Photograph: Pond 1, May 2016, before destruction, taken by OCC Monitoring Officer
The Ecology Officer of the Vale of White Horse District Council has expressed scepticism at the claimed ‘enhancements’ of the applicants’ Ecology Report, as well as the ‘biodiversity baseline’ used to assess these ‘enhancements’. Mr Church has also questioned the fact that the biodiversity data fail to mention the extensive, fluctuating water bodies across the base of the quarry. He states: “there appear to be several outstanding inconsistencies and highly unrealistic proposed habitat assumptions within the submitted biodiversity net gain information”.
They include a “highly unrealistic” proposal “to deliver Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland in Good condition” “within the 30-year timeframe of BNG”. He is also critical of “technically implausible” ‘enhancements’ which “treat a profound change of broad habitat type as an enhancement”, and adds that he remains “highly unconvinced that SSSI-standard Priority Habitat grassland can be delivered onsite, as per my previous response”.
He also questions the “inconsistency as to whether water bodies are currently present onsite”. He observed “significant areas of standing water when passing the site in early May 2025 during a prolonged period of dry weather”, which supports previous concerns “by objectors such as BBOWT”, and notes that “no standing water habitats have been added to the current baseline”.
This is a major endorsement of what local people have told Oxfordshire County Council. On behalf of Wicklesham supporters, this campaign wrote to the County Council in December 2024 regarding Wicklesham’s aquifer or ‘underground river’,# and sent substantial evidence of its role in the unique ecology of the quarry, including:
- the flood map submitted by VWHDC, showing the aquifer in Wicklesham quarry
- References to the ‘underground river’ or ‘aquifer’ in the applicant’s Ground Conditions Report 1
- Photographs of flooding across the base from December 2024 to May 2025
- TVERC’s Biodiversity Report listing around thirty Priority Species & 18 DEFRA RED LIST species of birds - many of which depend on Wicklesham’s ponds and standing water
- Recent photographs of Great Crested Newts and other newt species which are abundant in and around Wicklesham Quarry.
We suggested a visit by OCC’s Biodiversity Officer so he could see all these things for himself- to which he did not respond -having lifted his objection to the proposed development in December 2024. Now, with strong objections from the Vale’s Ecology Officer and BBOWT behind us, we believe Oxfordshire County Council MUST TAKE SERIOUSLY the overwhelming evidence of the Quarry’s importance for biodiversity, and the reject the applicant’s patently erroneous claims.
THE RESTORATION SCHEME- BIODIVERSITY BASELINE
BBOWT’s Policy Officer has stated that the lawfully correct Biodiversity Baseline is the Restoration Scheme itself- regardless of whether it was satisfactorily carried out. As local people know, the Restoration Scheme was NOT satisfactorily carried out. Both ponds shown in the Restoration Scheme - one of which held water a metre deep- were filled in long before any restoration had begun. In 2019 - four years and an Enforcement Order after Oxfordshire County Council had ordered the landowner and operator to carry out the ONE YEAR Scheme – the County Council agreed to accept the Restoration Scheme ‘as carried out’.
In 2019 this campaign OBJECTED to the unjustified, retrospective alteration to the Restoration Scheme at the Planning Committee meeting. The obvious aim of the destruction of the ponds was to facilitate a future claim that Wicklesham had little biodiversity value, and in particular, was not a habitat for Great Crested Newts – a European Protected Species.* Those claims are EXACTLY what we have now seen in the applicant’s Ecology Report. However, the ponds were a legally protected Priority Habitat after Enzygo’s 2013 Great Crested Newt Refresher Survey demonstrated they were a breeding habitat for GCNs. But as Government Planning guidance (below) demonstrates, and BBOWT has confirmed – the issue of the ponds HAS NOT GONE AWAY.
* The applicant- landowner had declared his intention to ‘fill in the large pond at the west end of the quarry’ in his 2009 ‘Justification for including Wicklesham Quarry in the Local Plan’.
How ironic that fences put up around ponds that had been deliberately filled in were paid for by a Countryside Stewardship Scheme! The SAME Scheme that is ALREADY paying for almost all of what the Ecology Report claims will be ecological ‘enhancements’ as a result of development! These points will all be made in the NEW consultation – supported by the evidence of Monitoring Reports.
GOVERNMENT PLANNING PRACTICE GUIDANCE- BIODIVERSITY NET GAIN
'Part of the information an applicant must submit as part of a planning application where the statutory biodiversity gain condition applies to the development includes a statement whether activities have been carried out prior to the date of application (or earlier proposed date), resulted in loss of onsite biodiversity value (‘degradation’), and where they have:
· a statement to the effect that these activities have been carried out;
· the date immediately before these activities were carried out;
· the pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat on this date;
· the completed metric calculation tool showing the calculations, and
· any available supporting evidence of this;'
Paragraph: 011 Reference ID: 74-011-20240214
'There are special provisions for establishing the pre-development biodiversity value of onsite habitat when loss or impact to habitats (or ‘degradation’) has occurred prior to the submission of a Biodiversity Gain Plan. This is in order to discourage the deliberate degradation of existing onsite habitats to reduce the pre-development biodiversity value. Further guidance is provided under paragraph 036 of this guidance'
Paragraph: 012 Reference ID: 74-012-20240214
- We shall be submitting the evidence of the Restoration Scheme, Enzygo Report and pre-degradation biodiversity value of Wicklesham quarry to Oxfordshire County Council, together with the Government Planning Practice Guidance.
REASONS TO BE OPTIMISTIC
- The constant input of minor modifications by the applicant demonstrates that there is a constant stream of objections from different sources. That stream is getting visibly stronger and even more persistent – with YOUR HELP!
- Our arguments and evidence on Wicklesham’s biodiversity have been backed up by BBOWT and the Vale’s Ecology Officer. Oxfordshire County Council cannot ignore them any longer.
- The next update will summarise the powerful END-TO-END OBJECTIONS local people have submitted in the last consultation! AND SUGGEST HOW TO RESPOND TO THE LATEST BATCH OF DOCUMENTS.
Objections by the public are the most numerous and detailed –AND WE SHOULD KEEP ON OBJECTING! OUR VOICES WILL ULTIMATELY CARRY THE GREATEST WEIGHT!
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR THE NEXT UPDATE or find us on Facebook.
Please keep in touch and send any comments or queries to protectwicklesham@gmail.com