West Bletchley Council has called a meeting to discuss the application submitted to Bucks CC ref 24/02423/VRC regarding the proposed doubling of the amount of gas being stored at the Gas Depot off Bletchley Road, Newton Longville and the increase in the capacity of the vehicles that would be transiting through Bletchley and Newton Longville.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday, 25 September at 7.30pm at St Andrew’s Baptist Church, St Andrew’s Road, Bletchley, MK3 5DR. Please attend the Public Meeting and have your say. For more information, access the application on the Bucks CC website planning portal quoting the above reference or please see Public Meeting Gas Depot 25 September 2024
BPARA UPDATE 28 SEPTEMBER – GAS DEPOT & INCREASE OF VEHICLES ON OUR ROADS 24/7!
Details of this application were advised late to West Bletchley Council (WBC) and BPARA – the deadline for objections/comments is Monday, 30 September. However, Bucks CC must consider any comments received up to the point where a decision is made on the application, so even if you miss the current deadline please submit your objections, but ideally please submit by 30 September.
WBC held a public meeting at St Andrew’s Baptist Church last Wednesday at which Newton Longville Parish Council (NLPC) officers briefed residents living in their area and on the Saints & Racecourses Estates which are closest to the Depot. However, the operation at the Depot will affect many other residents as the application relates to:
- Doubling the amount of gas being stored at the Gas Depot off Bletchley Road in Newton Longville (other side of the rail bridge)
- Increase in the vehicle capacity travelling through Bletchley and Newton Longville to access a proposed bio-gas tanker “off-loading facility” to operate 24/7 to inject “renewable” gas into the national gas distribution network.
BPARA attended the meeting last week and, like the NLPC and WBC officers/councillors and residents present, is extremely concerned about this application being approved. The application is vague on many aspects of safety, including lack of supervision on site, capacity of vehicles and the routes they would use to access the site. BPARA is requesting that residents object to this application – NLPC has provided a list of points that you can cut and paste into your own submission – Gas Depot objections
An application in 2020 was approved by Bucks CC despite objections by approx. 1,400 residents and other official bodies on the grounds of large HGV traffic accessing the Depot and whether safe for a large volume of hazardous gas to be stored so close to a residential area.
There are 300 gas depots in the UK, 298 are in remote areas, but the Bletchley and recently approved Banbury site are close to residential areas and the rail network. The BPARA Chair spoke of her concerns with Callum Anderson, MP, on Thursday prior to his meeting WBC and NLPC officials – it is hoped that he will use his influence to ensure the Health & Safety Executive, and the Environment Agency are made aware and take appropriate action.
BPARA’S RESPONSE TO THE PLANNING APPLICATION – Gas Depot objections by BPARA
