The Hamble quarry plan should not go ahead as it will reduce the quality of life for residents and create havoc on the roads for more than a decade, a senior councillor has warned.
After more than a year for a regulatory committee, a decision could be made on May 15.
Hamble Airfield was allocated for gravel extraction under Hampshire’s minerals plan.
Cemex, the building material company, then submitted a controversial planning application in 2021 to use the site to extract sand and gravel for seven years and then infill for the next six years.
READ MORE: The Hamble School protest Cemex quarry plans: as it happened
Objectors are worried about the quarry’s implications for their lives due to noise, traffic, air pollution, and safety concerns.
School students from The Hamble School protested outside the school last week to show their opposition to the plan while Hampshire County Council regulatory committee members visited the former airfield.
Keith House has been a Lib Dem councillor for more than two decades and is a member of Hampshire County Council’s regulatory committee, which will decide the fate of the scheme.
He said the application is “not a good idea” and would impact residents “for more than a decade”.
Cllr House said: “We have taken a very strong policy line against the allocation of the Hamble Airfield for gravel extraction.
“The planning committee at the county council, I’m a member of that, means I can’t prejudge the application, it has to be judged for its merits and against planning policy.
“But to me, the planning policy assumption is this is not a good idea because it would create havoc on the roads for more than a decade and reduce the quality of life for Hamble residents.”
At The Hamble School protest, Year 11 student Molly Slattery, said: "We just did our mock exams for our GCSEs. They were difficult enough without the impact tankers coming up and down the road outside our school will have.
"That would have a massive impact on our grades and potentially limit what we and future students are able to achieve."
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