The Environmental Health Officers of East Devon District Council have made a comment on the Tesco pipeline project. The full text can be located in the comment section of application 10/1177 on the EDDC website; but the salient points are as follows:
"1. No discharge of material either to or from the site shall take place between the hours of 11pm and 7am on any day.
2. The pipeline shall be enclosed at all places where noise generated during the movement of material within it is likely to be clearly audible at the facade of nearby residential properties. Reasons : To protect the amenities of local residents.
3. The return pipe shall discharge on the sea bed at a point beyond the Bathing Water Zone , at least 100m off-shore, in accordance with the requirements of the Marine Management Organisation. Discharges through this pipe shall be supervised at all times, shall only take place during daylight hours, and shall be at the rate specified in the Environmental Impact Assessment. Return material shall be sampled at frequencies agreed with the Local Planning Authority for suspended fine materials. Reason: To protect Bathing Water Quality. "
The noise provisions in 1 and 2 are less than we asked for; but do provide a measure of protection to those Seatonians unfortunate enough to live close to the pipeline. We now await Tesco's new prediction of pipeline noise (see post for 4th August below).
The control of sediment discharged into the bay (3) ignores the concern of local fishermen; and depends on the details agreed with the LPA. We shall be keeping an eye out for this.
19 August 2010
10 August 2010
Some progress on noise
This morning I went to a meeting at East Devon District Council with Jim Knight, District Councillor for Seaton, who arranged the meeting. We met two officers from Environmental Health, Simon Smale and Janet Wallace and a spirited exchange of views took place for about half an hour.
Eventually, the officers agreed to advise that the pipeline be fitted with acoustic insulation and that the hours of operation be restricted to avoid the night time hours.
When this advice appears in writing I shall make further comments.
Eventually, the officers agreed to advise that the pipeline be fitted with acoustic insulation and that the hours of operation be restricted to avoid the night time hours.
When this advice appears in writing I shall make further comments.
7 August 2010
The new pipeline noise prediction . . . and District Council inertia.
There isn't a new prediction yet; but from the previous post you will see that Tesco propose to do one. Since the existing noise prediction is now obsolete, we shall need to see the new one before being able to make comments.
This means that the hand-in date for comments (currently 12 August) will have to be extended to a date some weeks after the glorious 12th: and so far, this has not happened.
I have written once more to Steven Belli (how much he must be looking forward to his new job) asking for news of this new date in advance of our PID on 9th August. No answer as yet.
My noise critique was earlier passed by Steven Belli to the Environmental Health Officers in East Devon. Nothing then happened until I started badgering them about it: then I was told by an EHO staff member - who had clearly not read it - that such difficulties could usually be "engineered out".
They would not discuss it further, so I petitioned one of our District Councillors to intervene. He has now arranged a meeting next week - after our Public Information Day.
When things like this happen, some people mutter about the idleness and corruption of civil servants - but I am not one of them. Civil servants work for the public good with inadequate resources and have often to juggle competing priorities. I am sure the officer concerned had lots of other work to do, and the corporate culture of East Devon always seems to involve a barrier against public consultation: so I suspect my noise critique was directed to the bottom of the pile. I shall what I can do - next week - to drag it to the top.
This means that the hand-in date for comments (currently 12 August) will have to be extended to a date some weeks after the glorious 12th: and so far, this has not happened.
I have written once more to Steven Belli (how much he must be looking forward to his new job) asking for news of this new date in advance of our PID on 9th August. No answer as yet.
My noise critique was earlier passed by Steven Belli to the Environmental Health Officers in East Devon. Nothing then happened until I started badgering them about it: then I was told by an EHO staff member - who had clearly not read it - that such difficulties could usually be "engineered out".
They would not discuss it further, so I petitioned one of our District Councillors to intervene. He has now arranged a meeting next week - after our Public Information Day.
When things like this happen, some people mutter about the idleness and corruption of civil servants - but I am not one of them. Civil servants work for the public good with inadequate resources and have often to juggle competing priorities. I am sure the officer concerned had lots of other work to do, and the corporate culture of East Devon always seems to involve a barrier against public consultation: so I suspect my noise critique was directed to the bottom of the pile. I shall what I can do - next week - to drag it to the top.
4 August 2010
Tesco tries again
Seatonians will already have had the pleasure of reading about Tesco and us on the front page of Pulman's View from Seaton.
Entitled "Building claims refuted by store" it summarises my noise paper rather roughly, then includes quotes from Julie Bishop - Juliette to her workmates - dismissing our noise figure (which came from Tesco documents) and saying we had "misunderstood the issue".
She then admitted that their consultants would be retesting their pipe using our conditions.
I sent her an email, from which this quotation is taken:
The fact that you are now repeating the pipeline noise measurement with more realistic conditions - conditions which we found to be absent from your first effort - suggests that it is Tesco who have misunderstood things, not Tescowatch Seaton.
That being so, I should be glad to cast an eye over any further noise estimates you produce to see if they comply with Seaton conditions. My fee for doing so can be donated to the Seaton Youth Club, which you are going to demolish without replacement.
We are holding a Public Information Day in Seaton on 9th August, (not the 10th) which you are very welcome to attend to present the latest modifications to your proposals.
No reply so far.
Entitled "Building claims refuted by store" it summarises my noise paper rather roughly, then includes quotes from Julie Bishop - Juliette to her workmates - dismissing our noise figure (which came from Tesco documents) and saying we had "misunderstood the issue".
She then admitted that their consultants would be retesting their pipe using our conditions.
I sent her an email, from which this quotation is taken:
The fact that you are now repeating the pipeline noise measurement with more realistic conditions - conditions which we found to be absent from your first effort - suggests that it is Tesco who have misunderstood things, not Tescowatch Seaton.
That being so, I should be glad to cast an eye over any further noise estimates you produce to see if they comply with Seaton conditions. My fee for doing so can be donated to the Seaton Youth Club, which you are going to demolish without replacement.
We are holding a Public Information Day in Seaton on 9th August, (not the 10th) which you are very welcome to attend to present the latest modifications to your proposals.
No reply so far.
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