Review of WBB Open Day, Saturday, 11/10/08

King's Lynn's answer to the Sahara Desert!


No problem providing a children's sand pit for the day!



A sand dune and a large sulphuric acid tank at WBB/Sibelco, 11/10/08


Some Really Big Diggers!

A LOCAL VIEW

"I felt it should really have been called a family fun day. I am angry that WBB feel they can call this an open day when it would have been impossible to sit down quietly somewhere to ask serious questions on behalf of people whose lives will be changed forever to their detriment by these proposals when you are surrounded by balloons, twirling fairground cups, bouncy castles, screaming kids and face painters.

This was just a jolly for employee's kids and local families whose boys love to go for rides in Jeeps, it wasn't a balanced meeting with their public. This isn't about boy's toys but about people's future lives and when I saw the size of those diggers my heart sank at the prospect of looking at those daily from my front door.

Just who do they think they are that can trivialise something so important in this way. If they were to hold a second exhibition and presentation for people who need answers i may have taken some notice but this was an absolute farce. there was nothing stopping them putting one of their employees in the quiet/video room to address serious issues, but no - where was the jelly and ice cream?

Did you get him on his own in a quiet undisturbed room to answer your questions properly or do they think we will be so impressed by their display and rides that we will all change our minds?"

REPLY by EWAG Chairman & Webmaster Neil Paddock:

Actually, No.

It was, as ever, an excellent demonstration of Public Relations.
The cynical among you might even consider the word "spin".

There were balloons tied up at the entrance in bunches at the gate entrance, and a friendly leaflet about the company and the site handed out as you drove in. Nice shiny new Sibelco signs have been installed, replacing the earlier old and shabby WBB Minerals ones.

A sand pit was provided for the kids (no shortage of sand obviously), a large marquee set up with conservation and archaeology experts available showing specimens of local wildlife (a young grasssnake and some historic pottery and coin finds from the King's Lynn site)

(see http://saveeastwinch.blogspot.com/2008/10/wbb-open-daywas-it-all-hot-air.html for further details)

We did make contact with a number of WBB Minerals (now called Sibelco) officials, including Resources Director Gary Stringer and Andy Price (The IT manager who had said in the paper that silica sand is safe when it's still in the ground, which I thought was a great argument for not digging it up in the first place!)

Mr Stringer offered us what he thought we would accept as some good news -they were not considering landfill for MIN40, As "We are not that type of company."

[From what we are led to believe about the toxicity of Bawsey Lake, would a lake be any better than a landfill, I wonder? 50% of our voters on http://www.saveeastwinch.blogspot.com/ seem to think it would be good, despite the risk of property subsidence due to a lowering water table and potential flood risks once the lakes (at Grandcourt Quarry in Middleton, formerly Grandcourt Farm) are completed.]

We were offered a 20 minute tour of the site, and a follow up meeting to answer questions.

Mr Stringer felt he would not be able to answer all the questions EWAG raised in the letter to Tom Cutbush (Sibelco's Chief Executive) as he informed us each site is different.
He did say that it would be a number of years (3 or more?) before anything would happen on the site due to how the planning application process works. They have to do environmental surveys first and so on in order for planning permission to be granted. Grandcourt Quarry took a number of years he said (about 5 years I think, from original intent to permission being given - see WBB's website for more details)

[It would have been a lot longer if I had known about it at the time!

Two small notices were put up for a two week period on each side of the village, the very week my family and I came to view our current property in East Winch. Nothing showed up at all on the local search (they are in my view, a complete waste of money, by the way, unless you already have a quarry in your garden it wouldn't show up anyway!) ]

When asked he confirmed that they do quarry right up to people's homes in some cases, including their site in Doncaster as an example.

It is also worth mentioning that there were a number of large display stands featuring their company, what they stand for, and a large aerial photo of what the finished Grandcourt Quarry would look like complete with lakes and... the extension to MIN 40 was included, as if they have already got it!

Still "just" a proposal at this stage (without planning permission) but clearly part of their plans to extend the site at some stage in the future.

Outlined in red and going right up to the garden fences of Town Close in East Winch Village!

The thought of the wholesale destruction at Grandcourt on the west side is bad enough - the site is massive, and will generate quite a bit of dust, I should imagine.

Andy Price said 75% of their staff have no trace of PM10 particles showing up

They also informed us that when it's really windy, they stop digging.

We spoke about air quality monitoring and they mentioned they could set up a monitor near the school.

Overall, it was business as usual for WBB/ Sibelco.

A friendly face for the public ("Working together for mineral solutions" is their slogan).
£100 of Raffle prizes generously donated by them for Leziate's Church Roof.

