The ‘cabinet’ of the Distict council meets next Wednesday at 7:30. You can download the agenda from this page.
One of the items on the agenda is to start public consultation on a plan to reduce air pollution from the Rawreth Industrial Estate. The council is particularly thinking about the impact on residents in Victoria Avenue, Rowan Close and Stirling Close in Rayleigh.
Another item is the future of our public toilets. As Councillor Michael Hoy has already written, this is likely to be discussed in private and confidential session. So the public can’t watch and we can’t tell you much afterwards!
What’s perhaps worse though, are the ultra-strict rules that the Conservative Group have chosen, which currently mean that no Rayleigh Councillor is allowed to speak at these meetings. Cllr Joan Mockford and Cllr Toby Mountain are the ward members for Victoria Avenue and Stirling Close, Chris Black and Ron Oatham for Rowan close. It is bizarre that they don’t have a right to speak on the air pollution issue.
Time for the Tories to re-think this.
If the RDC is thinking about air pollution now, why did they not think about this when giving approval for the house to be built in the 1st place. also why did they let the house in Stirling Close be built in the wrong places, i am told the this road should of be built a long the east side of the industrial estate, but due to a error by the developer it was not, and RDC let them get a way with.
I can foresee RDC trying to move the whole industrial estate to the edge of the district somewhere on green belt land, and build house on the old site saying it brown field. i am aware that notice to compulsory purchase land on the estate had been issued same time ago too
This is where RDC need to start look at planning, and look at in the very very long term i.e. 15yr to 30 yr ahead and what are the problem going to be within that time as a result of there approve.
Graham, to be more precise the air quality issue at Rawreth Industrial Estate isn’t chemical pollution, it’s fine particulate matter – what I would call dust. It reaches relatively high levels due to road dust being suspended in the air. Why the road vehicles that use the Industrial Estate stir up so much dust is a good question. Very little pollution there comes from actual industrial emissions.
You are right, The District Council is planning to relocate the industrial estate, something I would support if the existing businesses are looked after properly. But it will be a slow process and I can’t see developers being eager to build there at all- for one thing, there will be contaminated land to deal with .
It appears to me that the common sense solution to the dust pollution would be regular road sweeping. What is all the fuss about? My feelings are that RDC are desperate to exaggerate the pollution aspect in order to fulfill there obsession to relocate the industrial site. Grasping at straws I suspect. Cllr. Black is right in highlighting the problem of the contaminated land as, if not totally cleansed, the surface water run off from this site will cause a contamination problem to lower lying ground which is already identified as a flood risk category. Expert advice is required here and should be sought long before any planning decisions are made.