From James - The Site, and latest on the Bridge

It is here already - in sections 5 x 3 x 1.5 metres. Bolted together they will span the roads involved. I have measured and photographed a section and discussed it with JLS. He thinks they look "substantial" and should be adequate.

From a Trevelyan Road resident

I spoke to 'Tesco man' this morning at the Racal site. They have managed to 'gain access' and now have a squad of their own 'security men' at the gate in Riverside road - allowing hard hats entry but keeping the gates firmly closed at all other times. Diggers are working on site and the bridges will probably go up between '7th and 14th' (of March?) - so that puts them betwen 2 and 3 weeks behind schedule.

More Than a Cubic Metre of Gravel

I noticed when scanning the Non Technical summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the filling operation, that :


"The settlement lagoon in the north east part of the site which will control the return of water back to the sea and reduce suspended solids will include a membrane to prevent saline sea water entering the ground water and, as such, there will not be an impact to salinity. Water within the settlement lagoon will be allowed to stand during the dredger’s cycle period until enough settlement has occurred in the water to allow safe discharge back to the sea. "

This seems to be backed up by the main EIA.

Now I am not an expert, but I have shifted plenty of gravel and sand mixes by hand, and can say for certain that when wet, a given cube of the material is much heavier than when dry. I have found no mention of washing the gravel to remove the saline pumping water, so can only assume that this will be spread over the site with the gravel.

Figures I have seen show that a cubic metre of sand/gravel when dry is about 1650kg and when wet about 2000kg (this will I am sure vary, depending upon type of rock, grade range of material etc). Calling it 300kg of saline water per cubic metre of sand/gravel would probably not be miles out i.e. about 15% of the total fill weight.

If as is implied by the EIA, saline water entering the groundwater is not a good thing, and mitigation measures are in place for the settlement lagoon, then what about the balance of the site. I see that Natural England had some concerns, though I can't find any mitigation measures in place to address these.

I would like to understand what if any affect this will have on the local ecosystem? Any experts out there care to comment.

Traffic through Axmouth

For the benefit of people who have not seen the Axe Valley Weekender 18 Feb p4:

All parties have accepted that just the abnormal loads bringing the bridge structure will be allowed to pass through Axmouth, at reasonable times, notified to an Axmouth councillor for each traffic movement. All other construction traffic will travel by the route specified in the original conditions. As I understand it, these loads are too long to negotiate the pinch points at the junctions of Harefield Road with Manor Road and Seaton Down Road, probably too long and certainly too heavy for a weak point on Colyford Road, so that the Axmouth route is the only route possible. Axmouth residents are not happy, but have accepted this compromise; they will be alert for any breach of these modified conditions, now or later.

Letter from James Semple re Noise Report

9 February 2011

Simon Stephenson,

Bureau Veritas SA

By email

Copies Janet Wallace, EDDC.

Chairman, Trevelyan Road Residents Association

Dear Mr Stephenson,

Your report number 4195376/2 for Westminster Dredging Company

This report dated 7 January 2011 was posted on the East Devon planning website on 2 February, hence the delay in this enquiry.

We represent a number of our members who live in Trevelyan Road Seaton, next to the pipeline your clients are constructing to convey gravel to the Tesco construction site. Initial analysis of the pipeline system indicates that the noise levels predicted by the planning application – and even by your report - fall short of the levels likely to be generated, and that they are likely to be high enough to cause sleep disturbance to local residents.

I am writing to enquire if you feel able – on behalf of your clients – to consider the reasons for our concern and explain to us why they are unfounded. In the hope that you will agree to this request I am attaching my original critique dated 25 July 2010 and including further comments on your report below.

In section 4.1, you take a pipeline at Boscombe beach as producing sound levels similar to the Seaton pipeline. We feel this is unsound, since the Seaton gravel is coarser and has to rise 5 metres over two roads. This will require much higher volume flow rates – probably twice the settling velocity of the largest particles - than the Boscombe pipeline, which we understand did not rise to any significant degree and probably conveyed most of the solids as bedload. This means Seaton should be noisier than Boscombe, for reasons explained in the attached critique.

I should be grateful for your comments, which I shall pass on to the Trevelyan Road Residents Association.

Thank you for your attention.

James Semple

Seaton Development Trust

Stresses on the bends of the pipeline

On 13/02/2011 22:56, Hugh wrote:

Bill Collier, industrial chemist, remembers Flixborough, and wonders who has checked the stresses on the bends in the pipeline. It has probably been independently checked, but how do we know? Do we happen to have a retired mechanical engineer?