Wendy Twite (the writer of the "Blackmail" article in the Parish Newsletter) introduced herself to me, told me she wrote what she felt and promptly offered me some raffle tickets!

Regards



Neil Paddock
Chairman, EWAG
Webmaster ERASE and SaveEastWinch

PS Don't forget there is a meeting pending with Henry Bellingham MP and local councillors in attendance on Friday 21st November 2008, regarding MIN 40 at East Winch Village Hall.

http://saveeastwinch.blogspot.com/2008/10/joint-update-meeting-with-henry.html

Pott RoW

 

ERASE Update - Please read...

TO ALL MEMBERS:

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT!
We still need to carry on fighting the remaining items on MIN42 and supporting others in neighbouring areas who still have their planned excavations.

WHO OWNS WHAT?
Please do your best in ascertaining who exactly owns what land on the proposed MIN42 sites and contacting us with full details and Ordinance Survey grid references please.

WBB OPEN DAY 11th October 2008
Please note the date ot the WBB open day sat 11/10 10.30-3pm, ask for people to think of pertinent questions and let the group know if they can attend please.
Please spend some time at the open day to contact Karan so we can timetable everyone in and not leave WBB any breathing space.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU
A resounding big thank you to all the people of the surrounding villages who have helped with all the footwork and a special thanks to landowner Tim Flux.


POTT ROW
People of Pott Row - Please rally to the cause
(poster to be attached in due course - it reads...).


"People of Pott Row
This is their plan:
MIN 42 at Grimston, Bawsey, Leziate:
A large area of the site has been removed due to a letter from the landowner
stating he objected to the site.

WBB are hosting an open day Saturday 11th of October 10.30-3pm. Please attend and ask some awkward questions!
See www.eraseorg.blogspot.com or email erase.org@tiscali.co.uk If you don’t act – this WILL happen…………… "

Bawsey Lake - Response from Norfolk County Council

A reply from Norfolk County Council re restoration of lake areas:

"Concerning your recent enquiry, I would respond that:-

1. A large part of the older historical workings continued in accordance with an old planning permission given in 1947 (MW1), known as an 'Interim Development Order'. Subsequent legislation in 1991 (the Planning and Compensation Act), required these old permissions to be registered, or they ceased to have effect. The operating company failed to do this, rendering the old permission of 'no effect'. The advantage to the Council was that no further extraction was allowed in those areas, but the down side was that restoration was un-enforceable. Since that time however, the Council have considered any opportunity to provide for wider site restoration where this has been possible. The operating company are generally committed to providing for high standards of site restoration.

2. The sands in the area are rich in iron pyrite. On exposure to air it oxidises to produce sulphuric acid. The waters have a very high concentration of sulphate such that constant liming will not have a permanent effect, because the high sulphate values will eventually return the pH to the original low values. The areas adjacent to the old lake areas are colonised by acid loving grasses and associated plant life. I understand that swimming may be possible in such waters, but subject to all site notices and safety arrangements in place etc. The operating company do carry out regular water testing in the area, and are aware or the difficulties that stem from naturally low pH values in these waters.

I trust this information is of assistance."

A Little Proper Research...

An article based on the presentation given by Neil Paddock, Chairman of the East Winch Action Group at Leziate on 28th April can be read at our related website

www.saveeastwich.blogspot.com

by clicking on the title of this article.

Amicus Poster

More on Silica Sand...

"There are 25 silica sand sites in Great Britain. There are also about 20 working mines in which industrial minerals (such as potash, gypsum, limestone) are extracted, but with one exception the silica content is low. Recent data indicates that for certain tasks exposures can exceed 0.3 mg/m3 (8-hr TWA) but in these circumstances respiratory protective equipment is used."

Click on the link in the title for more information.

What about the general public living next door to the sites? Like the owners of the property immediately to the left of this site in Ashwicken behind the screen of trees?

Voice of the Villages Articles, May 2008

The following are scans from the latest Gayton Group of Parishes magazine.

The first article sets out ERASE's position, the second is the view from WBB Minerals.

I have put a link in the title to the Voice of the Villages website, however, please note that parts of this site are still under construction.

Leziate Joint Assembly Group Meeting

There was a great turn out of 180 local residents of all the villages affected by these mineral extraction proposals.
There were a number of speakers including Ian Monson (NCC Cabinet Representative for Waste and Minerals), Alistair Beales (Borough Councillor), Heather Bolt (NCC councillor), Brian Long (Councillor for the Environment, KL&WNBC) and Cliff Smalley from Save Pentney and Neil Paddock from EWAG (East Winch) action groups. The evening was hosted by our group ERASE - (Exploited Region Against Silica Extraction).

