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Radley Lakes inquiry to be extended
8:30am Thursday 5th April 2007
AN INQUIRY into the status of Radley Lakes is being extended to enable extra sessions to be held, due to the number of people who want to give evidence.
The inquiry, into whether the lakes should be designated as a 'village green', thereby preventing RWE npower using the lakes to dump waste ash from Didcot Power Station, was due to last four days, finishing today.
But due to the number of people who wished to support the application which would protect the area, there was insufficient time available for RWE npower to oppose the proposal. These objections will now be heard on June 20, 21 and 23.
Yesterday, the inquiry, held at Radley College, resumed with ecologist Dr Bob Eeles, director of the Oxfordshire Geology Trust, giving evidence.
He said the area was rich in natural history with birds, mammals, fish, rare plants, insects and moths, some of which were protected species.
It is seen as the last chance campaign group Save Radley Lakes has to block energy company RWE npower from dumping spent fuel ash from Didcot power station in Thrupp Lake.
When the inquiry at Radley College opened on Monday 20 witnesses supporting the village green application brought by Save Radley Lakes member Jo Cartmell were listed to be heard, but the figure has risen to 30 and their evidence will be completed today.
The mayor of Abingdon Peter Green told the inquiry that both the town council and Vale of White Horse District council opposed RWE npower's plans.
He said: "The lakes have and continue to be a popular amenity for the people of Abingdon and surrounding areas and should be protected. In Abingdon there are only two topics on people's minds and about which I am quizzed - Radley lakes and Abingdon's new traffic system."
Despite three evening sessions there is no time for objections to be heard and RWE npower has won planning permission for the dumping. If village green status is granted and Thrupp and neighbouring Bullfield lake are protected then npower will have to re-think its plans.
Save Radley Lakes chairman Basil Crowley said: "The extension of the inquiry is a further delay to npower's plans. Preparation work at Thrupp Lake will be put back and that poses a problem for npower."
Npower spokesman Kelly Brown said: "We have already stopped work following the discovery of a coot's nest and a swan's nest and will have to wait until the end of the nesting season in August so an extended inquiry will not be a problem. It is important that this complex issue is properly explored through the inquiry."
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Lakesaver, says...
10:18pm Fri 6 Apr 07
Aside from that, NPower have agreed that the complex issue is properly explored through the Inquiry, yet their Barrister was suggesting to the Inspector that he should draw a line and not let any more witnesses come forward. The Inspector was not up for that, but we could see what Mr Miniminors was driving at as far as NPower were concerned!
Then he said, when asked about them stopping work whilst the Town Green Application was determined, that whilst it was a Corporate Entity it had people in it who were human and had feelings. That raised a scoff or two in the Audience at the Inquiry! All along NPower have not thought one jot about the feelings of the people who have regarded this area as a public amenity. They told no one they were buying it. They bought it off market and paid over the odds for it. Then they ride roughshod over people and destroy the site, without their planning permissions in place, and to cap it all get an injunction issued on flimsy evidence to stop people recording their deeds.
Do they really wonder why they have got such a bad reputation? All the money in the world from Landfill Tax thrown at local good causes cannot repay the loss of Thrupp Lake and the damage to the surrounding areas.
Why don't NPower do the decent thing and offer the lake back to the public for a realistic price and buy some space in WRG's Gravel Pit.
After all - you know it makes sense!