Lib Dem councillors in the London Borough of Haringey have written formally to Haringey Council toexpress their growing concerns over proposals for a concrete batching plantin the Cranford Way Industrial Estate in Hornsey. In a letter to Haringey Council’s head of planning, Councillor Laura Edge (Stroud Green) andCouncillor David Winskill (Crouch End) are concerned that the number oflorry movements in and out of the site has not been made apparent – andcould grow over time.

A question put to the applicant for planning permission by Cllr Winskill at the Development ControlForum on Thursday 17 September revealed that current estimates of the impactof the development, most notably in terms of the number of lorry movementsgenerated, are based on the plant operating at only half its capacity.

London Concrete asserted in its application that the number of lorrymovements in the area each day would be 56. However, pressed by CllrWinskill to reveal how many lorry movements would be generated if the plantwere operating at full capacity, Mr Casey (Managing Director of LondonConcrete) admitted that the number could be twice that.

In a letter to Haringey Council, the two councillors have written:

“It is unacceptable that crucial information regarding the full operatingcapacity of this facility had to be extracted from the applicant at a publicmeeting.

“We submit that the Planning Department must require London Concrete toprovide exact technical details of the full operating capacity of the plantand the number of additional lorry movements which this could generate – notjust the operator’s own lorries, but also any possible additional pick upsmade by other contractors.

“The experience in the London Borough of Wandsworth demonstrates that, evenif the Council were to impose conditions as to the number of lorry movementspermitted, London Concrete would almost certainly apply for an increaselater down the line.”

Councillor Edge added, “It is impossible for the community to make informedcomment on this application without access to all the facts. At the momentit seems we are only being told half the story”.