It’s not just the Severals sites which would affect Bepton. There is also a proposal for a site at Hawkhurst Farm, which is in West Lavington but on the village’s doorstep.

This is an area which is still coming to terms with the Christmas rainfall, which caused so much flooding havoc. There have been erosion issues on this farmland in the past, which have been successfully remedied due to the implementation of erosion strips and careful planting of deep rooted grasses. Any excavation so close to the existing Pendean site would cause this to be undermined. The current Pendean site is enormous and a further site so close would alter the character of the landscape too. Access straight onto the A286 would also traffic issues, let alone noise pollution and loss of good farmland.There is also a concern that traffic for the proposed site would travel through Bepton.

The Parish Council will be looking at this in more detail but, in the meantime, residents might like to consider it themselves and make any views known to WSCC/SDNPA. There’s a discussion on the SDNPA’s forum about the Minerals plan in general, but the key focus is Hawkhurst Farm. I have added a contribution about the Severals proposals and would encourage people to use this as another way of raising awareness about them. Here’s a link to the SDNPA forum about the Minerals plan.