to resume on 2 December 2022 and Hamble Parish Council will be engaging with residents early in the New Year once we have had the opportunity to consider Cemex’s response to the Regulation 25 notice.  We are obviously concerned that the timing of this consultation will mean that the festive period will be a distraction, particularly for residents who will have other responsibilities and activities at this time. 

We have been disappointed at the lack of consultation and engagement from the applicant to date, and while tonight’s exhibition will not directly influence the outcome of the planning application, are pleased that it gives the local community and residents’ action group their first opportunity to make their views known, and to lobby stakeholders including Hampshire County Council.

Resident feedback has shown that there is confusion surrounding the review of the Minerals and Waste Plan, the impact that this might have on the Cemex application, and specifically whether Hamble Airfield could be removed as an allocated site as part of this review.  We hope that tonight’s exhibition will give our parishioners clarity on this process, and clearly explain why the Plan is being reviewed. 

From the Parish Council’s perspective, we will continue to support the local community and advocate for them throughout this process.  In recent months we have held a public meeting and exhibition of the application documents, lobbied all relevant stakeholders, appointed a planning consultant to advise on the technical detail of the application, created working groups to scrutinise related materials, started a dialogue with local businesses, and have made all documents and information available to residents both on and offline.   We will continue to listen to our parishioners’ concerns, and to represent their interests and points of view in all future discussions with Cemex and Hampshire County Council.