Saturday 25 March 2017

What’s AI got to hide?

Since Aggregate Industries' last planning application for Straitgate Farm in 2015, a number of the documents have had a hair-cut. Here are pages 13-17 of AI's Phase 1 Habitat Survey from 2015, and the equivalent accompanying the company's new application.





Why has AI taken the knife to this document? Is it trying to save on paper? Or has AI got something to hide? Is it anything to do with "4.1.4 Potential Impact on Bats" and "4.1.5 Potential Impact on Dormouse"? Anything to do with "4.2 Outline mitigation options"? Anything to do with:
Mitigation and enhancement options will be required as part of the EPS licence application. These are likely to include:
Phased clearance of habitat over a number of years;
Retention of as much species-rich hedgerow as possible, in order to maintain ecological connectivity across the site; and
Strategic (early) planting of additional species-rich hedgerows/woodland such that the habitat is suitable for dormouse when phased vegetation removal commences.
If AI thinks its proposed mitigation plans for European Protected Species are acceptable - why did it see the need to remove this?