CEMEX BANS KIDS!

SHOCK! HORROR! REALISATION!

Is Buffer Zone needed round cement works?

REPORT SHOWS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER POLLUTION IN GROUND; AND IN AIR!
Powers-that-be wake up to reality?
WHO is to blame for Rugby's pollution?
Cemex and Warwickshire County Council in dock, as cement and also Western Relief Road cited as culprits!



CEMEX 19/12/06:
States "It would be highly inadvisable to encourage these new dwellings to be occupied by families with young children" - in response to a planning application for 40 two-bed flats on adjacent Simms Scrap Yard Lawford Road site.

"The environment, as a result of its location and proximity of existing industrial uses, the Western Relief Road, and probable future use of the railway should be restricted to adults" at these 'most desirable' of affordable homes.

WESTERN RELIEF ROAD:
Cemex says: "SHOULD the WRR (EVER) be constructed it will bring SIGNIFICANT TRAFFIC NOISE associated with that infrastructure out of ALL PROPORTION to the level of noise/dust/and activity associated with CURRENT levels on Parkfield/Lawford Road. The new traffic system will operate 24 hours a day/365 days in a year in a corridor very close to these proposed residential units. This will INEVITABLY create a NOISE and DUST impact, (Do not mention nitrogen dioxide!) from INTENSIVE vehicle operations quite apart from the current activities of the cement works. We seek to ENSURE that road noise and dust resulting from the WESTERN RELIEF ROAD will not be CONFUSED with POTENTIAL emissions from the cement works".


RBC:
busily granting planning permission, says that these wonderful affordable homes can have the LUXURY of "non-openable windows, air conditioning, particle filters and trickle ventilation facing away from the pollution." So that's all right then - no kids; no pregnant women; and no air!

WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL:
Capitalises and gets the best part of £150,000 to provide school places for these "non-pupils".

THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY:
also demonstrates a new simply-amazing "human side" expressing concern, for once, for Rugby residents: "emphasizing" that whoever lives there is LIKELY to be "on occasions subject to local nuisance", as "in the past the site has had incidents, whereby they have caused a considerable amount of nuisance to local residents." BUT "the cement factory's permit AIMS to CONTROL emissions from this site to a level below which it is BELIEVED (believe it or not) they do not cause harm to the local environment." DON'T MENTION HEALTH WHATEVER YOU DO!

RUGBY BOROUGH COUNCIL:
Takes £20,000 in a section 106 agreement for OPEN SPACES - SOMEWHERE ELSE!

WHAT EXACTLY IS "LOCAL NUISANCE"?
RBC say "Dust events are not easy to characterize with regards to planning decisions. The cement plant does have (MANY!!) unauthorised discharges which already affect mainly New Bilton and Lawford areas. While these are "inconvenient", evidence from air quality monitoring by the Council indicate they tend to be of "short duration" (??), and is mainly "nuisance dust" rather than FINE dust which has the potential for causing HEALTH EFFECTS. Therefore, given the existing residential use (scrap yard?), the frequency of events, and their effect, "nuisance dust", while considered to be EXTREMELY ALARMING and ANNOYING for local residents, is not considered to be sufficient to prevent the development on air quality grounds, using available guidance and evidence."

"The ONLY guidance available regarding these issues (BECAUSE RBC DO NOT MONITOR!) are reports produced by Cemex, which MAY be potentially subject to bias by the author. However a SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY in the Cemex reports generally is that they consider MICRO-POLLUTANT emissions from the MAIN STACK ONLY (which SUGGEST no SIGNIFICANT health effects), but do NOT consider their impact on the particulates released from the LOW LEVEL POINT SOURCES and FUGITIVE emissions! This needs to be assessed because of the SIGNIFICANTLY ELEVATED levels of particulate at the Simms's Yard Site from the Cemex plant."

"However the Director of Housing and Environmental Health is of the opinion that the potential impact on GENERAL AMENITY (which is OUTSIDE of the remit of Environmental Health because the local authority has no jurisdiction without approval of the Secretary of State) ( APPARENTLY THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DUST IN RUGBY) of the INCONVENIENCE of the "nuisance dust", and the ALLEGED DAMAGE it causes to property, such as cars, is insufficient to recommend that Planning and Highways Committee consider this issue as a material planning consideration when determining the application."

DEVELOPER:
We have spent a lot of money on this application! Give us our permission!