Henry Bellingham who was away in Ireland, sent his apologies and added "In the meantime, you have my 100% support in your campaign to prevent any further desecration of our beautiful countryside in your locality".

RSPB Action Pack Available

I have attached a link to a zipped copy of the RSPB action pack, which contains useful information about protecting wildlife from development

Contents includes:
Getting involved in planning applications
Getting your message across to local politicians
Getting your message across with local media
Helping you to assess the value of a wildlife site
How to get involved with local development plans
Planning for wildlife
Protecting birds from development
Protecting hedgerows, trees and woodlands
Protecting other wildlife from development proposals
The planning system
Useful Contacts England
You can make positive changes in your community

NB You will need a copy of Winzip to unzip these files

Lessons in sand-processing Lynn News 290408

FACTS about Silica Sand

FACTS about Silica Sand and Leziate beds:

Leziate predominantly produces silica for glass containers.
It does produce some for foundry useage but with the progressive decline in UK heavy manufacturing, notably the foundry industry, has resulted in a significant decline in the demand for foundry sand.
In contrast there has been a recent increase in the demand for glass sand (silica) which is used for flat screen TVs, computer screens, golf course sand, play glass sand and equestrain dressage.
the largest silica producer is WBB Minerals Ltd which accounts for over 50% of total production. There are around 12 silica sites around the UK of which WBB own 7. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCR Sibelco, a privately owned Belgian group with silica sand interests worldwide.
The type of silica sand that runs through our region, begins South of Norfolk and runs North-South up to as far as around Snettisham and is Cretaceous silica sand.
Whilst silica for colourless glass is only produced at 7 locations in the UK , this Eastern region alone accounts for nearly 40% of total output in England.
Kings Lynn (Leziate) is one of the very few deposits where there is no associated production of construction sand.
The open caste mining of silica sand in our area, has nothing to do with the construction industry and the growth of Kings Lynn.
Processing plant for silica sand requires high capital investment. Sufficient permitted reserves are required to reflect this investment. For this reason and the fact that there are limited reserves, it would appear that silica sand is deemed a mineral of 'national importance'.
Kings Lynn/Leziate uses hot sulphuric acid leaching and cold acid leaching to process its silica for flat glass.
In 2004 the UK produced 1.9 million tonnes of container glass valued at £615 million of which nearly 70% was colourless (and we already know this eastern region produced 40% of that).

MIN40 at East Winch which is 52.7 hectares shows estimated reserves of 3,000,000 tonnes on silica sand.
MIN42 (Ashwicken, Bawsey, Leziate and Pott Row) is 180 hectares plus MIN94 at Roydon and Congham is 113.6 hectares. Combined, they make almost 300 hectares, 6 times the size making 18,000,000 of estimated reserve. Do your sums - it's not rocket science to realise WHY this really is considered to be a mineral of 'national importance' - MONEY!
Recycled glass (cullet) from bottles could increasingly be used to make new glass, but the excuse for not using this is that the quality is impaired by mixing the wrong colours at the recycling point (green with brown etc.) - that's as sophisticated as it gets!

MIN 42 & WBB Site at Leziate

00004/5 The first couple show a typical wind blowing up surface sand - can you imagine the perpetual sand storm blown up by diggers burrowing 12m deep!

00025 Last view of WBB site at Leziate (not the processing site)

00024 Second view of WBB site at Leziate

00023 Views of existing WBB site at leziate

00013 Second view of MIN42
(continuation of first from left to right)
from south/Ashwicken Village

00012 First view from house 25' from MIN42

ERASE NOW ONLINE!

The Villages of Ashwicken, Leziate, Bawsey and Pott Row have united to form an action group against the proposals to extract sand and silica sand on massive scales in and around our villages.

The proposals would amount to the further destruction of thousands of acres of beautiful land in this area, so we must combine our resources to make our objections known and to fight these proposals at all costs.

Our particular concern is the safety of silica extraction. Silica is a mineral used predominantly in the glass making and leisure industry. Ths silica in this area is used to make glass containers. No silica stays here, but is sent to meet the demands for flat computer screens and sand for golf courses, play sand and equestrian surfaces. These are alternatives to raw mineral extraction such as the use of cullet glass.

Silica is a recognised carginogenic and inhalation of fine silica dust particles can lead to silicosis, respiratory disease and lung cancer. It is time NCC stood up and challenged the demands made by central government and protected the health safety and environment of the people they are employed to represent.

We trust that we can rely on the support of neighbouring villages who do not have proposals directly in their parish. Anyone who would like further information can email us on erase.org@tiscali.co.uk