James replied:

James Lindsay-Smith has made contact with his old colleagues, including a numerate one with computer capability who is capable of checking all appropriate calculations. However, the main problem is gaining access to the data - which is refused - and another is the indeterminacy of slurry flow at this level of solids and particle size. Ask Bill if he is familiar with slurry transport. if so, send him my noise critique which contains most of the information in the public domain

Hugh comments:

It appears that we have access to the expertise, but not yet to the data.

Open Seams in Axe River Bridge

----- Original Message -----

From: James Semple

To: Ian Perkins

Cc: ben.moore@hse.gsi.gov.uk

Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 1:31 PM

Subject: Open seams in Axe River bridge on B 3172 in Seaton

Dear Ian,

I have been asked by Mr Price of Colyton to bring to your attention a number of open seams on the bridge carrying the B3172 over the Axe river, which has been taking Tesco construction traffic, and will be taking more.

I don't know how significant they are, or when they appeared; but Mr Price thinks they were not there some months previously.

All the pictures were taken today from the old bridge from the sea-ward side at the Seaton (west) end of the bridge. I have labelled them in Photoshop and compressed them for transmission; but they are otherwise unaltered.

The hand holding the steel rule in some pictures belongs to Mr George Boswell, a retired architect and member of Seaton Development Trust.

Thank you for your attention.

James Semple

Road Closure letter & maps

Letter from James Semple to various involved parties

From: James Semple

To: various

Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2011 12:06 PM

Subject: Detailed design of footings for pipeline bridge in Seaton

Madam and gentlemen,

It is clear from the attached photograph - as well as from the amount of heavy traffic though the town - that Tesco's contractors are about to erect the bridge carrying their pipeline across public roads in Seaton.

This structure, according to all publicly available documents, has serious technical flaws which might well cause it to collapse across two public roads (one the B3172), an electricity substation and close to a terrace of houses in Trevelyan Road.

These flaws relate to the design of the footings for the support pillars and have been described to you in previous correspondence. We understand that another footing design has been prepared; but it has not been released to the public.

We can see no reasonable explanation for this continued secrecy. We have no interest in commercially sensitive or contractual information, and any such could be deleted or obscured. The only explanation seems to be that the design is inadequate and open to technical or other criticism.

I am sure I need not emphasise the serious consequences to yourselves personally and professionally if this structure fails in any way. Any court action would be bound to take into account the warning given, and the decision taken to ignore it. Even if the structure does not malfunction, public servants will have withheld important environmental information from ratepayers in the face of reasoned and informed disquiet, and a private company will have hidden information from the community in which it hopes to locate a major residential development.

None of these scenarios is desirable. I am therefore writing to you - as the responsible landowners (or their agents) - to ask for immediate access to all latest design documents for this structure.

Thank you for your attention.

James Semple

Axmouth Protests

Take a look at

http://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/axmouth_protest_over_tesco_construction_lorries_1_796717

It shows how much attention Tesco pay to planning decisions

An interesting insight into "The Ditch"

I think what we know about THE DITCH would be useful for other necessarily interested parties ... not that I expect any notice will be taken either by Tesco or by the Wicked Witch of the East.

Our information is not too official, but came from a Manager of one of the Contractors, who told me that ::

"There will be no retaining wall to keep the IoW sludge in place. It will just be allowed to trickle over the edge, making a slope.

As far as the Kings Court frontage, a 'Natural Country Ditch' will be left, resulting in a ditch on the Tesco side.

We asked if it would be surfaced ... apparently not.

... and what sort of drainage sytem there would be ... no reply.

... and did they plan to raise our wall, to prevent yobs running along their wretched ditch and climbing over into our carpark, but again there was no information available.

Lack of info is typical of Tesco. If they want to say anything, it is blazoned over everything. If they don't, the almost certain answer is "we aren't planning to meet your concerns /requirements."

Contributed by James Hiney

Latest on the Pipeline Bridgeworks

We have received information from one of the landholders that Tesco contractors intended to start bridging work 31 January, but have been denied access until the final structural drawings have been received and approved by the competent authorities (presumably EDDC, Health and Safety, and Highways) which had required these further drawings. It sounds as though someone had tried to jump the gun, but the relevant authorities had acted with propriety. On the whole this sounds reassuring, but it does keep you on the edge of your seat, especially in the light of their seeking a road closure mid-February to carry out these works. Tell us if you see works commencing on Riverside land.