Stop the Hamble Quarry

This account was set up in 2023 to raise funds to save Hamble Airfield from becoming a quarry. It shows the accumulative funds raised since 2023. We now need to raise additional funds so the target has increased to £50k. It has been set up to raise money to pay for professional representation and to educate and notify the community of the fight against the Quarry planning application on Hamble Airfield

The number shown as 'total raised' is an accumulation over the entirety of the campaign. The target has to therefore be raised to accommodate the funds already received (that being around £16,000 which has already been spent). We need to aim for another £30,000, hence the target being £50,000 now.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND:

Hamble Airfield is under threat of having an Industrial Quarry forecast to run for 15 years. The Cemex Planning Application for this was submitted in Dec 2021 and was refused in May 2024, however on 22nd Nov 2024 Cemex appealed this decision which is scheduled to be heard at an Inquiry on 1st and 2nd April 2025.

There is much work to be done to continue this fight as it is now a legal battle and is in the hands of Barristers and specialists. We will be acting only on legal advice to fight the reasons Cemex have produced to appease the refusal.

THANK YOU:

Thanks to many residents and businesses between February 2023 and May 2024 we raised just over £16,000 with a target of £20,000.

WHAT IS THE MONEY FOR:

In February 2023 we set up the Go Fund Me page because we needed to raise money to drill down into the detail with planning experts and specialist consultants to create our defence.

We employed Specialist Consultants to analyse the Cemex documents and report to us on: Hydrology, Ecology, Air Quality, Highways and Transport.

We also incurred costs for printing of banners, flyers, printing lobbying letters to the HCC Councillors.

Directly before the Regulatory Committee meeting in May 2024, where the HCC decision was made, we employed a Barrister to advice us on the strategy and legal position we should take for this meeting.

We are now at the appeal stage and need to raise a substantial amount more, we are working with Hamble Parish Council and sharing costs and resources.

There will of course be transparency as to how the money has been spent at a later date. It is doubtful if there will be leftover funds because we are trying to manage the fundraising as and when it is required, any leftover monies will be either returned on a pro-rata basis or given to a charity which we can all discuss nearer the time.

WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED?

We have achieved a lot as a community, bringing everyone together: schools, sports clubs, residents and businesses: and amassed well over 5200 objections to this application. . We managed to highlight our major concerns and show why we don’t want a quarry and how it will affect us.

HPRG have submitted some 60+ documents and have worked hard on getting backing from our specialists and linking with the Statutory Consultees.

We have related the issues to the 2013 Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan (which is the operating document) as well as the latest HMWP update which is currently in consultation as well as the Government National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which took many hours along with expert advice.

THE BASCIS ISSUES ARE:

Hamble Airfield is not a suitable location for an industrial quarry.

It has been used as informal recreation for over 25 years by the village, it is within 150m of 2 local schools, a doctor's surgery, a public gym and sports facility, several yacht clubs and within 70m of many residential properties. There are over 200 businesses on the peninsula, all of which will experience negative effects to finance, logistics, client and staff retention.

There is one road in and one road out. Pollution is a major concern from noise, air and water runoff into the Hamble River. The health of the residents and the disturbance to the education of over 4500 school children, over the 15-year period, are high on the list of concerns.

If we lose this at any stage, we will have a quarry, unless we can prove the process has been flawed in which case we could instruct a Judicial Review.

If we win Cemex can appeal again, or another Planning Application can be submitted - unless it is proved to be totally unsuitable for development. For 50 years we have held them back we cannot stop now.

Our aim is to stop this quarry.